If you were looking for high-octane drama, you basically found it in a giant building in Oklahoma. Honestly, anyone searching for results for nascar race yesterday probably realized pretty quickly that the "Big Three" national series are still in their winter nap. But for the real gearheads, the action isn't on a superspeedway right now. It is on the dirt.
Yesterday, Wednesday, January 14, 2026, was York Plumbing Qualifying Night at the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals. This isn't your standard Sunday afternoon cruise. It's a 1/5-mile clay oval inside the SageNet Center in Tulsa where NASCAR’s elite go to prove they haven't gone soft.
Emerson Axsom Leaves the Field in the Dust
Emerson Axsom just put on a clinic. That is the short version.
He took the win in the Wednesday night preliminary feature, and he did it by stalking Colby Copeland like a shadow. For most of the 30-lap main event, it looked like Copeland had it in the bag. He was fast. He was hitting his marks. But around 12 laps to go, Copeland jumped the cushion—a cardinal sin in dirt racing—and Axsom didn't hesitate. He pulled even and cleared him into turn three.
From there, it was basically a game of "catch me if you can." Daison Pursley, who is only 21 and is basically the "it" kid of the dirt world right now, managed to slide Copeland for second, but he didn't have enough to catch Axsom.
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Wednesday’s Top Finishers in Tulsa
- Emerson Axsom (Locked into Saturday's A-Main)
- Daison Pursley (Locked into Saturday's A-Main)
- Colby Copeland 4. Kevin Thomas Jr.
- Jake Swanson
The big prize here wasn't just the trophy for the night. The top two finishers, Axsom and Pursley, are now officially locked into the championship A-Main this Saturday. If you aren't familiar with how this works, it’s a massive deal. It means they can sleep easy while everyone else beats their fenders off in the "alphabet soup" of lower-tier races trying to climb their way back up the ladder.
Where Were the Cup Series Stars?
You've probably noticed a few big names missing from the very top of yesterday’s board. While Wednesday was "York Plumbing" night, the NASCAR heavyweights have been scattered throughout the week.
Christopher Bell already did his thing on Monday. He went "flag-to-flag" to win the Race of Champions, bagging his fourth career victory in that specific event. He beat out Shane Golobic and Logan Seavey, winning by a margin of just 0.419 seconds.
Kyle Larson is the name everyone keeps whispering about. He’s the reigning Cup Series champ and a three-time Chili Bowl winner. He’s looking for another Golden Driller trophy to add to a shelf that’s probably already structural-failure levels of heavy. Larson is scheduled for his own qualifying night later this week, but he was definitely in the building yesterday, likely taking notes on the track surface.
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Then you have Corey Day. He’s the kid Hendrick Motorsports just signed for a full O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity) season. He’s back for his fifth Chili Bowl attempt. People are watching him because he’s basically the bridge between the dirt world and the corporate NASCAR world.
Why Yesterday’s Results Actually Matter for 2026
If you’re just here for the results for nascar race yesterday, you might think a dirt race in Tulsa doesn't affect the Daytona 500. You'd be wrong.
Yesterday was a showcase of the "new guard." With NASCAR officially bringing back "The Chase" format for the 2026 Cup Series season, the pressure on drivers to perform consistently is back to 2004 levels. NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell recently confirmed that the "win-and-you’re-in" era is over. Now, it’s about points. It's about grit.
The guys who excel at the Chili Bowl—Bell, Larson, Bowman, and now Axsom—are the ones who know how to handle a car when the tires are shot and the track is slick. That translates directly to the new 55-point-per-win system NASCAR is rolling out this year.
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Major 2026 Rule Changes to Watch:
- The Chase is Back: No more one-race winner-take-all finales. The championship is decided over the final 10 races on cumulative points.
- Victory Points: Winning a race now nets you 55 points instead of 40.
- The RAM Return: We saw more news yesterday about RAM coming back to the Truck Series after 15 years. This is huge for the sport’s manufacturing health.
What Happens Next?
The Chili Bowl doesn't slow down. Today, Thursday, January 15, is Hasty Bake Qualifying Night.
If you're following the results, keep an eye on how the track changes. Yesterday, it was fast early but got technical as the ruts developed. The drivers who can adapt to a changing surface are the ones who will be standing on the podium on Saturday night.
If you want to catch the action live, it's all on FloRacing. The Cup Series boys don't start their "real" season until the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1st, so this is the only fix you’re going to get for a few weeks.
Check the entry lists for tonight. There are usually around 70 to 80 cars per night, and only the top two get that golden ticket to the Saturday finale. Everyone else is just fighting for survival.
To stay ahead of the curve, you should track the point standings of the drivers who locked in yesterday. Emerson Axsom and Daison Pursley are the names to beat. If you're betting on the Saturday A-Main, those two just gave themselves a massive head start by staying out of the "alphabet" mess.
Keep your eyes on the track prep today. If the clay holds moisture like it did yesterday afternoon, expect another night of slide jobs and close finishes.