In auto racing, numerous factors figure into who is victorious and who isn't. Were the Chevys running better this week than the Fords? Which engine held up best in the heat? What tires gave just the right amount of traction? No doubt, the almost infinite design variables and their accompanying questions leave many racing fans scratching their heads, wondering if it is the driver who deserves credit for winning a race, or the car that driver was in. But for the past several decades, racing has also been able to provide an answer to this dilemma. The International Race of Champions, a series of races in which drivers compete in identical racecars featuring identical setups, shifts the attention of onlookers and drivers back to "real racing skills" and away from superior technology, "matching up," etc. In this way, the IRC has helped restore to the racing sport at least a smidgen of definite integrity.

A similar series of questions has been developing in the wide world of tenpin bowling. With the birth of ultra-powerful core designs and über-aggressive reactive coverstocks, technology advancements and ball selection rather than a bowler's ability are often given credit for a bowler's success. Taking a cue, then, from the aforementioned International Race of Champions, our answer to the critically important question asked by so many folks today - "is it the bowler or the ball?" - is the Teen Masters Ebonite Bowl To Win Showdown.

Ninety athletes, composed of the highest-finishing boy and girl who opt for the Ebonite Bowl to Win entry package at each of the 45 singles qualifying events, plus three boys and three girls randomly drawn from among the Bowl To Win qualifying runner-ups (for a grand total of 96 bowlers), will be eligible for this unique and special competition, to be held at the Teen Masters national championships.

As an exciting bonus in this optional tournament, participating athletes will use one identical (same model) Ebonite bowling ball, laid out and drilled on-site by Ebonite's expert technicians. Showdown bowlers then will be given six games on a long Sport pattern and another six games on a short Sport pattern to prove they're the best at driving bowling balls through pins! First place will each be $2,000 in SMART scholarships for both the winning boy and girl! (While bowlers must select the Ebonite Bowl To Win entry option in order to compete in the Showdown, they do not have to utilize the ball selected as part of their Bowl To Win entry during Teen Masters qualifying in order to win the event)