Starting sixth, Christopher Bell won his first Tulsa Shootout Golden Driller at River City Expo Center in Tulsa OK New Year’s Eve in the Winged Outlaw division of the program.

Bell had an incredible 2017, winning in virtually every discipline he raced and it is fitting that he took the final checkered flag of the year. And while his eye is set on next week’s ultimate goal of winning the Chili Bowl for the second consecutive year, the laps he turned in the Shootout are a valuable addition to his mental notebook.

Gridded on the outside of row three, Bell used the high line in the early laps, but watched as Tyler Walton and Mile Paulus exchanged sliders battling for the lead through the first half of the race. He got a chance to put that knowledge to work when a caution waved on lap 25.

Bell pounced on the restart. With 20 laps remaining, he slid passed Paulus and led for the remainder of the race.

Bell brought Nicholas Howard along with him through the field. Howard started one position behind the winner in seventh and finished second. Paulus rounded out the podium.

Buried deeper in the field was one of the best stories of the Shootout, however. Jason McDougal already had four A-Feature wins to his credit with Sunday’s race program rolled around. The Broken Arrow, OK native appeared to be unstoppable and for most of the night he was—winning the Stock Non-Wing, A-Class, and Outlaw Non-Wing features.

McDougal was in a great position to win his fourth race of the night in the Winged Outlaw race. He was running third at the halfway point, but his engine began to falter and he was forced to retire from the main event in 17th.

Finishing Results
1. Christopher Bell
2. Nicholas Howard
3. Miles Paulus
4. Kevin Bayer
5. Tyler Rennison
6. Thomas Kunsman
7. Joe B. Miller
8. Andy Bishop
9. Cole Bodine
10. Tom Curran
11. Garth Kasiner
12. Chase Porter
13. Matthew Howard
14. Koen Shaw
15. Holden Anderson
16. Brandon Anderson
17. Jason McDougal
18. Nathan Benson
19. Tyler Walton
20. Frank Flud
21. Kole Kirkman
22. Noah Harris
23. Jason Friesen
24. KJ Snow
25. Chris Andrews