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Mopar Turns Up the Heat With $10,000 Bonus At Chili Bowl Nationals

– For the seventh straight year, Mopar?-powered midget car drivers will battle for the Mopar $10,000 bonus check at the 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals
– Kasey Kahne, Gary Scelzi and Jerry Coons Jr. are part of the Team Mopar contingent vying for the Mopar $10,000 bonus
– The 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals event details

Center Line, Mich. ? 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, 2008 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.?

Kasey Kahne, Gary Scelzi and Jerry Coons Jr. are part of the Team Mopar contingent vying for the Mopar $10,000 bonus
A number of high-profile drivers are among the more than 35 Mopar-powered entries ready to battle it out for the Mopar $10,000 bonus.

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.

Four-time NHRA POWERade champion Gary Scelzi drives the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing, and was one of only four Funny Car drivers to qualify for the 2007 NHRA POWERade Countdown to 1 two-race title shootout. Scelzi will have the rare chance to pursue his other passion ? circle track racing. Owner of the Gary Scelzi Motorsports Mopar/K&N Filters/Oakley midget piloted regularly by his 17-year-old phenomenon driver, Michael Faccinto, Scelzi will seize the chance provided by the NHRA off-season to take the wheel of his midget car at the Chili Bowl Nationals.

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 by capturing the $10,000 Mopar bonus and his first-ever Chili Bowl Nationals championship. Coons? stellar 2007 season was recognized by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association with first team honors in the ?Short Track? category.

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.

The 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals event details
The 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals begin on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, with pre-qualifying. Qualifying is set for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Bass Pro Shops 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 www.hbo.com/events/chili/.

70 Years of Mopar
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It was also widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s ? the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth ?package cars? equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of ?Special Parts? for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

Today, Chrysler LLC?s Global Service & Parts division is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep? and Dodge vehicles sold around the world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards.

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