Usac and arca to jointly compete

[DannyB]

USAC AND ARCA TO JOINTLY COMPETE DURING THURSDAY NIGHT OF 2011 KROGER SPEEDFEST

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 2, 2010) O’Reilly Raceway Park officials in conjunction with key personnel from the United States Auto Club (USAC) and the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards announced today that both series will be featured during Thursday night of the 2011 Kroger SpeedFest on July 28th. The evening will be called the ‘Thursday Night Triple Header’ and will feature the, USAC Mopar National Midget Series, the USAC Silver Crown Series and the ARCA National Stock Car Series. This will be the first time in history that all three series have raced at one venue on the same night.

“We feel the Thursday Night Triple Header will be an incredible night of racing and will be a tremendous addition to the storied history of Kroger SpeedFest,” said Wes Collier, acting general manager at O’Reilly Raceway Park. “All three of these series will add to what is already some of the best racing in the country during the course of three evenings.”

USAC has a rich and storied tradition at O’Reilly Raceway Park with 292 races run at the facility with a list of winners including A. J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon. USAC and ARCA have raced together in the past with the Silver Crown Series in 1998 at Memphis and the Mopar National Midget Series at South Boston in 2003.

“Our long relationship with our friends at ARCA has produced some memorable racing weekends,” adds USAC President/CEO Kevin Miller. “We are pleased that we can offer this tremendous tripleheader event to the race fans at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, one of the nation’s premier racing facilities. It’s been seven years since the Midgets and ARCA shared billing and a dozen years since ARCA and the Silver Crown cars were on the same bill. We are extremely excited about this program and look forward to what we expect to be one of our season’s signature events.”

This also marks the first time that ARCA has returned to O’Reilly Raceway Park since the 1985 season when Bob Schacht won at the facility. Schacht has the most ARCA wins at the track with two victories.

“USAC and O’Reilly Raceway Park have provided us with a tremendous opportunity to join what is already a great night of racing during the Kroger SpeedFest,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “We hope to add to the energy and excitement of all the racing taking place in Indianapolis that week.”

The 2011 Kroger SpeedFest triumphantly returns to O’Reilly Raceway Park on July 28 – 30 and will once again feature the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA National Stock Car Series, USAC Midget and Silver Crown series during the course of three thrilling nights of racing.

More information on ticket prices, schedule of events and event information will be available at www.oreillyracewaypark.com, www.usacracing.com and www.arcaracing.com in the coming months.

One of five drag racing facilities owned and operated by the National Hot Rod Association, O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis was built in 1960 and has presented organized racing events since 1961. From March through October, the facility hosts more than 120 dates of racing on three tracks, a quarter-mile drag strip, a .686-mile paved oval and a 2.5-mile road course. Home to drag racing’s biggest event, the NHRA U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend, the drag strip runs more than 50 days of point-to-point action, from national events to street legal community programs. The oval track draws racing’s biggest events, including annual visits from the NASCAR Nationwide, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and annual USAC races. The road course provides a home for several racing sanctions, while providing an ideal resource for driving schools, corporate outings and open-road tests for professional drivers.

[Professor Joe]

Rrrrrrrr.......!

They are trying to mess up the best night of racing of the week. If I wanted to see stock cars, I would go Friday and Saturday night. I want to see a night of uninterrupted open wheel cars on the best pavement track for those cars.



I would go see ARCA race if admission was $20 on their OWN NIGHT!

[DannyB]

Joe, my is because the open wheelers won't be left out. Or...low expectations. I halfway expect Silver Crown, Sprints and Midgets to be deleted from any race up there.

One of many concerns is the length of the program. It might be a late night for race fans, depending on the order of events, etc.

[indybigjohn]

So don't watch the ARCA race, Joe.

[indyrjc]

It makes you wonder if this isn't a first step toward ORP running a stand alone ARCA show at some point if the Indianapolis Motor Speedway goes ahead with their plan of possibly going after the NASCAR Nationwide race for themselves in a year or two. ORP could still have a good Brickyard weekend show with USAC, ARCA, and the NASCAR Truck Series if worse came to worse.

Also, ARCA ran 100 mile races at the Indiana State Fairgrounds before the early Brickyard 400 races at IMS. They were pretty good shows and seemed to be pretty well attended so I have never understood why they were dropped while ARCA continues to race at DuQuion and Springfield on the dirt. I remember that Kenny Schrader passed Jimmy Spencer in one of those races near the end to grab the win.

[Professor Joe]

So don't watch the ARCA race, Joe.

As said above, it depends on the order of events. If the stock cars run last, and are boring, I could and would leave.

But, I would expect that the ticket price may go up, and that the open wheel program may be cut down to accommodate the length of the stock car race. They aren't going to be able to do a full four-heat, semi, 30 lap feature program for the midgets PLUS a 100 lap feature for the Silver Crown PLUS a 100+ lap feature for the ARCA cars in one night.

So, I am fearing the prospect of a greater ticket price to get less of the product that I really want to see - the only opportunity I have to see Silver Crown cars on pavement all year.

As I said - give us an extra night of racing and I won't complain.

[Professor Joe]

I/O/LORP has posted the ticket prices for the Thursday Night USAC/ARCA Triple Header. $35 for GA and $45 for reserved! For a watered down USAC show diluted with ARCA? This is exactly what I was afraid of. They mess up a premiere midget race on the NB4 w/ boring junior formula cars that put on poor races on that track and now they mess up the best night of the week leading up to the Brickyard. I would have paid the premium for a full USAC night with midgets and SC putting on full shows, but not diluted with C-league tintops.

Thank goodness for the return of Thursday Night Thunder and Thank goodness for Putnamville.

Grrrr....

[racefan20]

and you are forgetting the extra $10 to park.................. this race is 5 min from my house and I am seriously thinking of not going, especially with it being the week after sprintweek

[Professor Joe]

I'm certainly not going with that price and that program. I'll miss the midgets and SC on pavement, around an endless night of no-name stock cars, it isn't worth it.

[DavidM]

I think I'd pick Lincoln Park too! Nice track, made my first visit there last year and will be back again in about 5 weeks!