Tuesday night’s activities at the 34th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals were spiced with a lot of ARCA Menards Series flavor as former series winners Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell both claimed big wins on the evening.
Bell, who has three career ARCA Menards Series wins including a pair at Salem Speedway and another at Chicagoland Speedway, won the 20-lap Vacuworx International Race of Champions, which matched 17 drivers who were either former Chili Bowl winners or national champions in open wheel cars across the country.
Bell charged from seventh in the middle stages of the race to the front to win by an impressive 4.089 seconds over Rico Abreu.
Larson, who won the ARCA Menards Series race at Pocono in June 2014, won his heat race, then charged to the front of his qualifier and led every lap of his 30-lap A-main preliminary feature. Multiple cautions kept the field bunched, but Larson would repeatedly power away from second-place Jonathan Beason, eventually crossing the stripe 2.8 seconds ahead.
FS1 ARCA Menards Series pit reporter Dillon Welch had a solid night as well, racing his way into the A-main and then going forward from his ninth starting position to fourth at the finish. Welch is not locked into Saturday’s A-main but will start near the front of his B-main, giving him an excellent chance to transfer in to the 55-lap A-main.
Tonight’s activities start at 6 pm ET. Drivers with ARCA ties entered tonight include Ryan Newman and newly named Bill McAnally Racing ARCA Menards Series West driver Gio Scelzi.
MAVTV will carry Saturday night’s C mains, B mains, and A main starting at 7:30 pm ET.
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