22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Midget Nationals

Team Mopar® drivers may have came up short in their bid to win the Golden Driller award and the $10,000 Mopar bonus at the 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals, but Mopar-powered drivers nonetheless left an indelible stamp on the prestigious midget event.

Held at the QuikTrip Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Jan. 8–12, Mopar drivers such as NASCAR Sprint Cup star and Mopar team owner Kasey Kahne and four-time time NHRA POWERade champion Gary Scelzi lent their star power to the “superbowl of midget racing.”

Team Mopar drivers took part in an autograph session on Jan. 11 at the Oklahoma Dodge Dealers Booth of the Chili Bowl trade show. The event was packed wall-to-wall with fans, including some that lined up three hours before the start of signing. Mopar also announced in a press conference at the Chili Bowl that it was taking the reins as title sponsor of the 2008 USAC Mopar National Midget Championship (check out the Competition article on page 25 for more info).

On the first night of qualifying, Jan. 9, Jerry Coons Jr., Mopar’s two-time and defending Mopar Midget National champion, drove his Wilke-PAK Racing No. 11 car to a third-place finish. On Jan. 10, Brad Kuhn steered his Gary Stanton-powered Spike Mopar to a qualifying night win. The final night of qualifying on Jan. 11 saw Kasey Kahne take fourth in his Budweiser Mopar midget.

In the Jan. 12 A-Main 50-lap finale, broadcast live for the first time ever on HBO® Pay-Per-View, Kevin Swindell (shown battling with the No. 91 of Kahne) led the Team Mopar contingent, wheeling his No. 39 Mopar up from 14th to take the sixth spot. Kasey Kahne Racing’s Brady Bacon also had a strong showing, coming from the back of the pack to finish seventh.

So Mopar midget racing fans, mark your calendars for early January 2009. This event is one you won’t want to miss!