 TULSA,
OK (January 10-13) -- Tony Stewart captured the 21st annual Chili Bowl Midget
Nationals Saturday besting a record field of 267 entries at the Tulsa Expo
Raceway. It was Stewart's second win at the annual 4-day event which features
competitors racing on a temporary indoor 1/4-mile dirt track. The two-time NASCAR champion's first win
came in 2002 using a Mopar engine, while this year's win came in his first
season as owner and driver of a Chevrolet-powered midget. Although the cars
were different in both Stewart's wins, the tires remained the same--Hoosier. The Indiana-based tire brand has
dominated midget racing over the past decade with over 95% of this year's Chili
Bowl participants competing on Hoosier racing tires. Despite Oklahoma declaring
a State of Emergency due to ice storms, nearly 15,000 fans were witness to
Saturday's exciting 50-lap finale. After starting 5th, Stewart took the lead on
the 10th lap en route to the win in front of an appreciative crowd.
The record-setting 267-car field was divided up with each driver having an
opportunity to compete in one of the first three nights of qualifying races
held Wednesday through Friday.
On Wednesday, Davey Ray, using a D10 (LR) and a RD12 (RR) combination, took the win followed by Brad Kuhn and Donnie Ray
Crawford. All three competed on Hoosier racing tires.
On Thursday, Kokomo's Shane Cottle. riding on a D12/RD12 combination, narrowly took the win over a
hard-charging Justin Allgaier at the finish line. Both drivers raced on Hoosier
tires, while J.J. Yeley took the final podium spot after crashing in his heat
race.
On Friday, Indiana's Dave Darland, using a D10/RD12 combination, took the win followed by Columbus'
Indiana's Tony Stewart. Both drivers rode on Hoosier tires to take the top two
spots with Mat Neely finishing in third place.
On Saturday, an almost endless succession of last-chance races (20 in all)
were contested to determine the final starting grid for the 25-car field.
In the 50-lap finale, Indiana driver's Dave Darland and Shane Cottle led the
25-car field to the starting line. When the green flag waved, Cottle sprinted
into the lead with fifth starting Tony Stewart moving into second place after just
five laps.
By the 10th lap Stewart had taken over the race lead--a position he would
not relinquish driving the Tony Stewart Motorsports Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops
No. 20 Spike Chassis.
After 50 laps, the checkered flag waved with Tony Stewart taking the win
riding on a pair of Hoosier RD12 midget tires.
After the win Stewart commented, "The (Hoosier) tires were awesome! We
had absolutely no (tire) problems all week. Even when the track got slick we still had
a lot of bite." Stewart concluded, "With Hoosier tires, you just can't go wrong."
Fellow NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley
finished in second place. The Arizona native started seventh en route to the
runner-up finish.
Young Justin Allgaier finished in third place after starting sixth. Allgaier
is the son of Mike and Dorothy Allgaier who own and operate Hoosier Tire
Midwest.
Shane Cottle settled for fourth place after starting on the outside pole, while rookie Donnie Ray Crawford
caught everyone's eye finishing fifth in his first-ever midget event.
First organized in 1987 by Lanny Edwards and Emmett Hahn, the Chili Bowl
Midget Nationals continues to attract an ever-growing number of participants and
spectators and this year was no exception with a another record number of
entries.
Hoosier Open Wheel Dirt Product Manager Neil Cowman was in Oklahoma
attending the four-day event and provided most of the details used in this report. Cowman
was joined by Hoosier's Irish Saunders.
Cowman commented, "We would like to thank Emmett Hahn and
Lanny Edwards along with their entire staff for the hospitality they extended
to everyone during the week."
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. congratulates Tony Stewart for
capturing his 2nd Chili Bowl Midget Nationals victory on Hoosiers and extends
its thanks to all the competitors who raced on Hoosier tires at this year's
Chili Bowl event. For more information about the Chili Bowl Midget
Nationals
visit their website at www.chilibowl.com.
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