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51-500: First run in 1984, the Kings Royal saw Eldora Speedway promoter Earl Baltes offering $ 50,000 to the winner of a 40-lap event. Steve Kinser won the inaugural race, which sees the winner seated on a throne in victory lane while adorned with a crown and robe and carrying a scepter . Kinser leads all drivers with seven Kings Royal victories. The event is considered to be one of the most prestigious sprint car events held worldwide, and

102-429: A great amount of downforce to help the car turn and maximize grip, both in the corners and on the straightaways. The cars also have smaller wings on the nose to provide more downforce to the front wheels. Sprint cars use "quick change" rear ends. This allows the teams to quickly change the gear ratio for different size tracks. Most cars use a torsion bar suspension system. Different size bars either soften or stiffen

153-471: A live audience and pay-per-view coverage. Eldora Speedway again donated all proceeds from the coverage to Victory Junction. The NASCAR on Fox crew of Mike Joy , Darrell Waltrip , Dick Berggren , Matt Yocum , and producer Pam Miller were on the broadcast staff as well as NASCAR on TNT booth analyst Kyle Petty . Carl Edwards held off Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon to win the 2007 event and celebrated by doing his trademark backflip off of his car onto

204-475: A set of rules and a points system to crown a champion of his series. In 2003, Johnson sold the series to Boundless Motor Sports Racing, later renamed Dirt Motorsports and currently World Racing Group (WRG). In 2004 WRG extended its subscription-based streaming service ( DIR TV ision ), to the Outlaw series. It originally offered radio broadcasts of all races, and added video streaming to select races, until reaching

255-522: A slightly increased prize of $ 1,002,022. From 2005 to 2012, Stewart added a Wednesday night undercard, the Prelude to the Dream , a Nextel -sponsored race with visiting NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stars driving borrowed UMP Late Models . Kenny Wallace won the first Prelude to the Dream and a total of $ 50,000 to Kyle Petty 's Victory Junction Gang Camp. The race was canceled because of rain in 2006. Stewart won

306-412: A sprint car is 105 inches in circumference. In contrast, the left rear tire is only between 90 and 98 inches in circumference, depending on the track size and conditions. The difference in the tire sizes is called stagger. The more stagger the car has, the sharper the car can turn, but at the expense of straight line speed. Sprint cars do not have starters, so push trucks are used to push the cars to start

357-452: A widened pit road, a dedicated helipad for Premier Health's CareFlight and Infield Care Center providing on-site facilities for Level 1 Trauma and ER staff are recent additions to benefit both fan and competitors in recent years. The Kings Royal is one of the biggest sprint car races in America. It paid $ 50,000 to the winner until the winner's share increased to $ 175,000 in 2019. The Kings Royal

408-405: Is considered to be a "Crown Jewel" event. From its inaugural running through 2018, there was a standard $ 50,000 winner's purse; the 2019 running saw a boost to $ 175,000 for the winner's prize. The Kings Royal is Eldora's largest event each season, drawing over 30,000 spectators. In 2014, Kerry Madsen became the first Australian to win the Kings Royal. Beginning in 2016, a preliminary full feature,

459-465: Is owned and operated by World Racing Group , and was rebranded when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series was introduced. The Sprint Car Series has been sponsored by Monster Beverage 's NOS Energy Drink since 2019. The series is a national tour of high power to weight, custom fabricated sprint cars. The race cars feature large adjustable wings on the top and large rear tires that transfer their power to

510-527: Is the track's late September race card. From 1981 until 2006, the event featured four different races on one night: In 2007, Tony Stewart changed the format to a two-night format renamed Chevrolet American Revolution Weekend, owing to the ownership of the United Midwest Promoters being owned now by the World Racing Group. The new format has the World Racing Group sanctioned cars on Friday, and

561-481: Is typically run in July and sanctioned by the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series. The race draws a large field of cars each year and a capacity crowd of sprint car fans from around the globe. Earl Baltes promoted the richest paying sprint car race in the country. The Historical Big One paid $ 100,000 to win, which was unprecedented for sprint car racing. The race was held from 1993 to 2003. The race returned in 2022 as part of

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612-582: The COVID-19 pandemic , the Derby was removed from the Truck Series schedule in 2021. The Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), a stock car series co-founded by Stewart, raced at Eldora in 2021. Stewart himself won the event. World of Outlaws World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series , originally known as the World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO ) is an American national touring dirt track racing series. It

663-415: The "4-Crown Nationals". At the time, USAC sanctioned the champ cars (a/k/a silver crown), national sprint cars, national sprint tour, and a stock car division similar to NASCAR's Grand National Division. The event was a success and celebrated its 37th running in 2018. It has seen several different iterations over the years. It has not run every year, having been wholly rained out/not rescheduled and replaced by

