Indy ORP Night Before the 500 preview

NOS ENERGY DRINK NIGHT BEFORE THE 500 PRESENTED BY COMFORT SUITES OF BROWNSBURG SET TO RETURN TO O'REILLY RACEWAY PARK

INDIANAPOLIS (May 24, 2010) The NOS Energy Drink Night Before the 500 presented by Comfort Suites of Brownsburg featuring the USAC Midget Series is set to return to O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis on May 29th for another night of thrilling open wheel racing action. Also racing during the course of the night is the Star Mazda Championship Series and the USF2000 Series as supporting events.

This event has long been a focal point of the open wheel community dating back to the early 1960's when racing legends such as A. J. Foyt would take part in the midget race prior to racing in the Indianapolis 500 the following days. In fact, Foyt was the first winner on the O'Reilly Raceway Park oval in 1961 and then went on to secure his first Indianapolis 500 win a few days later. Other past winners include Johnny Parsons, Mel Kenyon, Jeff Gordon, and Kasey Kahne.

In recent installments of the NOS Energy Drink Night Before the 500 presented by Comfort Suites of Brownsburg, Bobby East who is a Brownsburg native has enjoyed tremendous success at the event. East dominated the event in 2008 and is looking for a strong run on his home track again this year.

"The NOS Energy Drink Night Before the 500 has always been a big race for me and a huge event for my family," said East. "I've had the privilege to win it and usually run pretty decent at O'Reilly Raceway Park. It's definitely a hard race to win, 50 laps and all. I got rained out during my test so we're going there kind of 'new' but I always look forward to this race."

Both the Star Mazda Championship and the USF2000 come to the NOS Energy Drink Night before the 500 presented by Comfort Suites of Brownsburg as part of the 'Road to Indy' program. Both series offer young and up-and-coming racers a 'Road to Indy' path to follow to potentially race in the Izod IndyCar series in the future.

The Star Mazda Championship series features hometown racer, Conor Daly who resides in Noblesville, is a recent graduate of Covenant Christian School and the son of racing legend Derek Daly. Daly is fresh off his win at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca over the weekend and now sets his sight on this tricky oval.

"The upcoming race at O'Reilly Raceway Park is literally one of the most important races of my career. I was fortunate enough to be the quickest in the two-day series test we ran here earlier in the month, I really like racing on ovals, and I'm driving for Juncos Racing, which is one of the best teams in the Star Mazda Championship," said Daly. "So I have all those things going for me, but now I have to turn that into a win. And in front of all my family, friends, schoolmates and sponsors, because we're part of the Road to Indy program and all the people from the Indy Racing League the IndyCar teams will be watching as well. It is a huge amount of pressure, but also a tremendous opportunity -- for all of us."

The USF2000 series is also full of young talent including current point's leader and two race winner Sage Karam. Driving for Andretti Autosport, this 15 year old Nazareth PA. native had a productive test session and took quickly to this quirky track. He has shown impressive skills on the road course so far this season and hopes it translates to the ovals.

"I'm really excited to race in Indy at O'Reilly Raceway Park for the Night Before the 500. It will be fun to support the historic Indy 500 race, and we'll try to put on a good show for the fans on Saturday. I'd like to be a part of the momentum that will carry Andretti Autosport to an Indy 500 victory on Sunday," stated Karam. "I'm honored to be a part of the IZOD IndyCar Series' Road to Indy ladder system. With the Mazdaspeed Motorsports driver developmental program and the support of the Andretti Autosport team, I'm definitely receiving the best training and preparation possible to eventually achieve my dream of driving an IndyCar."

Tickets for the entire night of racing are only $25 for reserved seats and $20 for general admission with children 12 and under free with a paid adult. Gates open at 3 p.m. with racing taking place the entire night.

-source: orp