Kyle Larson announces new Chili Bowl apparel

The official Twitter handle of Kyle Larson’s online store dropped news of the upcoming official line of Chili Bowl Nationals merchandise. The post comes just days ahead of the 36th edition of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, set to take place from January 10-15, 2022.

The new apparel collection is expected to be available to fans sometime this week.

Kyle Larson, a two-time and defending Chili Bowl Nationals winner, hopes to secure his third-straight win in the indoor midget race.

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Kyle Larson looking to emulate Christopher Bell at Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals

The last seven editions of the Chili Bowl were won by drivers who have NASCAR Cup Series experience. Kyle Larson claimed the Golden Driller Trophy in both 2020 and 2021. In 2022, he will look to add a third trophy to his tally and emulate Christopher Bell's feat of winning three successive Chili Bowls in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Billed as the "Super Bowl of Midget Racing," the Chili Bowl Nationals take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two weeks after Christmas. The 36th annual event will be held at the indoor quarter-mile clay oval at Tulsa Expo Raceway at the SageNet Center from January 10-15. The event boasts over 200 racing gigs, bleachers for thousands of spectators, and a trade show.

The 2022 event will feature over 300 entries and at least a dozen drivers with top-tier ties to NASCAR and IndyCar. Some of the biggest names include Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, Conor Daly, Santino Ferruci, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Kasey Kahne, and JJ Yeley.

With such a huge list of current and past NASCAR drivers, the event has decided to move the VIROC (Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions) to Monday. This will add another day of racing on January 10 so as not to interfere with NASCAR testing at Daytona International Speedway.

Regarding the date change, the event's co-founder Emmett Hahn said:

“With NASCAR doing testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, that takes our reigning champion out the VIROC, along with our VIROC winner, Christopher Bell, and several others, so we’ll just move it back to the opening night that way everyone can still race that is eligible, and the fans still get to see their favorite drivers."

After eight full-time seasons in NASCAR's premier series, Kyle Larson finally bagged his first championship last year. The Elk Grove, CA native beat 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. by five points in the season finale at Phoenix.