714-577: The "Joker's Wild", was held on the Thursday before the Saturday Kings Royal; on the Friday of race week an additional event, "The Knight Before the Kings Royal", is held. No driver won back-to-back Kings Royals for the first 33 years of the event, until Donny Schatz did so in 2017; in 2018 Schatz won again to become the first driver to win three Kings Royals in a row. The event lost its annual status after

765-440: The 2014 World 100. The feature race was not without controversy as Scott Bloomquist, who had taken the lead, was penalized and sent to the tail for having a plexiglass window net inserted into his driver-side window. Bloomquist stormed through the field and won the 2014 World 100. The 2022 edition has a winner's prize of $ 55,000. In addition, the winning driver and owner earn a pair of coveted globed trophies. The 4-Crown Nationals

816-509: The 2020 event was canceled because of the global pandemic . In 2021, the Kings Royal was run as a double feature. The night before the Thursday feature was the Joker's Wild event. The Thursday event was the first feature (new ticket). The Friday event was the Knight Before event. The Saturday event was the second feature. Because of weather issues, the two features were run on the same Saturday, with

867-425: The 39th Kings Royal on Saturday. Earl Baltes Eldora Speedway (nicknamed " The Big E ", " Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954 ," and " The World's Greatest Dirt Track ") is a 0.5 mi (804.672 m) high-banked clay dirt oval . Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio , its website claims capacity for 22,886 spectators in the permanent grandstand, and unlimited admittance for

918-511: The Dream on June 3 because of persistent rain. Once again, a makeup race, the "Prelude to the World," was run on September 9 and won by Stewart. The 2010 Prelude was won by 6-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson . Johnson's car was prepared by Clint Bowyer . On June 8, 2011, Bowyer won the 7th Prelude to the Dream. The HBO pay-per-view revenues from the race will go to four children's hospitals in: St. Louis, Dallas, North Carolina, and Atlanta. In 2012,

969-550: The King's Royal week. The 2023 edition was rebranded the Eldora Million for its $ 1,002,023 winner's prize. The Dirt Late Model Dream is a 100-lap race that has been run annually every June since 1994. The World Racing Group currently sanctions it. The race is noted for its prize money, worth $ 100,000 for the winner. The 2013 Ferris Commercial Mowers Dream featured a revised format which provided two full feature race programs on each of

1020-516: The Mopar Million. When USAC dropped its stock car division, they were replaced by dirt late models, and as the World 100 grew, the late models were replaced by the UMP modifieds. As interest in the event waned, the World of Outlaws was added for a Friday show. USAC's remaining three divisions raced solely on Saturday. The event is currently enjoying a renaissance with a weekend full of activity consisting of

1071-502: The Thursday feature running in the afternoon and the Saturday feature running in the evening. The Knight Before was run on Sunday. The 2021 event saw the start of a nine-year sanctioning agreement with World Racing Group , promoters of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series . For 2022, the event will retain its four-day format. The calendar calls for the Joker's Wild on Wednesday, Historical Big One on Thursday, Knight Before on Friday, and

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1122-651: The United States Auto Club sanctioned cars on Saturday. On July 24, 2013, the track hosted the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Mudsummer Classic . Though the track does not have any SAFER barriers , NASCAR Director of Safety Tom Gideon stated that the track meets NASCAR safety guidelines. Austin Dillon , the 2011 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors truck series champion, driving the No. 39 truck, won

1173-514: The World of Outlaws on Friday, USAC's three divisions plus the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions sprint cars on Saturday, vintage car displays, and three days of racing for 300 USAC .25 midgets competitors and their families at Little Eldora. The 4-Crown Nationals has hosted two of short-track racing's most impressive performances: Jack Hewitt's sweep of the three USAC divisions and UMP modified feature in one night and Kyle Larson's sweep of

1224-423: The World of Outlaws to designate legal tire compounds for a circuit among different compounds available to competitors, as the tire must suitably respond to the track surface. Tire technicians will reject certain compounds at certain circuits if they are unfit for the surface or may provide an unfair advantage. The series' cars have a large top mounted wing with sideboards that face opposite directions to help produce

1275-581: The World of Outlaws, and, in 1984, Baltes pulled off another one of his firsts when he announced the '$ 50,000-to-win Kings Royal." In recent years, the event has grown into a three-day extravaganza offering over $ 385,000 in prize money and awards with regional satellite events in the week leading up to it. Longtime USAC official, car owner, and sponsor, Johnny Vance of Aristocrat Products in Dayton, Ohio, approached Baltes in 1980 about trying an event in 1981 featuring all four of USAC's divisions in one show and called it

1326-516: The dirt tracks they race on. The series travels primarily the United States, but has sanctioned races in Canada, Mexico, and Australia. The series was founded in 1978 by Ted Johnson, a former midget racer from Madison, Wisconsin . At the time sprint car racing in the United States lacked a true national series. Johnson organized the World of Outlaws sanctioning body and established a national schedule,

