Backstretch Motorsports

Saturday, January 12 from Tulsa, Okla.Live on HBO Pay-Per-View

TULSA, OKLAHOMA (January 10, 2008) - The thousands of spectators who fill the TulsaQuikTrip Center from Jan. 8-12 for the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals - not to mentionthose countless more race fans who will see Saturday evening's finale televised live on pay-per-view - won't just witness some fabulous racing. They'll also be watching many of the futurestars of racing.

Perhaps more than any other short-track event in recent times, the Chili Bowl has become asneak-preview kind of race, one at which attentive viewers can get an early look at some ofAmerica's emerging motorsports talent.

The list of drivers whose career ladders have included a Chili Bowl rung - or several - isimpressive, indeed, starting with two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Tony Stewart,who has also twice hoisted the "Golden Driller" trophy for winning this Tulsa classic.

Others who have made the jump from Midgets in Tulsa to NASCAR's "big three" touringcircuits include Sprint Cup stars Kasey Kahne and J.J. Yeley, Busch Series contender JasonLeffler and Bobby East, and Busch and Truck Series veteran Tracy Hines.

Stewart is clear in his belief that Chili Bowl experience can do wonders for a young driver'sconfidence, not to mention his career. "Coming up and just getting the chance to race with someof these drivers is an experience of a lifetime," Tony declares, "yet alone having the possibilityof winning the whole thing."

This year's Chili Bowl will feature several young drivers who have already forged links to majorNASCAR teams. Among them are former USAC Midget and Sprint Car champion Josh Wise (adevelopment driver for Michael Waltrip Racing), Bryan Clauson and Brady Bacon (ChipGanassi Racing), Billy Wease (Penske Racing), Kevin Swindell (Gillett Evernham Motorsports),Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing) and 2005 Chili Bowl winner Tim McCreadie(Richard Childress Racing).

And hot on the heels of those young men is another group of "25 and under" racers who haveChili Bowl glory as a short-term plan, and a major-league opportunity as their ultimate goal.Sharp-eyed fans will no doubt be marking many of them down as drivers to watch. Among them:two-time USAC Sprint Car champion Levi Jones; Kasey Kahne Racing driver Brad Sweet;USAC Western Sprint and Midget star Ryan Kaplan; World of Outlaws Late Model winner JoshRichards; Darren Hagen, a threat to win in both USAC Sprints and Midgets; Missouri star BradLoyet; Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA) champion Brad Kuhn; JessicaZemken, a popular winged Sprint Car winner in the Northeast; young USAC contenders ChrisWindom, Hunter Schuerenberg, Dakoda Armstrong, Cole Whitt and Brett Beauchamp; ARCAstock car sensation (and third-place finisher in last year's Chili Bowl) Justin Allgaier; teenagedPOWRi Midget contender Zach Daum of Illinois; California's Justin Grant, a Bay Cities RacingAssociation (BCRA) champion at 17; New Yorker Coleman Gulick, to young to drive onAmerica's highways but already a winged Sprint Car winner; Indiana Sprint Car winner ShaneHollingsworth; and home-state favorites Dustin Morgan of Collinsville and Donnie RayCrawford of Broken Arrow.

All of these drivers, plus more than 200 of their closest friends and fiercest rivals, will endure arugged series of "qualifying nights" on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, hoping above all tomake the 24-car starting field for Saturday night's prestigious A-Main on January 12.

ABOUT CHILI BOWL TELECAST:Don't miss a minute! HBO Pay-Per-View presents the live, with no commercials, televisionbroadcast of the 2008 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 8:00 pmET (5:00 pm PT). The HBO Pay-Per-View telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95, andwill be available to all cable and satellite homes throughout the US and Canada. Order directlyfrom your digital cable or satellite TV system or contact your provider's customer service fordetails. A subscription to HBO is not required. Visit http://www.hbo.com./events/chili.

On Friday, January 11 at 10:30 pm ET (7:30 pm PT), racing fans can log on to NASCAR.comand Foxsports.com to watch a free live video webcast of the final night of qualifications.