For consecutive years now, the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals has been the first stroke on Kyle Larson’s blank canvas.

The trend is simple: Larson wins a Golden Driller, and Larson ensues to produce an astonishingly historic season.

In 2020, we witnessed a boyhood dream come true when he finally reached the mountaintop and conquered the Tulsa Expo after 13 agonizing years of chasing the Golden Driller. What followed was something out of a video game as he pieced together an absurd 46 victories in a 101-race campaign hampered by the pandemic.

We thought it was the greatest season in the history of dirt track racing, and then he decided to one-up himself in 2021.

He hoisted a second Golden Driller in January of 2021 and put together the greatest year of his life, winning almost every major event imaginable. The Chili Bowl was only a stepping stone to the Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal, Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR All-Star Race, Prairie Dirt Classic, BC39, and the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

That story is no different this week as KL returns to Tulsa as arguably the most decorated active driver in the country. With FloRacing aboard the No. 01, Yung Money is eyeing a third straight Chili Bowl title, something only Kevin Swindell and Christopher Bell have achieved in 35 years of the event.

VIDEO: Kyle Larson joined FloRacing to relive his 2021 Chili Bowl victory. 

In all, Larson has won 79 races in the 198 events he’s contested since the beginning of the 2020 season. That’s a 40% winning percentage. Insane, right?

Mike & Janet’s boy, who remains the pride of Elk Grove, CA, will hit 200 come Saturday night when the 36th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals goes green. It very well could be the start of his next great chapter in 2022.

It all starts in the FloRacing No. 01 Midget, but there will be plenty of stories to write when it comes to the Paul Silva No. 57 Sprint Car, Kevin Rumely No. 6 Late Model, of course the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Cup Car, and whatever else he decides to climb behind the wheel of.

He’s said it a million times and it becomes more and more apparent as his fame rises and his humbleness stays the same – he just “LOVES” racing, that’s all there is to it.

Another 100+ race schedule is expected for Yung Money this year, who manages a busy lifestyle as the husband to Katelyn and father of Owen & Audrey.

Even at what seems to be the height of his career in the stock car world, Larson has never, ever forgotten his roots in the dirt. His connection and loyalty to grassroots racing, while thriving on Sundays in stock cars, has made him easily the most popular short track competitor in the world.

With 400 entries expected at this week’s Chili Bowl, and a rather human west coast swing in the rear-view mirror, it appears as if Larson has his biggest challenge in recent years awaiting in Tulsa.

He’ll have to deal with the likes of Christopher Bell, Justin Grant, Tanner Thorson, Rico Abreu, Cannon McIntosh, Tyler Courtney, Brad Sweet, David Gravel, Donny Schatz, Chris Windom, Buddy Kofoid, and about another 75+ legitimate contenders in the hunt for the Golden Driller.

Is this the beginning of Larson’s next masterpiece? We’ll find out this week on FloRacing.

Fans unable to make it to Tulsa will be able to watch all of the preliminary action prior to Saturday's C-Mains live with a FloRacing subscription. The C-Mains, B-Mains and A-Main will be live on the MAVTV Motorsports Network.