MOPAR HEATS UP CHILI BOWL WITH ADDITIONAL $10K

A Mopar engine, like Gary Stanton’s see here, will add $10,000 to the winner of the Chili Bowl. (photo courtesy Mopar)

For the seventh straight year, Mopar® will turn up the heat at the 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals by offering its $10,000 bonus check for any Mopar-powered midget car driver who takes home a win in the prestigious event. More than 35 Mopar-powered entries (among a current field of 277 midget cars) will compete for the Mopar $10,000 bonus at the Chili Bowl Nationals’ 50-lap main event on Jan. 12 at the Tulsa Expo Raceway in Oklahoma. Combined with the $10,000 winner’s check, the Mopar bonus offers drivers with a Mopar power plant the opportunity to double their purse with a victory.

Both Tony Stewart and Tracy Hines banked the Mopar $10,000 bonus with their victories at the Chili Bowl Nationals in 2002 and 2005, respectively.

“Our Mopar bonus has become a tradition at the Chili Bowl Nationals,” said Rob Richard, Director of Global Mopar Parts, Sales and Service Marketing, Chrysler LLC. “Only Mopar offers this type of bonus purse at the event. With more than 35 Mopar-powered midget entries, Team Mopar will be a threat to claim the ‘Golden Driller’ trophy once again. Drivers running our Mopar power plant have a chance for a very handsome payday if they can bring home the event win.”



Owner of the Gary Scelzi Motorsports Mopar/K&N Filters/Oakley midget piloted regularly by his 17-year-old phenomenon driver, Michael Faccinto, four-time NHRA POWERade champion Scelzi will seize the chance provided by the NHRA off-season to take the wheel of his midget car at the Chili Bowl Nationals. Here he is making practice laps on Tuesday. (Bob Hesser photo)

A number of high-profile drivers are among the more than 35 Mopar-powered entries ready to battle it out.
NASCAR Nextel Cup standout Kasey Kahne begins his second year as owner of Mopar’s factory-backed team in World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint and USAC Sprint and Midget competition, Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR). In addition to his own ride, Kahne will also field midget cars piloted by his rising young USAC hotshoes, Brady Bacon and Brad Sweet. Rounding out the KKR “Four Horseman” at the Chili Bowl is WoO veteran Joey Saldana, fresh off a career-best season that included 13 wins and a runner-up WoO Series finish.

After scoring his second straight USAC Midget championship under the Team Mopar banner in 2007, Wilke-PAK Racing’s Jerry Coons Jr. will seek to kick off the 2008 season in grand style.

Several other Mopar-powered drivers scheduled to compete at the Chili Bowl Nationals include 2007 Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA) champion Brad Kuhn, young NASCAR-bound and former KKR driver Kevin Swindell, and two additional future stars, 16-year-old Dakoda Armstrong and 17-year-old Darrin Bolton.

Championship Saturday will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View for the first time. The live broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. For ordering information, visit hbo.com/events/chili.[01/11/08]