1377-449: The dirt. Eldora Speedway donated over $ 800,000 to the charity. In 2008, the NASCAR on Fox crew of Joy, Waltrip, Berggren, Yocum, and producer Pam Miller returned to the track to call the event for HBO Pay-Per-View along with NASCAR on TNT 's booth analyst Kyle Petty . Twenty-three thousand fans attended the race this year as they watched Stewart win the 4th annual charity race. At the end of

1428-451: The engines. Sprint Cars only have an in/out direct drive with a fixed gear ratio, no reverse gear and no clutch. Source: Note: Includes all full-field preliminary race wins. Those with a yellow background indicates Knoxville National winners. Updated November 9, 2024. Source: Here is a list of top paying and more popular race events each year. Most are two days or more. Final night features are usually based on points earned on

1479-667: The full calendar in 2018. Select races are broadcast on delay nationally on the CBS Sports Network with MavTV showing the Knoxville Nationals since 2013. Previous broadcasters include The Nashville Network and Speed Channel shown live or on delay. A WoO Sprint Car must weigh at least 1,425 pounds (646kg) with the driver in the car. The mandated 410-cubic inch engine (6.7 litre) produces over 900 horsepower, uses mechanical fuel injection and must run on methanol fuel. The series' specification tire manufacturer works with

1530-533: The grass hillside spectator area. The permanent grandstand and VIP suite seats make it the largest sports stadium in the Dayton, Ohio-region according to the Dayton Business Journal . Originally constructed as a 1/4-mile semi-banked clay dirt oval by track founder and promoter Earl Baltes , Eldora was enlarged to a 3/8-mile length and later to the "half-mile" standard required by the United States Auto Club (USAC) for national championship events featuring

1581-523: The group and quickly booked several events at Eldora. It was a key partnership for the fledgling series, giving them much-needed credibility and momentum. In October, Eldora hosted the season finale where Steve Kinser captured the inaugural WoO championship and was proclaimed "King of the Outlaws." In the years that have followed, Eldora has remained a mainstay venue on the WoO circuit and annual King's Royal race. While

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1632-605: The headlines in the history of the race with 6 World 100 championships. Following Moyer are four-time champion Donnie Moran and three-time World 100 champs Larry Moore, Jeff Purvis, and Scott Bloomquist. Defending World 100 winner Brian Birkhofer joins Jimmy Owens as the only other racers with more than one win in the prestigious race. In 2013 Eldora Speedway re-formatted the track's two most prestigious dirt late model races (The World 100 and The Dream) and offered added opportunity and value for competitors and spectators with an expanded schedule of three full nights of competition. Based on

1683-406: The inaugural World 100, offering an unprecedented purse of $ 4,000 to the winner. Bruce Gould ultimately won the race. The event is widely considered the birth of the modern "dirt late model" type of racing, which today is one of the most popular forms of racing on America's short tracks. When the World of Outlaws sprint car series was launched in 1978, Baltes recognized the promotional potential of

1734-429: The inaugural event, beating Kyle Larson , Ryan Newman , Joey Coulter , and Brendan Gaughan . Several dirt track and Eldora veterans took part in the event, including Dave Blaney , racing alongside his son Ryan , and Truck Series veterans, including Dillon, racing alongside his brother Ty , Ken Schrader , and Ron Hornaday Jr. After being canceled in 2020 due to state restrictions on large gatherings in response to

1785-528: The largest field of dirt late model racers globally. It is Eldora's largest attended event of the season. The 2017 event paid a record purse of $ 425,800 and attracted the largest crowd in the history of Eldora Speedway – while Eldora does not typically release attendance figures, the winner's share of the Tony Stewart Foundation 50/50 raffle (often an indication of a short-track's attendance as they are sold by hand for $ 1 per ticket) on that Saturday night

1836-583: The makeup race, the "Prelude to the World", a reference to the September World 100 late model race (it was now scheduled for that weekend), and celebrated his win by climbing Eldora's new catch fence and jumping into the crowd of fans. Combined, "Prelude" events have attracted more than 40,000 spectators to Eldora Speedway. The 2007 race returned to the Dirt Late Model Dream feature in June. It featured both

1887-406: The musical performances as the track grew more successful. The track was constructed as a quarter-mile as it opened in 1954. Two years later, Baltes expanded the track to a three-eighths-mile, and in 1958 the track was expanded to the present half-mile length. The track hosted the sprint cars of the United States Auto Club for the first time in 1962 and quickly became one of the favorite venues for

1938-440: The new event promotions department since 2009. Slack leads Eldora's day-to-day operations as general manager and speedway promoter. The historic racing oval has continued an aggressive capital improvement program with state-of-the-art luxury suites atop the turn three area. At the same time, fans also enjoy live coverage and replays of the on-track action via the large video board in turn two. Additional catch fencing , attenuators ,

