USAC
IRP II: J.D. Byrider 100 preview
Bliss, Leffler, Edwards return for "J.D. Byrider 100" at IRP It'll be like a "class reunion" of sorts at Indianapolis Raceway Park Thursday night when the USAC Weld Racing Series returns to the .686-mile paved oval for the "J.D. Byrider 100," part ...
Published: Jul 30, 2003, 1:00 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Bliss, Leffler, Edwards return for "J.D. Byrider 100" at IRP
It'll be like a "class reunion" of sorts at Indianapolis Raceway Park Thursday night when the USAC Weld Racing Series returns to the .686-mile paved oval for the "J.D. Byrider 100," part of the track's 2003 "Kroger SpeedFest."
Former series champions Mike Bliss and Jason Leffler and former series participant Carl Edwards are all among entered drivers in Thursday's race. Each has earned significant "firsts" in major racing series this year. Bliss notched his initial True Value International Race of Champions (IROC) triumph July 12 at Chicagoland Speedway, while Leffler and Edwards earned their initial NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins this year as well. Leffler won at Dover, Del. June 2 and Edwards won at Kentucky Speedway July 12.
Bliss, of Milwaukie, Ore., owns more USAC victories at IRP than any driver in history, 12, which includes five in Silver Crown competition. The 1993 Silver crown Champion will drive the Rockwell Automation Beast/Chevy entered by the Snider Racing Team, whose 15 Silver Crown victories are the all-time record. He will team with Jay Drake, who is the defending series race winner, having won at Pikes Peak International Raceway July 4.
Leffler, of Long Beach, Calif., who won the 1998 Silver Crown title, will team with Aaron Fike in Zarounian Motorsports entries for Saturday's race. Leffler will drive the Team ASE/CarQuest Beast/Wesmar. Fike set the record as the youngest winner in series history two years ago at Richmond, Va. when he was 18.
Edwards, of Columbia, Mo., will pilot the Don Ott Racing Engines/C & B Mushroom Farms Beast/Chevy for Randol Motorsports. He has 10 career Silver Crown starts and finished sixth at IRP last year.
J.J. Yeley of Phoenix, Ariz., winner of the 100-lap race at IRP in May, returns Thursday to try to protect his series point lead, which stands at 15 points over Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. Yeley has 19 USAC victories this year in National competition, tying the all-time single-season record. Pending his result in Wednesday night's USAC Midget race at Anderson, Ind., he could be aiming at the all-time record Thursday at IRP.
Practice gets under way at IRP at 3:30 Thursday. Qualifying starts at 5 and a 15-lap "qualifying race" gets the green flag at 7.
USAC WELD RACING SILVER CROWN SERIES STANDINGS
1. J.J. Yeley 301
2. Dave Steele 286
3. Tracy Hines 274
4. Dave Darland 257
5. Jay Drake 237
6. Brian Tyler 203
7. Paul White 185
8. Tyler Walker 154
9. Chet Fillip 147
10. A.J. Fike 139
-usac-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Indianapolis: Larry Foyt preview
Next article Rocky Mountain Region Western Kansas preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Carl Edwards
The most unexpected driver and team breakups in modern NASCAR Cup history
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
The most unexpected driver and team breakups in modern NASCAR Cup history
Remembering one of the strangest finishes in NASCAR history at Iowa
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
Iowa
Remembering one of the strangest finishes in NASCAR history at Iowa
NASCAR Mailbag: Why the Camry isn't going anywhere
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Mailbag: Why the Camry isn't going anywhere
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
44 min
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 1 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe