VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- There was plenty of excitement in the air amongst the fans gathered at Cabarrus Country Club (Concord, NC) on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, as they watched the kick-off of the inaugural event of the 2008 HorsePower Tee Shot Tour (HTST). Whether a fan of golf or NASCAR racing, there was something for everyone as both Power Golfers and NASCAR Drivers stepped up to the tee in this competition of distance and accuracy.

Rick Allen, veteran NASCAR announcer, opened the evening by introducing the eight HTST teams, with Power Golfers and NASCAR drivers paired as follows:

The Pistons: Brooks Baldwin and Hermie Sadler.

The Bulls: Kevin Bullard and Brian Vickers.

The Ultra Booms: Sean Fister and Marcos Ambrose.

The Titans: Vince Howell and Stephen Leichtff.

The Enforcers: Scott Ionno and David Raganff.

The Gladiators: Danny Luirette and Austin Petty (standing in for his father, Kyle Petty).

The Eliminators: J.D. Murkerson and Elliott Sadler.

The Warriors: Carl Wolter and J.J. Yeley.

With the threat of rain diminishing and temperatures dipping into the 50s for most of the evening, the competitors gave it their all as they each stepped up to the tee three times throughout the evening with the opportunity to drive 18 balls down the fairway. While each competitor had success making it to the fairway for points, some performed better than others. Power Golfers Scott Ionno (11 of 18), Danny Luirette (10 of 18) and Carl Wolter (10 of 18) placed in excess of 50% of their respective shots into the scoring grid, while NASCAR Drivers Marcos Ambrose and Elliott Sadler both earned points from nine of their 18 shots.

The longest drive of the evening on the Power Golfer side of the equation, came from Kevin Bullard, when in Round 2, he drove his last ball into the 360 to 370 yard zone for 35 points.