TULSA, OK — After starting outside the front row, Emerson Axsom only needed four laps to take the lead from polesitter Daison Pursley as the Hoosier dominated the Wednesday night preliminary feature at the Chili Bowl Nationals.
Axsom’s No. 68K Keith Kunz Motorsports machine was untouchable, winning by .343 seconds over Pursley’s No. 86 machine and the No. 41 of Corey Day.
All Axsom needed to do was figure out a way around Pursley and the rest of the race was straightforward. After ripping the top at the Tulsa Expo Center while Pursley ran the bottom, the pair switched grooves going into the first turn on the fourth lap of the race. That led Axsom to a lead that Pursley couldn’t snatch back.
“I knew Daison would be good on the bottom,” Axsom said in the post race press conference. “Their stuff is good on the bottom here. It makes a lot of grip anywhere he goes, so I was just kind of trying to build momentum so that when he did jump up I was able to counter his move and throw a slider. But yeah, our stuff was just really good and (I) was thankful to get out front.”
Pursley’s runner-up finish locked him into Saturday’s 40-lap feature, making his week a lot less stressful than 2024. In last year’s edition of the race, Pursley started eighth in the second Saturday D-Main had to climb through the remainder of the Alphabet soup to make the A-Main, where he finished fourth.
No such feats are required in 2025. The Oklahoman’s next focus will be on the pole shuffle race that will determine the first five rows of the 24-car field for the feature.
“It’s going to be a lot easier, a lot of stress relief coming off of me, but definitely come Saturday there’s still a job to do no matter what, where you start,” Pursley said. “So it’s cool to lock in. It’s definitely mixed emotions losing from the pole like that. Just happy that we can lock in and have a little stressless week here.”
Day started eighth but moved up to fifth on the first lap of the feature after third-row starters KJ Snow and Steven Snyder Jr. tangled as the field ended the first lap. The Clovis, Ca., native moved into third at the halfway point, but Axsom and Pursley were too much for Day to overcome down the stretch.
“We definitely didn’t bring our speed from the west coast to the building unfortunately this year,” Day said in the post race press conference. “So we’re struggling a little bit just with the balance of the race car and my comfort level running the curb hard is just not there. I just feel like I’m on one tire more than I am on all four, so struggling with that a little bit but Willie (Kahne, car owner) got me dialed in and we’ll go after it in the B-Main.”
Here’s the full results from the Wednesday night A-Main and where each finisher will slot into the Alphabet Soup on Saturday:
A-Main
- Emerson Axsom
- Daison Pursley
B-Main
3. Corey Day
4. Tim Buckwalter
5. Kale Drake
6. Blake Hahn
7. Mitchel Moles
8. Jett Yantis
C-Main
9. Kyle Cummins
10. Jake Swanson
11. Steven Snyder Jr.
12. J.J. Yeley
13. Colby Copeland
14. Rylan Gray
D-Main
15. Harry Stewart
16. Alex Bright
17. Sammy Swindell
18. Danny Wood
19. David Camfield Jr.
20. Steven Shebester
E-Main
21. Taylor Reimer
22. Chelby Hinton
23. KJ Snow
24. Kody Swanson
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.