Discovery Channel Captures the Excitement of the Competition on Film for High-Energy Series to Air this Fall

After two days of testing at Martinsville Speedway this week, Roush Racing today narrowed the field of 25 contestants to just 12 drivers who will advance to the next round of competition to begin August 15 at Darlington Raceway.  These drivers are all competing for a spot on Jack Roush's race team and a fully sponsored ride in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Discovery Channel has teamed up with Roush Racing to capture all of the excitement and drama of the competition on film with unprecedented access to Roush's gong show.  Candidates are competing on and off the track, testing their skills behind the wheel as well as their marketability and fan appeal.  The high-energy 13-part series DRIVER X: RACE FOR THE RIDE will debut on Discovery Channel October 31, 2005.

Jack Roush and his team of judges poured over 1,700 applications at the start of the competition 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 competition at Martinsville was impressive," said Jack Roush.

"We had a tough decision narrowing the field down to 12 drivers, but I think the 12 we have selected will be very strong candidates for our NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride in 2006.  We are going to put the 12 drivers through some various marketing activities next week in Charlotte before we take them to Darlington for their final test the following week.  I personally watched all 25 drivers at Martinsville and look forward to seeing what they've got at Darlington."

Following is a list of the drivers selected to compete in the second round at Darlington Raceway, August 15-17:

Name	Age	Hometown	Current Racing Circuit
Tim Andrews	22	Concord, N.C.	Legends Pro division; NASCAR Busch N. Ser.
Chuck Barnes	23	Louisville, Ky.	Sunoco Super Series Late Model division
Jason Boyd	24	Orlando, Fla.	Fascar Sun Belt series
Jeffrey Choquette	19	Loxahatchee, Fla.	Late models
Erik Darnell	22	Beach Park, Ill.	ARCA; Autozone Elite
Jason Hogan	22	Cleveland, Ga.	Autozone Elite SE series
Travis Kittleson	26	Mooresville, N.C.	Sunbelt Series
Matt McCall	24	Denver, N.C.	UARA late models
Danny O'Quinn	20	Coeburn, Va.	ARCA; USAR Hooter's Pro Cup
David Ragan	20	Kannapolis, N.C.	ARCA
Peter Shepherd	19	Norval, Ontario	CASCAR
Auggie Vidovich	24	Lakeside, Calif.	Autozone Elite Southwest