Publicity and chatter are always good for any event. The Chili Bowl Nationals have got that a lot since last year, but it has come at a major cost. That cost is two of its most famous winners, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson.

Both drivers, sequentially, pulled out of the event last year. Kyle Larson started the trend, as he called out the event for not paying its participants enough. He reiterated his position on the withdrawal in a recent interview, seeking to raise awareness about the insufficient purse of the event.

Why isn’t Kyle Larson here?

Things are going on as planned and will do, with or without the two drivers. The Chili Bowl hasn’t bowed down to their pressure. Yesterday was the second night of the week-long event, with Spencer Bayston winning the Race of Champions.

But the 2022 Golden Driller champion, Tanner Thorson, wasn’t too happy with the step taken by them. Speaking to Racing America, he said, “They say the best in the business come to this race so where are they at?”

When Thorson won the event in 2022, he beat both Bell and Larson to the finish line. That added a lot of weight to the 26-year-old’s first win at the event.

“I don’t want to say too much and burn any bridges, but I’m here. I’m a little bit sour about it, to be honest. I wish those guys were here. I have a really good race car again, and I want to race the best, and if the best are supposed to be here, why aren’t they here?” he said with palpable annoyance.

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Thorson’s unhappiness stems from his lack of confidence in the issues Larson and Bell raised with their withdrawal.

Emmett Hahn and others also hit out

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Thorson wasn’t the only one to hit out after the Monday night event. Keith Kunz, a Chili Bowl legend with his 8 wins, and Emmett Hahn, the owner of the Chili Bowl Nationals, also spoke up against the decision.

Kunz, who is now the owner of Thorson’s car in midget racing, said “It’s kind of a mess. Christopher, there are some other reasons he’s not here. He’s gotten drug (sic)into it. He’s not boycotting this place like Kyle is. Kyle’s forgotten where he’s come from.”

Hahn, on the other hand, wasn’t as diplomatic with his salvo. He was still upset about the fact that Larson didn’t speak to him before taking the point up in public.

“I’ve got to say this though — first it was about ‘it didn’t pay enough’ and then the story became it was about the guys in the back of the field. He bought himself a jet plane, a two and a half million-dollar motorhome and if he really wanted to help these back of the field guys, he would.”

He went on to add, “I just wish, if Kyle was that mad about the purse, that he would have called me. But listen, we’ve had $34,600 added to the purse this year. It still pays $10,000 to win, but it used to be $1000 to start and now it’s $1500 to start. We’ve added B feature money and to the C on back.”

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The tension around Larson’s withdrawal had always been present. With these fresh attacks, things could get further out of hand. Quite possibly, a return to the Chili Bowl looks unlikely for Larson.