Discovery Channel Takes Viewers Along for High-Energy Ride in Original Series - Twenty-five men and women are one step closer to realizing their dream of becoming a NASCAR superstar as Roush Racing and Discovery Channel today announce the list of drivers who will compete in this year's Roush Racing gong show.

Jack Roush and his team of judges poured over 1,700 applications and narrowed it down to a list of 25 drivers from across the United States, Canada and New Zealand in search of the best drivers to take part in this exclusive competition.  The winner will be awarded a fully sponsored ride in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. 

Roush Racing is teaming up with Discovery Channel to capture all of the excitement and drama of the competition on film with unprecedented access to the gong show.  Candidates will compete on and off the track, testing their skills behind the wheel as well as their marketability and fan appeal.  This high-energy 13-part series will debut on Discovery Channel this fall.

Following is a list of the drivers selected to compete in the first round at Martinsville Speedway, August 2-4:

Name	Age	Hometown	Current Racing Circuit
Justin Allgaier	19	Springfield, Ill.	ARCA; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Tim Andrews	22	Concord, N.C.	Legends Pro division; NASCAR Busch North Series
Chuck Barnes	23	Louisville, Ky.	Sunoco Super Series Late Model division
Sam Beam	25	Mooresville, N.C.	USAC Focus Midgets
Jason Boyd	24	Orlando, Fla.	Fascar Sun Belt series
Jeffrey Choquette	19	Loxahatchee, Fla.	Late models
Johnny Clark	26	Hallowell, Maine	P.A.S.S. tour
Erik Darnell	23	Beach Park, Ill.	ARCA; Autozone Elite
Sondi Eden	28	Crawfordsville, Ind.	USAC midgets
Nevin George	23	Matawan, N.J.	modifieds
James Gué	23	Athens, Ga	Grand Am series
Jason Hogan	23	Cleveland, Ga.	Autozone Elite SE series
Matthew Jaskol	21	Las Vegas, Nev.	ASA Speed Trucks
Bud Kaeding	26	Indianapolis, Ind.	USAC
Travis Kittleson	26	Mooresville, N.C.	Sunbelt Series
Michael Lewis	26	Noblesville, Ind.	USAC sprints & midgets
Scott Lynch	25	Las Vegas, Nev.	NASCAR Grand National West division
Matt McCall	24	Denver, N.C.	UARA late models
Danny O'Quinn	20	Coeburn, Va.	ARCA; USAR Hooter's Pro Cup
Christi Passmore	23	Pryor, Ok.	ARCA
Michael Pickens	22	Auckland, New Zealand	midgets
Bubba Pollard	22	Senoia, Ga.	SAS late models; ARCA
David Ragan	20	Kannapolis, N.C.	ARCA
Peter Shepherd	19	Norval, Ontario	CASCAR
Auggie Vidovich	24	Lakeside, Calif.	Autozone Elite Southwest

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Industries that operates 10 motor sports teams; five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards; three in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth and Edwards; two in the Craftsman Truck Series with drivers Ricky Craven and Todd Kluever.  If you are interested in sponsoring the show's winning driver for the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series season, please contact Torrey Galida, Roush Racing,  (704) 720-4600.

Discovery Channel is the United States' largest cable television network, serving 90.2 million households across the nation with the finest in informative entertainment.  Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Español, FitTV, Discovery Kids en Español and Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir).  The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.