After two epic weeks of racing at the Tulsa Shootout and the Chili Bowl Nationals, I decided to do a quick rundown of things that stuck out to me. Of course, Emerson Axsom winning his first career Chili Bowl was one of the best moments. Kyle Larson crashing out of the A-Main on Saturday was another stunning development. Let’s dive deeper into my top 10 moments from the Shootout and the Chili Bowl.
The Tulsa “Jetts”
Jett Yantis, Jett Barnes and Jett Nunley. These three kids made plenty of headlines throughout the two weeks of racing. Jett Yantis started off by winning the A-Class A Main and then ultimately getting disqualified from the event due to an illegal engine. Yantis turned a lot of heads at last year’s shootout, and it wasn’t a surprise to many that he was running up front again this year. He was also very fast in the Non-Wing Outlaw A main, putting on a show for the fans while he was charging through the field. The disqualification was an unfortunate ending to Yantis’ Tulsa Shootout.
Jett Nunley is a young racer from Oklahoma and he did not disappoint his hometown fans. Nunley finished 8th in the Stock Non-Wing class A feature at the shootout. He was able to back that up with an 8th place finish in a D Main at the Chili Bowl. While it might not look impressive on paper, Nunley certainly held his own in Tulsa. He’s definitely one to watch in 2026.
Finally, the most impressive of them all was 14-year-old Jett Barnes from California making his Chili Bowl debut. Barnes was behind the wheel of a Swindell Speedlab car and he looked like a veteran out there. Barnes won his B feature and was charging through the field in the A Main before mechanical problems ended his Chili Bowl. Still, the racing world was talking a lot about Jett Barnes, who picked up a winged 360 victory at Placerville Speedway in 2025. Barnes will be one everyone is watching this upcoming season.
Epic Soup Runs
Darin Naida and Mack Leopard provided everyone with one of the most entertaining Saturday mornings in Chili Bowl history. Naida got things started in the O-Main, and ended up advancing all the way to the G-Main and passing 69 cars in the process. Mack Leopard joined Naida by winning an N-Main, and then advancing all the way to the F-Main and passing 73 cars in the process. Both of these young men broke records and deserve a lot of credit for their achievements.
Rueschenberg Does it Again
Arizona’s Corbin Rueschenberg qualified for his 2nd consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals A-Main this year. Last year, the young driver did not make many friends on his way to winning a Saturday B Feature that landed him in the A Main. He made contact with Buddy Kofoid during his prelim night and it made a lot of folks unhappy.
This year, Rueschenberg did it cleanly. He barely made any headlines, but was fast and consistent enough to get the job done. What was even more impressive is that he was coming off an illness that caused him to lose 10 lbs in a short period of time. It was a great performance and one that will lead to more success in the future.
What’s Next for Cannon?
It was another year of Cannon McIntosh making headlines for all of the wrong reasons. He fell short of locking in during his prelim night by one spot and then made contact racing with Shane Golobic in the Saturday A Main. McIntosh apologized for the incident and took the blame, but it’s hard to accept those apologies when these things just keep happening. The response from his KKM car owner on social media was even more bizarre, almost making a joke out of the incident.
According to reports, McIntosh won’t be back behind the wheel of a KKM Midget full-time in 2026. He was hoping to find a winged 410 sprint car ride, but it does not sound like any plans have been established. We’ll see what the future hold for the longtime Midget racer.
No Luck for Steven Snyder Jr
Everyone always says that the Tulsa Expo Center doesn’t owe anyone anything, but it might owe Steven Snyder Jr just a little bit of something. After making an epic charge through the field and blowing by Kyle Larson for the lead at the Tulsa Shootout in 2025, Snyder suffered a flat tire that took him out of contention. In 2026, Snyder was again making a charge through the field in the Stock Non Wing division when he was collected in a wreck.
This year, Snyder was involved in an epic battle for the lead on his Chili Bowl preliminary night with Logan Seavey, Justin Grant and Gavin Miller. Snyder was winning at one point, running second at one point, and battling in 3rd and 4th for much of the race. As the laps were winding down, Miller threw a haymaker at Grant and made contact with the outside wall, causing his car to flip wildly down the straightaway. Snyder had nowhere to go, crashing directly into Miller’s flipping race car and ending his strong run.
