NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Ryan Newman has confirmed he will compete in the J.D. Byrider USAC Silver Crown Series event scheduled for Thursday, July 23, 2009 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Newman has won in Midgets and Silver Crown cars at ORP.

"I love having the opportunity to go back and race at O'Reilly Raceway Park - I still have a hard time saying that because it is etched in my brain as Indianapolis Raceway Park," Newman said. "But getting the chance to get back to my roots and race with these guys in the USAC Series is a lot of fun. I ran in the Silver Crown race last year and finished second. The race stayed green almost the entire night, and my car wasn't quite fast enough to catch the leader. It's becoming a tradition that when I come out to Indy for the Brickyard, that I'm going to run in the Silver Crown race on Thursday night."

Newman has fond memories of racing at ORP earlier in his career and always looks forward to returning there to race.

"Winning the Night Before the 500 was the biggest race win of my career back then - it was like winning the Daytona 500 at the time. There was a huge crowd, and it was a very special moment for me and my entire family because on that night, I was the best driver in Indianapolis," Newman said recently.  "That was what we had worked for since I started driving quarter-midgets when I was just four and a half years old. For me, that was a huge night not only personally, but also for my career. I feel like that race win is what helped me get to where I am today."

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Jason Leffler will race in the USAC Midget race, also scheduled for Thursday night. Leffler has six career wins at ORP, four in the Midget Series and two in Sliver Crown. Leffler also won the Kroger 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at ORP in 2007.

"Indy is like a second home for me, so I always look forward to racing here," said Leffler.  "O'Reilly Raceway Park is a special place for me. I have experienced some of my greatest racing moments at this track, dating back to my USAC racing days. Though all of my successes here are important to me, the highlight was being able to give Toyota their first series win. The fact that it happened at this particular track made it even more memorable for me."

More information can be found on www.KrogerSpeedFest.com.

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