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GARDNER DEVOURS CHILI BOWL COMPETITION AND OTHER RACING NEWS

BIG WINNER: Damion Gardner was fast all weekend in winning the 22nd annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Saturday night at Tulsa Expo Raceway. Gardner also won Friday night’s preliminary program.

SPONSOR SIGNED: Mopar has signed on as title sponsor of the USAC National Midget Series. The series will be known as the USAC Mopar Midget National Championship.

TROPHY TIME: 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti was selected as the Jerry Titus Driver of the Year by the membership of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. He received the award at the annual AARWBA All-America Team banquet.

COUNTING DOWN: The NHRA made several alterations to its Countdown to the Championship title format, which debuted during the 2007 season. The Countdown to 1 will now include the final six races of the season and feature the top 10 drivers in the standings after the 18th race, the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.

PULLING OUT: Torco Racing Fuel is withdrawing its sponsorship of many teams in the NHRA and IHRA drag racing series, leaving many searching for funding with the season only a few weeks away. Torco will continue its event sponsorships and reevaluate its other programs prior to the 2009 campaign.

SOLD: Speedway Motorsports Inc. officially closed on its purchase of New Hampshire International Speedway, which will now be known as New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

LEAVING: AAA will end its sponsorship Roush Fenway Racing and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver David Ragan at the end of the season.

DEBUT: Both McLaren and Toyota unveiled their new Formula One cars for the 2008 season.

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