Chili
Bowl Entry Count Climbs to 223
Three
More Past Winners File Entries!
 Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (December 12, 2008)
– The cast of competitors being
assembled for the 23rd Annual
Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals
presented by General Tire just keeps
getting tougher with each passing day.
In just the past couple of days, names such as
Gardner, Drake, Hatton, Cottle, Kaeding,
Crawley, Altig, Pedregon and more have
been added to the list of drivers entered
for the event that takes place at the
QuikTrip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway on
January 13-17, 2009.
And with the December 15 pre-entry deadline on
the other side of the weekend, the
official pre-entry count has climbed to
223 as of the close of business on Friday,
December 12.
Past Chili Bowl winners Damion Gardner, Scott
Hatton and Jay Drake are among the latest
entries, running the total of past Chili
Bowl champions entered to seven as they
join four-time winner Sammy Swindell,
two-time winner Cory Kruseman and
single-time winners Tim McCreadie and
Tracy Hines.
Defending champion Gardner will join forces with
Daryl Saucier in his bid to become the
first back-to-back winner in Chili Bowl
history.
Gardner will be teamed with Kokomo
shoe Shane Cottle, a third-place finisher
in last year's Chili Bowl.
Coming off his 18th consecutive year
among the top ten in Badger Midget points,
Hatton returns to the Chili Bowl after a
two-year hiatus.
Drake shakes off a two-year retirement to fill
the sixth and final seat of the Keith Kunz
Motorsports stable of entries.
Other drivers with past Chili Bowl championship
main event starts to enter over the past
two days include Johnny Rodriguez, Bud
Kaeding, Brandon Waelti and Bubba Altig.
Other notables include Cruz Pedregon, who
captured his second career NHRA Funny Car
championship in 2008, and Tim Crawley, the
three-time ASCS National champion that
tallied 19 overall feature wins on the
year.
Stephanie Chappell also makes a return to Chili Bowl
competition, bumping the number of female
racers to eight thus far.
The number of rookie contenders has expanded to
43.
The 23rd Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl
Nationals presented by General Tire kicks
off Tuesday night, January 13, with the
first of four qualifying nights.
Tuesday's card will also include
the Chili Bowl Race of Champions,
featuring past event winners and other top
Chili Bowl contenders squaring off in a
special feature race.
The top three finishers from the Qualifying Night
features will automatically lock into the
Saturday night, January 17, 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 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl
Midget Nationals presented by General Tire
has evolved into a five-night extravaganza
of indoor, dirt track midget racing, and
ranks among the world’s most prestigious
auto racing events with the 2008 edition
of the event attracting a record number of
274 competitors.
A limited number of reserved seats remain for
Tuesday night's Qualifying event and Race
of Champions for just $26 apiece.
Tickets may be obtained by calling
the ticket office at 918-838-3777.
Only pit passes remain for Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, as those tickets were
depleted in May.
Additional Lucas Oil Chili Bowl presented by
General Tire Information:
What: 23rd
Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget
Nationals presented by General Tire
Where: Tulsa
Expo Raceway – ¼-mile clay oval inside
the QuikTrip Center at the Tulsa State
Fairgrounds
When:
January 13-17, 2009
Tuesday – Qualifying Night plus Chili Bowl Race
of Champions
Wednesday - Creek Nation Casino Qualifying Night
Thursday – Warren CAT Qualifying Night
Friday – Bass Pro Shops Qualifying Night
Saturday – Championship Feature Events
Past Winners:
Damion Gardner (2008), Tony Stewart (2007 and
2002), Sammy Swindell (1998, 1996, 1992
and 1989), Cory Kruseman (2004 and 2000),
Dan Boorse (2003 and 1999), Tim McCreadie
(2006), Tracy Hines (2005), 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).
Trade Show:
Always a popular attraction at the Chili Bowl
Midget Nationals is the Trade Show, which
is open to the public each day (Tuesday
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.
Tickets: Four-night tickets for Wednesday through Saturday
of the 23rd Annual Lucas Oil
Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General
Tire were depleted by the end of May. A limited number of reserved seats for Tuesday night's
Qualifying Event and Chili Bowl Race of
Champions are available for $26 per person
and may be obtained by calling
918-838-3777 or at the gate. Pit passes for all five nights are available at the gate as
well.
Chili Bowl on TV: Portions of the 23rd Annual Lucas Oil
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by
General Tire will be broadcast on SPEED TV
on a one-week tape-delayed basis on
Saturday night, January 24.
Additional details will be
available soon.
Additional information regarding the Lucas Oil
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by
General Tire is available at http://www.chilibowl.com/
or by calling 918-838-3777.
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