“They both really do the money don’t they, fear of losing in a lesser division”- Twitter reacts as Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell snub Chilli Bowl reportedly due to the lack of bigger purses

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s niece Karsyn Elledge is one of the major entries in the 2023 Chilli Bowl Nationals.

Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell

Tulsa hosts the 2023 annual Chilli Bowl nationals, and the motorsports world is keeping an eye on the Oklahoma indoor dirt track to see who will return home with the Golden drills. The premier midget racing event in the world will host multiple NASCAR and dirt racing champions who are among the more than 350 entries.

The headliners of the 2023 event are Hendrick Motorsports No:48 team piolet Alex Bowman and Stewart Hass Racing’s No:14 car driver Chase Briscoe. They both won a Cup race and secured playoff entry in the 2022 season. Josh Bilicki, J.J. Yeley, and Carson Hocevar are the other NASCAR representatives of the event.

But fans miss the presence of two NASCAR drivers who dominated the event in the past this year. First is Bowman’s HMS teammate and 2021 cup champion Kyle Larson who won the event two times (2020 and 2021). The second driver in question is the 2017,2018,2019 race winner Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing. Both drivers reportedly snubbed the event according to Fox Sports Bob Pockrass.

“Neither Larson nor Bell are running the Chili Bowl. They have been advocating for bigger purses for midget/sprint-car events and the Chili Bowl pays $10K to the winner (plus $150 per lap led in the main event),” Pockrass tweeted in reply to fans quarry on the driver’s absence.

Neither Larson nor Bell are running the Chili Bowl. They have been advocating for bigger purses for midget/sprint-car events and the Chili Bowl pays $10K to the winner (plus $150 per lap led in the main event) https://t.co/mDMbgPN4d1
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 8, 2023

Kyle Larson missing the event might not just be due to the small purse. He and his wife were blessed with a baby boy on new years eve, so he might have decided to spend some quality time with his family. Bell snubbing it due to the prize pool is more credible, as he voiced his discomfort with the $10k prize in July.

“Christopher told me in July: ‘Hopefully the event will continue to grow and if the purse grows, the sky is the limit for that race.” … I then asked if purse grows, would he/Larson be back & he said: “Absolutely, there’s no reason we wouldn’t be back there if that’s the case,“ Bob Pockras quoted Christopher Bell.

How NASCAR Twitter reported to the reports

Some fans were furious with Larson and Bell for snubbing the event due to money as they pointed fingers at the salary, they were earning in the cup series. Some even claim that the drivers are afraid of losing races in the lower divisions. Few fans came out supporting the drivers they pointed out that the driver should be paid more.

Christopher told me in July: "Hopefully the event will continue to grow and if the purse grows, the sky is the limit for that race." … I then asked if purse grows, would he/Larson be back & he said: "Absolutely, there's no reason we wouldn't be back there if that's the case."
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 8, 2023

tony stewart pays a million to win on thursday nights and this guy can only manage to come up with 10k, such a joke
— Swiper (@SwiperR6) January 8, 2023

The people who run the chili bowl and the Tulsa shootout have terrible purses. The year I made the A main at the shootout, there were over 1200 entries and the winner got $1k per division.

Not sure if that changed since then, but that's what it was when I raced a few years ago
— Chaos Racing (@rpmartin162) January 9, 2023

Did @CBellRacing ever say low purses was why he wasn’t running? @KyleLarsonRacin have a number of reasons why he’s running @WildWShootout instead of @cbnationals More than just the purse. Still a shame chili bowl couldn’t draw the big names they usually do.
— Matt James (@matt_james1234) January 8, 2023

It’s insane that Irwindale speedway hosts the all star showdown with the modifieds getting a $5K purse (75 lap main) pro lates getting a $10K (100 lap main) purse and super late models get a $25 K (200 lap main) purse. Larson and Bell are on to something here.
— Joe_996 (@Good_OLE_JOE) January 9, 2023

Larson and CBell have mainly got to Cup with talent. They’ve earned opportunities and pathways. Now they’re in a position to advocate and promote due to their stature. They want to see more of the raw talent like them come through. Bigger purses are better for smaller teams.
— 🐐 (@SportFan45) January 9, 2023

The negative side to "making it" in Cup is the fear of loosing in a lesser division.
— Alfred (@AlfredHamblin5) January 8, 2023

Everyone forgets that racing is a business now. Kyle Larson is straight up making his own sprint car series to promote higher pay outs. Gotta share the wealth
— PK (@patrickstarr42) January 9, 2023

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Justin P Joy is a Motorsports writer and editor at FirstSportz. He has been a motorsport journalist since 2020 and has published over 2000 articles. Justin has extensively covered two NASCAR, Formula One, and Moto GP seasons for FirstSportz. He has invested more than a decade of his life on Motorsports, first as a fan and later as a dedicated writer. Justin’s in-depth knowledge of Motorsports and his experience as a fan make his writing resonate with most racing fans worldwide. Justin's love for racing started when he discovered Moto GP at the age of 8. That love later guided him into the world of Formula 1. He fell in love with NASCAR after watching Tom Cruise’s “Days of Thunder” and has been an avid follower of the premier stock car racing series since. He has also been investing his time to exploring WEC, WRC, Formula E, Extreme E, and IndyCar in a bid to deeply understand the culture and history of Motorsports to present a unique perspective to the fans.

“They both really do the money don’t they, fear of losing in a lesser division”- Twitter reacts as Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell snub Chilli Bowl reportedly due to the lack of bigger purses

How NASCAR Twitter reported to the reports

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