O’Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals - 256 Entries Unveiled!

TULSA, Okla.  (December 15, 2006) – Less than a month away, the anticipation continues to build with each passing day for the upcoming 21^st edition of the O'Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals, which takes place atop the ¼-mile clay oval inside the Tulsa Expo Center on January 9-13, 2007.

And with the pre-entry deadline of December 15 now reached, the entry count has climbed to a staggering total of 256, with drivers from 27 different states as well as Australia represented among what already ranks among the most competitive fields in the prestigious history of Tulsa Expo Raceway's Chili Bowl Nationals.

Top drivers from all variety of motorsports disciplines will descend upon the city of Tulsa in pursuit of the coveted Golden Driller trophy, with the likes of two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and J.J. Yeley headlining a seemingly endless list of lead-footed contenders for the crown in the Midget racing spectacular.

 The complete list of entries for the 21^st Annual O'Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals is available at http://www.chilibowl.com/2007entrieschilibowl.asp.

Stewart, the 2002 Chili Bowl champion, is one of a half dozen past race winners already entered, with others including four-time Chili Bowl ace Sammy Swindell, two-time winners Cory Kruseman and Dan Boorse, along with 2005 winner Tracy Hines and defending Chili Bowl champion Tim McCreadie, who will vie to become the first back-to-back winner in event history.

McCreadie went on to win the 2006 World of Outlaws Late Model series championship, with other '06 title holders among the pre-entries including three-time Chili Bowl runner-up Danny Lasoski (National Sprint Tour), Josh Wise (USAC Sprint Cars), Jerry Coons, Jr. (USAC Midgets), Brad Kuhn (National Midget Driver of the Year/BMARA Midgets/POWRi Midgets), Dave Darland (Oval Nationals winner), Jon Stanbrough (Non-Wing Sprint Car Driver of the Year), Jesse Hockett (Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Tour), Brady Bacon (SMRS Midgets) and Garry Lee Maier (NCRA Sprints) just to name a few.

Last January, McCreadie became the first winner in Chili Bowl history with a background outside of the open wheel Sprint Car and Midget ranks.  McCreadie, a Late Model and DIRT Modified specialist, will be joined by several other Late Model hotshoes at the '07 Chili Bowl including Josh Richards and Brian Birkhofer, a past World 100 winner who is gearing up for his first Chili Bowl Nationals.

The 21^st Annual O'Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals kicks off on Tuesday night, January 9, with the first-ever Pre-Qualifying Event, which was added to accommodate the ever bulging car count.

The top 15 finishers from Tuesday's Pre-Qualifier will advance to the Qualifying Night events, in which the entries will be split into thirds of approximately 65-70 competitors per night on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The top four finishers from the Qualifying Night features will automatically lock into the Saturday night, January 13, Chili Bowl championship feature, with the balance of Saturday's championship feature events lined up according to Qualifying Night finishes.

Originally a two-day event that attracted 52 entries in 1987, the O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals has evolved into a five-night extravaganza of indoor, dirt track midget racing, and ranks among the world’s most prestigious auto racing events.

Reserved seating for all four nights of the event was depleted by June 30.  General admission tickets for Tuesday night's Pre-Qualifier will be available at the gate, with pit passes also available for all five night of racing.

Additional information regarding the O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is available at http://www.chilibowl.com/ or by calling 918-838-3777.

O'Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals Pre-Entry Stats:

Most Chili Bowls Competed In (Among Pre-Entered Drivers):  Donnie Lehmann 17, Ron Kuhn 16, Sammy Swindell 16, Dan Boorse 16, Rich Camfield 16, Edwin Wilson 15, Danny Lasoski 15, Steve Newman 15, Critter Malone 14, Randy Koch 14, Bill Allen 12, Dave Camfield, Jr. 12, Tony Stewart 10, Tracy Hines 10, J.J. Yeley 10, Jason Leffler 10, Dave Camfield, Sr. 10.

Most Chili Bowl Championship Feature Starts (Among Pre-Entered Drivers):  Sammy Swindell 15, Danny Lasoski 14, Dan Boorse 9, Dave Darland 8, Tony Stewart 8, Tracy Hines 8, Cory Kruseman 8, Jason Leffler 8, Jerry Coons, Jr. 7, Randy Koch 7, P.J. Jones 6, Matt Westfall 5.

Pictured: The famed Golden Driller stands sentry at the Tulsa Expo Center in anticipation of the throngs of people that will congregate in Tulsa on January 9-13. (Photo courtesy of Joe Orth)