From Meredith Kaplan Burns, Mudclodbob Photo
Laguna Beach, CA — Open wheel fans are clamoring to get tickets to the upcoming 24th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals, and Steve Lewis is eager to be a part of the racing action so he will bring his famous pearl white midgets with the red number 9 back to midget racing!
The Nine Racing, Inc. midget team will bring three drivers to the annual Tulsa, Oklahoma, indoor midget event, January 12–16, 2010, announced Steve Lewis. “The annual Chili Bowl events feature the best in midget racing and this is an excellent event to showcase the team’s return to racing,” explained Lewis.
The Nine Racing team is proud to have on board three drivers with proven credentials and backgrounds of winning races and championships, including Jason Meyers, PJ Jones, and the up-and-coming Tanner Mullens. Legendary mechanic and tuner Rusty Kunz will manage the three-car Chili Bowl effort along with the help of mechanic Glenn Martin. The team will run Spike Chassis with Esslinger power.
“It gives me great pleasure to be a part of the Nine Racing Chili Bowl program this year, and I have always wanted to have the opportunity to race at the Chili Bowl with Rusty Kunz,” said Meyers. “Now that I have my chance I will make every effort to bring home the big main event win for the team.”
“I’ve known and admired PJ Jones for many years and we are pleased to have him as a part of our program this year,” commented Lewis. “He has been fast at the Chili Bowl in past years and I know Rusty will give him a good car so that PJ will do his job well. We are also pleased to add a young and up-and-coming driver to our Chili Bowl lineup, who is Tanner Mullens. At the young age of 16, Tanner has a vast 410 Sprint Car background and has shown that he has the talent and the will to win and we look forward to working with him.
The outlook for the Nine Racing, Inc. team is excellent for the coming season with the high probability of being able to return to the USAC National Midge series with a full-time driver. “We are offering a first-class racing service program for the young driver who has an eye on a future in auto racing and we are in the process of working out the arrangements to kick off the ‘driver development program’ with an announcement soon,” exclaimed Lewis. The Nine Racing driver development program will be managed by Rusty Kunz for the dirt aspect and Dave Steele will mange the preparation and driver coaching portions of the pavement program.
For additional information about the Nine Racing, Inc. racing services and driver development program, please visit the Nine Racing website at www.nineracing.com, or contact Rusty Kunz at the Nine Racing shop at (317) 858-7503.