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“O’Reilly Raceway Park is an awesome short track that I really want to run well at,” said Edwards, who has won at ORP in the Craftsman Truck Series. “The last couple years we have had a couple of rough races there and didn’t come out of there with the finishes we wanted.”
Teammate Greg Biffle has also won there and says the effort of traveling between tracks is worth it. Drivers often helicopter between the venues just to avoid the traffic jams that can build around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race weekends. Mark Ashenfelter, ESPN.com
July 26
Fitz Motorsports officials say Michael Waltrip Racing development driver Josh Wise will make his Busch Series debut in Fitz’s No. 22 Dodge in this weekend’s Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.
“We’re excited to have Josh behind the wheel ...” team owner Armando Fitz said. “He comes to us with a long list of championships and accomplishments in his young racing career, so we feel confident he will make a successful NASCAR Busch Series debut with our team. We’ll bring him a fast car and feel certain he can handle the competition side of things with the same success he’s experienced in the past.” SceneDaily.com
July 26
“I was so excited that we qualified that well and ran in the top seven throughout most of the night,” Cassill said. “The guys stuck with me through the race and that’s what it’s going to take for the National Guard Chevy to run up front. I feel like I learned a lot during my first Busch Series race, and I got a lot of the butterflies out of my stomach.”
One of the important lessons he learned was getting out of the gates early. With the Busch Series racing with the Nextel Cup Series this weekend—and increased participation from the Cup drivers—that’s going to be even more important. Rupen Fofaria, ESPN.com
For Kyle Krisiloff, a trip to O’Reilly Raceway Park for Saturday night’s Kroger 200 will be as close as he comes to a “home game” this season. A Carmel, Ind., native, Krisiloff will be looking for a solid run in front of friends and family.
The race will mark just the 25th Busch Series start for the 21-year-old, but it won’t be his first time racing at ORP. The other start came in an ASA race early in a still-young career. Mark Ashenfelter, ESPN.com
Edwards, who leads the Busch Series points and ranks fifth in Nextel Cup points, said he will be fitted with a special brace when he takes the wheel for Nextel Cup practice today and the Kroger 200 tomorrow.
Asked if there was a clause in his contract prohibiting him from racing outside of his Nextel Cup and Busch Series commitments, Edwards said no. “I’ve done way more dangerous stuff than this.” Boston.com
July 24
The track has treated Keller well over the past 13 years. He has won there twice, in 1995 and 1999. In the 1999 victory, he won from the pole, leading 130 of the 200 laps.
The success has continued for Keller in recent years. Since 2000, the first driver in series history to win $9, $10 and $11 million has finished in the top five in five of the last seven races at the .686-mile track, which include runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2003. AutoRacingDaily.com
July 24
Only six Nextel Cup drivers are making the six-mile commute from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to O’Reilly Raceway Park for Saturday night’s Busch Series race.
In addition to the four full-time Cup drivers racing in the Busch Series - Carl Edwards, David Reutimann, David Ragan and Dave Blaney - only J.J. Yeley and Greg Biffle are entered in the Kroger 200 at ORP. Forty-three cars are entered. SceneDaily.com
