Qualifying
Nights Announced!
 Lonnie
Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (December 29, 2005)
– With anticipation mounting throughout
the racing world, the list of drivers
according to qualifying night for the
upcoming 20th Annual O’Reilly
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, to be held at
Tulsa Expo Raceway from January 11-14,
2006, has been released and is available
at www.chilibowl.com.
Entries
for the Super Bowl of auto racing have
reached a record plateau of 270,
surpassing last year’s record of 249
competitors.
Drivers represent 32 different
states and all variety of racing
disciplines, with hundreds of feature wins
and more than 30 track or series titles
represented among the star-studded field.
Wednesday
night’s Creek Nation Casino qualifier is
headlined by a pair of past USAC Triple
Crown winners, including reigning NASCAR
Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and Dave
Darland.
Stewart, the 2002 Chili Bowl
champion, and Darland are joined by
20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve
Kinser, three-time Chili Bowl Nationals
runner-up Danny Lasoski, 2005 Belleville
Midget Nationals winner Jerry Coons, Jr.,
perennial ARDC Midget kingpin Ray Bull,
USAC Western States Midget champion Jerome
Rodela, Hut Hundred winner Johnny
Rodriguez, NASCAR Busch Series competitor
Aaron Fike, Gateway Midget champion Mike
Hess, two-time Chili Bowl champion Dan
Boorse, NHRA’s Funny Car Pedregon
brothers and Late Model and DIRT Modified
ace Tim McCreadie among others.
Just
click here for Wednesday night's Creek
Nation Casino Qualifying Night entry list.
The
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores
Thursday Night Thunder at the Bowl
Qualifier includes, defending race winner
Tracy Hines, 2001 Chili Bowl champion Jay
Drake, 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Rookie of
the Year candidate J.J. Yeley, NASCAR
Busch Series shoe Jason Leffler, American
Sprint Car Series National champion Gary
Wright, All-Star champion Chad Kemenah,
USAC and Sprint Bandits champion Levi
Jones, National Midget Driver of the Year
Brad Kuhn, Bud Kaeding, Jon Stanbrough and
Arizona Sprint Car Association champion
Jeremy Sherman and Late Model shoes Bart
Hartman and Steve Francis.
Just
click here for Thursday night's Love's
Travel Stops & Country Stores
Qualifying Night entry list.
Friday
night’s Warren CAT Qualifier is
headlined by stars such as NASCAR Nextel
Cup sensation Kasey Kahne, four-time Chili
Bowl ace Sammy Swindell, two-time Chili
Bowl winner Cory Kruseman, USAC National
Midget champion Josh Wise, 1988 Chili Bowl
winner and reigning Badger Midget champion
Scott Hatton, Davey Ray, Danny Stratton,
Jimmy Sills, P.J. Jones, Shane Cottle,
Bryan Clauson and NHRA Top Fuel star
Morgan Lucas.
Just
click here for Friday night's Warren CAT
Qualifying Night entry list.
Each
qualifying night consists of a full racing
card including Feature events, with the
top four in each night’s “A” Main
locked into Saturday night’s 50-lap,
24-car O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals
championship finale.
The balance of Saturday night’s
feature lineups will be determined
according to each driver’s qualifying
night results.
Qualifying
night assignments are tentative and
subject to change.
Today
on the Entry List:
Donnie
Lehmann filled two of his “TBA”
entries with Justin Henderson of Sioux
Falls, SD, taking the seat of the No. 31h
entry and Kansas City’s Joe Walker at
the helm of the No. 31x.
With the addition of Henderson, 32
states are now represented among the 270
entries.
More
O’Reilly Chili Bowl information:
What:
20th
Annual O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget
Nationals
Where:
Tulsa
Expo Raceway – ¼-mile clay oval inside
the Tulsa Exposition Center at the Tulsa
State Fairgrounds
When:
January
11-14, 2006.
Wednesday - Creek Nation Casino
Qualifying Night; Thursday – Love’s
Travel Stops & Country Stores
Qualifying Night; Friday – Warren CAT
Qualifying Night; Saturday – Features
Past
Winners: Sammy
Swindell (1998, 1996, 1992 and 1989), Cory
Kruseman (2004 and 2000), Dan Boorse (2003
and 1999), Tracy Hines (2005), Tony
Stewart (2002), Jay Drake (2001), Billy
Boat (1997), Donnie Beechler (1995), Andy
Hillenburg (1994), Dave Blaney (1993),
Lealand McSpadden (1991), Jon Heydenreich
(1990), Scott Hatton (1988), Rich Vogler
(1987).
Current
Entries:
270
entries from 32 different states,
surpassing the 2005 Chili Bowl record of
249 competitors.
Past
winners already entered include Tony
Stewart, Sammy Swindell, Cory Kruseman,
Dan Boorse, Jay Drake, Scott Hatton and
defending race champion Tracy Hines.
Other
top drivers already entered include Kasey
Kahne, 20-time World of Outlaws champion
Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Dave Darland,
J.J. Yeley, All-Star champion Chad Kemenah,
ASCS champion Gary Wright, ARDC Midget
champion Ray Bull, USAC and Sprint Bandits
TNT champion Levi Jones, USAC Midget
champion Josh Wise, Kevin Swindell, Jason
Leffler and Late Model aces Tim McCreadie,
Bart Hartman and Steve Francis.
Entries
represent numerous racing disciplines,
including NASCAR, winged and non-wing
Sprint Cars, Midgets, Late Models and NHRA
drag racing among others.
Trade
Show:
Always
a popular attraction at the Chili Bowl
Midget Nationals is the Trade Show, which
is open to the public each day (Wednesday
through Saturday) free of charge.
All variety of racing products,
apparel and more is available with well
over 100 different vendors.
The Trade Show covers approximately
20,000 square feet.
Preferred
Parking:
A limited number of Preferred
Parking spaces are still available for all
four nights of the O’Reilly Chili Bowl
Midget Nationals by calling the ticket
office at 918-838-3777.
Buffet:
The
cafeteria at the east end of the Tulsa
Expo Center will offer an all-you-can-eat
buffet each day (Wednesday through
Saturday) from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. for
just $10 per person.
Tickets:
Tickets
for the 20th Anniversary of the
O’Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals
were depleted in mid-October.
Pit passes are available.
Four-night pit pass vouchers are
available by contacting the O’Reilly
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals ticket office
at 918-838-3777.
O’Reilly
Chili Bowl on the Net: All
four nights of racing action will be
webcast live at www.racinboys.com.
Complete information, including
entry lists, updates and official results
is available at www.chilibowl.com.
Additional
information regarding the O’Reilly Chili
Bowl Midget Nationals is available at www.chilibowl.com
or by calling 918-838-3777.
Pictured:
Bubba the Lovesponge provided some
fireworks as he flipped down the
frontstretch during the 2005 O'Reilly
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. (Photo courtesy of
Bill Freis)
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