Damage from Debris Ends Strong Run at ORP

O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis from above.









USAC Silver Crown Series rookie Thiago Medeiros enjoyed his best performance to date during the J.D. Byrider 100 at O'Reilly Raceway Park, running as high as fifth before a cut tire forced him to retire midway through the race.

"I was catching my teammate (Aaron Pierce) in fourth and the race was going well," Thiago said. "Then Brian Tyler bumped Josh Wise, and debris from that accident flew back onto the track. I couldn't avoid it, and it cut the left-front tire."

Thiago, who started ninth after qualifying was cancelled due to rain, was classified seventh. It was a disappointing result for the 24-year-old Brazilian and the PDM Racing team, who had high hopes for a strong finish following a productive test at ORP earlier in the week.

"We were really unlucky that qualifying was rained out, because we had to start on practice times, and we'd had an oil leak in practice," Thiago said. "We fixed the problem, but when we weren't able to qualify and improve our starting position, it put us at a real disadvantage."

J.D. Byrider 100 Results

1. Brian Tyler
2. Carl Edwards
3. Dave Steele
4. Aaron Pierce
5. Bryn Gohn
6. Wayne Reutimann Jr.
7. Thiago Medeiros
8. Josh Wise
9. Mat Neely
10. Jay Drake
11. Bud Kaeding
12. Bobby Santos III
13. Tim Barber
14. Rodney Weesner