By LONNIE WHEATLEY

ASCS

TULSA, Okla. (December 2, 2009) - A new facet was added to the Chili Bowl Nationals in 2009 in the form of the Inaugural Chili Bowl Race of Champions.

Now, with an assist from Vacuworx International, the Second Annual Chili Bowl Race of Champions will make the Tuesday, January 12, opener of the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at the QuikTrip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway a must-see event for any race fan.

Vacuworx International, a Tulsa-based world leader in vacuum lifting for field applications, has signed on as title sponsor for the Chili Bowl Race of Champions, an invitational race that pits past race winners and other top perennial event contenders.

Headquartered in Tulsa, OK, Vacuworx International is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Vacuworx is the world leader in vacuum lifting for field applications and the originator of this product. The Vacuworx lifting system is a self contained vacuum lifter that attaches to a host of machines such as excavators, cranes, wheel loaders, and fork lifts just to name a few. It is controlled by the equipment operator remotely from the safety of the host machine, eliminating the need for any additional personnel or placing anyone in harm's way. Companies are reporting increases of seven to 12 times faster than traditional material handling methods by using the Vacuworx system and achieving this with less personnel and no damage to the material or any type of coating. Additional information regarding Vacuworx is available at www.vacuworx.com.

In the 2009 edition of the Chili Bowl, Sammy Swindell kicked off his successful pursuit of an unprecedented fifth Golden Driller trophy by besting the 14-car Race of Champions field. Swindell went on to post a perfect Chili Bowl experience by winning his heat race, qualifying race and "A" Feature in Wednesday's qualifying action and then finishing it off with a triumph in Saturday's 50-lap finale.

Swindell fought off a late bid from 2006 Chili Bowl winner Tim McCreadie to win the inaugural Vacuworx Race of Champions, with other competitors including Dave Darland, Jay Drake, J.J. Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Tony Elliott, Scott Hatton, Jason Leffler, Tracy Hines, Damion Gardner, Steve Buckwalter, Johnny Heydenreich and Cory Kruseman. Buckwalter and Elliott were voted into the field by the fans.A limited number of tickets remain for the Tuesday night, January 12, Warren CAT Qualifying event that includes the Second Annual Vacuworx International Chili Bowl Race of Champions. Tickets are available for just $26 by calling 918-838-3777.

The Tuesday night spectacular kicks off five full nights of competition at the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals atop the QuikTrip Center's º-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway clay oval, set for January 12-16, 2010.

Only pit passes remain for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Additional information regarding the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is available at http://www.chilibowl.com/.