Stewart out of Chili Bowl Nationals

Stewart Crashes in Preliminary Race for Chili Bowl Nationals

TULSA, Okla., (Jan. 14, 2006) - Tony Stewart, the reigning champion in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, was taken to a local hospital for a preliminary examination after he flipped his Midget car in the opening laps of last night's qualifying race for the 20th annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Raceway.

Complaining of pain in his right arm after the crash, Stewart was taken to the hospital where X-rays revealed no broken bones and a CT scan proved negative.

In a precautionary measure, Stewart was fitted with a cast until a more extensive evaluation can be made by his own doctors on Monday.

"I'm a little sore," said Stewart. "The doctors were great and did a pretty thorough evaluation of me. They didn't find anything broken, but just to be sure, they fitted me with a cast that I'll wear until I meet with my doctors on Monday. It looks a lot worse than it is.

"In no way should this affect my upcoming test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, my plans to compete in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona or my participation in Daytona Speedweeks."

-tsm-