“Thanks Joe Gibbs!” Christopher Bell celebrates dirt win by thanking NASCAR Cup team owner

Christopher Bell celebrated his return to dirt track racing Saturday night by winning and thanking NASCAR Cup team owner Joe Gibbs for allowing him to race in such events.

“I have four words,” Bell said on the FloRacing broadcast after beating Kyle Larson to win the no-wing no-holds-barred micro sprint race at the Tulsa Shootout Saturday night.

“Thanks Joe Gibbs!”

Bell came up through dirt track racing, but has been sidelined from such events in recent years due to a Joe Gibbs Racing policy that prevented its drivers from competing for fear of injury.

Kyle Larson on Christopher Bell being allowed to race on dirt: “I think it’s great for the sport, NASCAR and grassroots racing. It’s exciting. “

Gibbs changed his policy late last season, giving Bell, Ty Gibbs and incoming manager Chase Briscoe, among others in the organization, more opportunities to hit the ground running should they decide to do so.

“I think it’s great for him,” Larson said in December of Bell getting the chance to race on dirt again. “I think it’s great for the sport, NASCAR and grassroots racing. It’s exciting. I’m glad he can do it again and hopefully we’ll get a lot more battles in the midgets and sprint cars down the road.”

They did on Saturday night. Bell held off a charging Larson to win the event at the Tulsa Shootout.

The Tulsa Shootout is a precursor to the Chili Bowl Nationals from January 12-18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Bell, an Oklahoma native, won the Chili Bowl Nationals from 2017-19. It is one of the top midget car events in the country.

Bell is entered for the Chili Bowl Nationals along with Larson, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and JJ Yeley.