LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY READY TO HOST CRUCIAL PRO PULLING LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TOUR EVENT SEPTEMBER 2, 2006

WHEATLAND, Mo. (August 31, 2006) – The brilliant lights and sprawling amenities of newly built, multi-million dollar Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri await the arrival of truck and tractor pulling’s finest, when it hosts the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League on Saturday, September 2, 2006.

Originally scheduled in mid-June as the second Champions Tour event of its inaugural season, the elite point series meet was instead rained out, and now takes on added significance as its next-to-last major event of the year.

Appropriately tabbed “The Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, Lucas Oil Speedway’s infield will glisten – and rumble, with four potent divisions of Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League competition, including Super Modified Two-Wheel Drive Truck, Pro Mod Four-Wheel Drive Truck, Unlimited Super Stock Tractor, and 10-thousand pound Pro Stock Tractor.

Also present will be television crews to capture all of the trackside action for future airing to millions of U.S. households and international captures on both cable sports giant ESPN2, plus The Outdoor Channel.

Incredibly, each of the featured classes is embroiled in hotly contested point races, with several recent - and dramatic twists and turns. The potent, supercharged Super Modified Two-Wheel Drive Truck class now finds both daughter and father at the front, with crowd favorite, Lisa Tatum, holding a six-point margin in her yellow and orange-flamed “Full Throttle” Chevrolet, while veteran pulling dad, Tony Tatum, also of Bardstown, Kentucky, sits a precarious second in his similar Sassy Engine-powered bowtie, “Xtreme Pleasure”, 268 to 262. The Tatum’s took the lead at the most recent event in Hamburg, New York, after season-long point leader, Jared Nelson, of Altamont, Illinois, destroyed an engine in his “Midnight Revenger” Chevrolet, and finished far behind. The equally popular Long Brothers, Ricky and Keith, of Glasgow, Kentucky, are mathematically still in the hunt, their “Bulls Eye” Chevy, and “Willy Makit” nostalgia-bodied Willys, sit third and fourth, at the moment with 252 and 244 points. Bob Martin, Stan Shelton, Darrell Varner, Jordan Nelson and Dan Walsh are among other top stars involved in the points chase, and expected to attend.

Just one track position (worth two points), are all that separate first and second in the mountain-motor Pro Mod Four-Wheel Drive Truck class. Sitting gingerly in the lead out of Versailles, Kentucky is Steve Clem, in the immaculate “Ratical” Chevy with 215, while another wily veteran, Jim Bosch, sits poised with the “Midnight Raider” at 213 points, and hails from West Olive, Michigan. Another father-and-daughter team occupy third and fourth in the division, as engine-builder Tom Tormoehlen and teenage daughter, LeAnn, have their “Spellbound” and “Charmed” Chevrolets currently at 193 and 189 points. The Dixie Chopper lawnmower company-backed Dodge of Fillmore, Indiana’s Jake Zaring, plus Brad Hunter’s new “My Little Mule”, Dave Bamber, Ken Samet, and Randy Nelson are among those who have battled it out all season for the organization’s first world title, and are looking to make their mark before the dust settles in 2006.

While not blood related, the top two machines in Unlimited Super Stock Tractor belong on the same team, with its owner, Larry Roberts, of Wilmington, Ohio, in a tie with “The Big Toy”, alongside his company’s farm manager, Tim Howell, aboard Roberts’ second machine, “Ryan’s Toy”, both Internationals, and each at 263 points. Jordan Lustik, of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, breaks up the stranglehold, his sleek Agco White “Silver Bullet” is a mere six points out of the lead with 257. Another Roberts-owned alcohol tractor, driven by hired gun, Johnnie Evans, is fourth after having accumulated 245 points with “The Big Toy 2”, while Waupun, Wisconsin, Minneapolis Moline diehard and second-generation pilot, Aaron Hull, is fifth at 231 with his yellow MMG 1000. Others expected to compete include point contenders Sid Broughton, and Joe Kwiatkowski, to name a few.

The adrenaline level doesn’t stop there, as the ominous, smoke-belching 10-thousand pound Pro Stock Tractor division witnessed a lead change just last week. Steve Wischmeier, of Seymour, Indiana, is now in first with his John Deere entry “Barely Getting By” at 399, but its only a four point cushion, as Mike Linder’s trusty JD appropriately titled “Linder Brothers”, out of Edison, Ohio, has 395. Just recently it was Linder in command of the division, the swap coming after a sixth place finish in Terre Haute, Indiana, an event won by Wischmeier. Out of the race, but nevertheless one of pulling’s class acts, the Boyd and Sons Pulling Team, of Washington, Indiana, are third and fourth at 375 and 373, their John Deere machines “Lucas Oil Green Streak” and “Green Streak II” driven at different times by father, Steve, and sons Greg and Mike. Locked in a tie with the second Boyd tractor is Mickey Shorter, from Sullivan, Indiana, astride his show-stopping Buck Eater, also a John Deere, and likewise with 373 points.

Gates are scheduled to open at 2:00 p.m., with trackside action getting under way promptly at 6:30 p.m. Admission to the event is: $22 (adults), $18 (seniors age 62 & over/teens ages 12-17), with children 11 and under admitted free. Your ticket admission also grants full access to the puller’s pit areas, providing a perfect opportunity to view these incredible machines, and their star drivers up close.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located on US 54 Highway at the east city limits of Wheatland, MO (inset between Springfield and St. Louis). For more information, please visit their official website at: www.lucasoilspeedway.com, call: 417-282-5984, or email: moreinfo@lucasoilspeedway.com.

The final event of the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League’s Champions Tour will take place on Saturday, September 23, 2006 at the Delaware County Fair, in Delaware, Ohio.
The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League is a concerted effort by owner and series title rights holder, Lucas Oil Products, Inc., of Corona, Calif., along with major associates Dixie Chopper, R&L Carriers, K&N Filters, Summit Racing Equipment, Torco Race Fuels, Inc., General Tire, and others to properly conduct, facilitate, package and position the sport of truck and tractor pulling to an elevated level.

For updated news and information, please visit the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League’s official website at: www.propulling.com, or call (812) 216-4024.