Series Thursday Night Thunder news 2010-06-24

HMIEL RETURNS FOR "THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER" Fireworks Spectacular AT ORP THE ONLY DRIVER TO WIN IN ALL 3 USAC NATIONAL SERIES THIS YEAR

Shane Hmiel of Pleasant Garden, N.C. returns to O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind. next Thursday night (July 1) and the fireworks on the race track might rival the spectacular fireworks show scheduled later in the evening, presented by Circle City Pyrotechnics.

USAC AMSOIL National Sprint car racing gets under way at 7:30 pm and Hmiel will try to add to his already-impressive 2010 resume in the 30-lap feature event on the .686-mile paved oval. The fireworks spectacular will immediately follow the Sprint car feature.

Hmiel is the only driver this year to post victories in USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget competition and won the USAC AMSOIL Sprint race at ORP on June 10. His victories at Hickory, N.C. (Midget, March 24), ORP (Sprint, June 10) and the Indiana State Fairgrounds (Silver Crown, May 28) put him in select company. Previous drivers who accomplished the single-season feat were Bobby Santos III, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines, Josh Wise, Bud Kaeding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bobby East, J.J. Yeley, Jay Drake, Ryan Newman, Tony Elliott, Dave Steele, Dave Darland, Kenny Irwin Jr., Mike Bliss, Jack Hewitt, Rick Hood, Ken Schrader, Ron Shuman, Rich Vogler, Pancho Carter and Tom Bigelow.

Hmiel ranks ninth in the latest point standings, posting five "top-10" finishes so far this year. He also ranks fifth in the Silver Crown standings and 12th in the Midgets.

Jerry Coons Jr. will try to extend the Dynamics, Inc. Racing Team's all-time series victory record in Thursday's race. The team has 76 career wins and they finished second to Hmiel on June 10. Series point leader Levi Jones will try to improve on his June 10 performance which left him with a 12th-place finish.

Tickets for Thursday's race are $20 for adults, $10 for youths and kids under 12 are free. For more information regarding the race and tickets, visit www.usacracing.com or call 317-247-5151.

-source: --USAC--