CALGARY, Friday, March 6, 2009...The eight finalists in the Ford Hot Shots shot-making curling skills competition at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto, were determined after the preliminary round today involving 48 of the Brier participants at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
 
Top eight

Name                            Total points (out of possible 30)

Andrew Gibson, Nova Scotia second            28 points
John Morris, Alberta third                            26 points
Kevin Martin, Alberta skip                            25 points*
Joel Jordison, Saskatchewan skip               25 points*
Bruce Lohnes, Nova Scotia third                25 points*
Jason Vaughan, New Brunswick lead          25 points*
Martin Gavin, NWT/Yukon lead                   25 points*
Craig Savill, Ontario lead                           24 points

*For playoff seeding purposes, the tied players drew to the button for ranking.

The playoffs (final eight) take place Saturday, March 7 from 11:00 am – 12 Noon MT, following the Opening Ceremonies at 9:30 am.  The first draw starts at 1:00 pm MT.

Ford of Canada will provide the winner of the Ford Hot Shots with a two-year lease on a 2009 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4, with a retail value in excess of $20,000.   The Ford F-150 was recently named the 2009 Motor Trend Truck of the Year.  The second place finisher earns $2,000 while the third place finisher receives $1,000. 

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