@FloRacing on X
Growing up, race car drivers dream of winning the biggest races in the world. There’s the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
For dirt racers in the United States, the famed Chili Bowl represents the best of the best. Unfortunately for NASCAR star Jesse Love, his chances of winning this year’s event ended early, and in terrifying fashion.
The 21-year-old out of California grew up driving on dirt before breaking into NASCAR, where he won the O’Reilly Auto Parts series championship in 2025, proving himself as one of the sport’s top prospects.
After running the Chili Bowl three times from 2021 to 2024, he took off the 2025 event before returning to Tulsa this season, looking to win the famed Golden Driller trophy.
That won’t be happening.
Jesse Love Flips In Qualifying Race For Chili Bowl
For the uninitiated, the Chili Bowl Nationals is an indoor midget car (small, high-powered dirt cars) held at the Tulsa Expo Center. It began as a 57-car, two-day event in 1986.
These days, it’s a weeklong event with over 400 entrants, with qualifying races held Monday through Friday and then heat races all day on Saturday leading up to Saturday night’s main event.
NASCAR stars such as Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson have all won the event in the past.
On Friday night, Love was competing in a qualifying race when his car was launched into the air and flipped three times as he crossed the finish line. It landed upright, and Love climbed out of the vehicle but was taken for further medical evaluation.
𝐒𝐋𝐎-𝐌𝐎 📹 Jesse Love went for a wild ride after crossing the finish line sixth Friday at the #ChiliBowl. 😲 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/QS2dDgIetE
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 17, 2026
On Saturday morning, Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports reported that Love will not continue the event, and that no update was available on his condition.
Both Larson, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, and Bell are already qualified for Saturday night’s main event. But both are well aware of the dangers of dirt racing, having experienced similar crashes in the past.
Here’s hoping Love’s scary incident is the last of the weekend. However, history tells us that’s unlikely.