Chili Bowl Nationals news 2008-03-28

Chili Bowl Tuesday Converted to Full Qualifying Night

TULSA, Okla. (March 28, 2008) -- Tuesday night at the 23rd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals won't just be for "newbies" and relative newcomers any more. In 2009, the Tuesday night card will become a full-blown qualifying night event, making for four nights of qualifying action to set the stage for Saturday's championship main events.

The 23rd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals is slated to unfold over the course of five nights, from January 13-17, 2009, atop the 0x00bc-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway inside the Tulsa State Fairgrounds' QuikTrip Center.

With burgeoning car counts, the event expanded to five nights prior to the 2007 edition. The Tuesday night event has been reserved for Chili Bowl rookies and relative newcomers to the event and auto racing in general over each of the past two years.

That will change in 2009, as the Tuesday event will carry the same weight as the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday qualifying events. And the Tuesday card will also carry the same abundance of talent, experience and quality as the other qualifying nights, with the rookie crop divvied up over the four qualifying nights just as the sport's top guns and stars will be split over four nights.

With the additional qualifying night, the top three finishers from each qualifying night "A" Main event will be locked into Saturday night's 50-lap championship finale rather than the top four, which has been the case since the Chili Bowl Nationals expanded to three qualifying nights in 2002.

Tickets may still be ordered either in increments of four-nights (which includes the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday qualifying events along with Saturday's championship feature events) or all five nights (which includes all four qualifying nights along with Saturday's championship finale).

Four-night tickets are available for $185, with five-night tickets available for $211. A $1 per ticket handling charge is applied if paying by credit card.

Ticket holders from the 2008 edition of the Chili Bowl Nationals have until May 21 to renew ticket orders or make adjustments to existing ticket orders. After the May 21 renewal deadline, any available seats will be allotted to new ticket orders on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets may be ordered by calling the Chili Bowl ticket office at 918-838-3777 or online at www.chilibowl.com.

Earlier this year, California native Damion Gardner became the 16th different winner in Chili Bowl history when he drove Jason Leffler's car to victory lane, capturing the coveted Golden Driller trophy over a record field of 274 competitors.

Gardner joined a prestigious list of past Chili Bowl champions that includes four-time winner Sammy Swindell, two-time winners Tony Stewart, Cory Kruseman and Dan Boorse, and one-time winners Tim McCreadie, Tracy Hines, Jay Drake, Billy Boat, Donnie Beechler, Andy Hillenburg, Dave Blaney, Lealand McSpadden, Jon Heydenreich, Scott Hatton and Rich Vogler.

Additional information regarding the Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals is available by calling 918-838-3777 or at www.chilibowl.com.

-credit: cbn/lw