Tony Stewart Racing ready to defend Chili Bowl title

For Tony Stewart Racing, the annual journey to Tulsa, Okla., for the biggest Midget race of the year has always been about new beginnings. In 2007, team owner Tony Stewart made the decision to bring his own operation to the Tulsa Expo Center for the first time in event history. Newly signed with Chevrolet as a primary sponsor and engine provider, TSR didn't disappoint as Stewart claimed the brand's first Golden Driller trophy.

This year's 22nd Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, will also mark another milestone for TSR. Touted as a team to watch, Stewart, along with Levi Jones, Tracy Hines and Josh Richards, will take to the quarter-mile, dirt oval in the hopes of earning a second consecutive victory.

Stewart has two Golden Drillers in his collection after Chili Bowl victories in 2002 and '07. The two-time Cup Series champion will lead the TSR team into this week's event, which concludes Saturday, driving a special-edition No. 20 TSR/Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Armor All/Spike entry. This year's edition of the race will see Stewart carry a unique florescent-yellow paint scheme that can only be described as breathtaking.

Jones drives the No. 20J/TSR/Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Armor All entry into the event riding the momentum of his second career USAC National Sprint Car Series championship. The veteran driver also won his first USAC National Midget Car Series event in 2007 and will look to add another at this week's Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Jones finished 18th in the second B-main in the 2007 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals finale last January. He posted Chevrolet's first Midget racing score in his preliminary night on Jan. 7, 2007, as he won a B-Main event.

Hines, making his first dirt-track appearance since an off-road motorcycle accident sidelined him this past April, will return to the seat of the No. 21 TSR/Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Armor All machine this week. The 2005 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals winner made his return to racing on Nov. 8 at Phoenix International Raceway after recovering from extensive lower-extremity injuries. In last year's Chili Bowl Midget Nationals A-main, Hines battled the flu to finish 10th.

Late Model ace Richards is set to make his third career Chili Bowl Midget Nationals appearance this week, as he'll again join the TSR team behind the wheel of the No. 20J/TSR/Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Armor All entry. Richards wrapped up the 2007 event with a 10th-place finish in the first G-main during the final night of racing. The 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Rookie of the Year will look to make his first career Chili Bowl Midget Nationals A-main start.

The TSR team represents one of the notable power-teams entered in this year's Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Combined, the formidable foursome has earned three Chili Bowl Midget Nationals titles, two NASCAR championships, one Indy Racing League (IRL) championship and eight USAC National Series titles.

"I think it's very feasible that we could get four cars in the A-Main. Levi Jones and Tracy Hines -- they're guys that should be in every A-Main every week. And Josh Richards, he's one of the brightest young stars, if not the brightest young star, in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Every year that he runs a Midget, he keeps getting better and better, too," Stewart said.

"I'm probably the weakest link of the group, and got lucky and won it last year, which was a great deal for both us and Chevrolet, who had just come on board. I expect all three of those guys to be in the A-Main and, hopefully, I'll make it a fourth."

The Chili Bowl semifinals will be streamed on NASCAR.COM at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 11.

Chili Bowl on HBO

HBO Pay-Per-View presents the live, with no commercials, television broadcast of the 2008 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday (Jan. 12). The HBO Pay-Per-View telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95, and will be available to all cable and satellite homes throughout the U.S. and Canada. Order directly from your digital cable or satellite TV system or contact your provider's customer service for details. A subscription to HBO is not required. Visit http://www.hbo.com/events/chili.