Although the team went to work and got it fixed, Snyder fell one spot short of transferring out of his D Main on Saturday.
The Stars of Tomorrow
Let’s quickly run through some of the young talent that turned heads during the Shootout and Chili Bowl.
Cash Lovenburg
Very fast at the Tulsa Shootout. Finished 5th in the Non-Wing Outlaw A-Main.
Brant Woods
Finished 7th in a D Main at Chili Bowl. Was 8th in the A-Class A Main and 11th in the Stock Non-Wing A Main.
Cole Schroeder
Made a charge through the soup during prelims. Finished 19th in the A-Class feature.
Austin Wood
The SCCT Champion in 2025 did not disappoint in his Chili Bowl debut. Wood ended up 15th in a B Main on Saturday.
Mack Leopard
Not only did Leopard have an epic soup run at the Chili Bowl, he had a great Shootout as well. He finished 16th in the Non-Wing Outlaw A Main and 19th in the A-Class A Main.
Jakeb Boxell
The young Indiana native fell one spot short of making the Saturday A Feature.
Zach Wigal
Wigal showed speed in a Chad Boat car at the Chili Bowl in 2025. He returned in a new ride, with the same speed, finishing 6th in a C Main.
Gaige Weldon
Weldon made the Winged and Non-Wing Outlaw A Features at the Shootout. He capped that off with a 13th place finish in a C Main at Chili Bowl.
Ryder McCutcheon
McCutcheon had a nice Shootout, qualifying for the Non Wing Outlaw feature. He ended his time in Tulsa with a D-Main finish at the Chili Bowl.
Cullen Hutchison
Hutchison is now on everyone’s radar in terms of up and coming talent. He won the Stock Non-Wing A Feature and finished 14th in the A Class Feature.
Redemption for Wout Hoffmans
If you watched the Tulsa Shootout, you might remember a somewhat viral clip of a car aggressively taking out another driver for a transfer spot. That car was Wout Hoffmans, and many people, myself included, gave him some backlash for that performance. Hoffmans ended up apologizing for the mistake and we all moved on.
I think many people are not even going to remember Wout Hoffmans at the Shootout, because they are going to remember him shocking the world and making the A Main at the Chili Bowl. He had a great performance during his prelim and was even battling for a lock-in spot at one point. He found himself in a B Main on Saturday, and drove a great race to transfer to the A Feature. He ultimately suffered mechanical issues, but it was still a great showing from Hoffmans.
Ty Gibbs Keeps Getting Better on Dirt
If the Tulsa Shootout wasn’t enough proof, then Ty Gibbs’ performance at the Chili Bowl should’ve shown you that he has improved on dirt. Gibbs’ finished 13th in the Non-Wing Outlaw A Feature at the Shootout, and looked really good in the other divisions as well. At the Chili Bowl, Gibbs backed that performance up on his prelim night by locking himself into a C Main on Saturday. He didn’t get a chance to race due to mechanical issues, but it wouldn’t have surprised me to see him advance on to a B Main.
Thoughts on the Gavin Miller Wreck
Gavin Miller was getting a lot of backlash online after his prelim feature crash that took out himself and Steven Snyder Jr. Miller has made plenty of mistakes in the past, but I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. I am not saying that he wasn’t going to crash, but if that dirt ramp was not so thickly piled up against the wall, that crash is likely a lot less violent. Regardless if Miller was going to make contact with the wall, his tire digging into the raised dirt ramp against the wall caused his car to dig in and go for a wild ride. If that ramp is more compacted down, Miller probably makes hard contact with the wall and either blows a tire or a rear end. I felt like that ramp was knocked down a bit on Saturday, although I could be wrong.
Other Surprises
Finally, some two other drivers that had great performances at the Chili Bowl were Hayden Wise and Gavan Boschele. Wise made it all the way to the a B Main on Saturday, and looked really fast every time she hit the track. Boschele was behind the wheel of a Kyle Busch Motorsports ride and it looked really strong in both his prelim and on Saturday. Boschele made the Saturday finale, ultimately finishing in an impressive 14th place.
I thought that Jake Andreotti and Drake Edwards would be a lot faster at the Chili Bowl this year. Mechanical woes hindered both of their performances all week, with Andreotti ending his Chili Bowl in a D Main and Edwards finishing in a F Main.
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