1989-462: The pit wall bore "Home of the Sprint" for many years, Eldora started as a track for "jalopy" cars, then "new cars/stock cars", which eventually into the modern-day dirt late models. In 1971, Baltes posted a $ 4,000 winner's purse for the " World 100 " which many racers and fans thought was a misprint in the advertising. Promising to raise the winner's share by $ 1,000 every year, the World 100 annually attracts

2040-436: The preliminary nights (Thursday, June 6 Winners: Josh Richards, Matt Miller; Friday, June 7 Winners: Matt Miller, Dennis Erb.) 2013's $ 100,000 Dream winner Scott Bloomquist claimed victory in short track racing's richest event for a record-setting sixth time. The 2001 rescheduled event featured the "Eldora Million", which paid an unprecedented $ 1,000,000 to winner Donnie Moran. In 2020, the "Dirt Late Model Stream Invitational"

2091-514: The race was extended to 40 laps. Kyle Busch won the 8th Prelude to the Dream, the final running as the event became the Eldora Dirt Derby , a NASCAR-sanctioned national race. The World 100 is a 100-lap dirt late model race, and is considered one of the most prolific racing events of each season. It is traditionally run on the weekend following Labor Day in mid September. Bruce Gould won the inaugural World 100 (September 1971). Billy Moyer leads

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2142-475: The race, the Tony Stewart Foundation donated $ 1,000,000 to the Victory Junction Gang Camps. The 2009 Prelude to the Dream was set to benefit military charities after track owner Stewart picked up US Army sponsorship on his Stewart-Haas Racing Sprint Cup team—The Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront, and Fisher House. Eldora Speedway canceled the 2009 Prelude to

2193-452: The series. In August 1965, Orville Yeadon won the first Eldora 500, featuring 33 sprint cars running 500 laps. One year later, Larry Cannon won the Eldora 500, and in 1967 Don Nordhorn won the Eldora 500, the last time the race was contested. Baltes was promoting several other tracks by this time, and the 500-lap race fell by the wayside. In 1971 Baltes shocked the racing fraternity when he held

2244-495: The spectacular racing frenzy provided by June's Ferris Commercial Mowers Dirt Late Model DREAM, September's version of the 47th Annual World 100 was as advertised. The 2014 World 100's Thursday and Friday (September 4–5) formats featured full racing programs, including Twin Feature races each night. Then, on Saturday, September 6, the action featured a full complement of preliminary heat races and showdown qualifying events prior to running

2295-428: The speedway in late 2004 from Baltes. Upon his retirement, the state of Ohio honored Baltes by renaming Hwy. 118 "Earl Baltes National Highway" from Ansonia to the south to St. Henry to the north. In 2011, Stewart hired former Charlotte Motor Speedway vice president of events, Roger Slack, a protégé of the legendary promoter Humpy Wheeler , away from World Racing Group where he had served as executive vice president of

2346-643: The stars of the Indianapolis 500. The track currently hosts events like the Kings Royal, the World 100 , and Stewart's Superstar Racing Experience . From 2013 to 2019, Eldora hosted the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series ' Eldora Dirt Derby . In 2013, the Dirt Late Model Dream and World 100 expanded from one-day shows to full three-day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday race weekend programs which have proven to be hugely popular. The Kings Royal followed suit in 2016. Eldora Speedway New Weston, OH,

2397-491: The suspension. Torsion bars, and specialty shock absorbers are the key ingredients in the handling of sprint cars. That coupled with the wings, tire stagger, light weight, and enormous horsepower make these cars some of the fastest race cars in the world. The monstrous power-to-weight ratios of Sprint Cars can exceed that of Formula 1 cars in the right circumstances. Sprint Cars have a very distinct stance since they have two very different sized rear tires. The right rear tire on

2448-492: The three USAC divisions (there was not a fourth division that night). In 2001 Baltes held the "Eldora Million", his defining achievement as a race promoter. Offering a $ 1 million prize to the winner, the race remains by far the richest short-track race in history. Donnie Moran captured the event and the top money, and was christened "the Million Dollar Man." Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart purchased

2499-511: Was built in 1954 by Earl Baltes, a prominent area bandleader with no previous racing experience. Born on April 27, 1921, in nearby Versailles, Ohio , Baltes had stumbled onto a race at New Bremen Speedway and was so impressed by the big, enthusiastic crowd that he decided to build a race track. Baltes had purchased the Eldora Ballroom from "Ma" Shoes two years earlier, offering weekly dances and musical performances. Eventually, Baltes curtailed

2550-412: Was over $ 38,000. In the late 1970s, as the crossover between the stars of Indianapolis and USAC dwindled and the era's super-modified cars began to decline, Baltes took notice of a brash Texas promoter named Ted Johnson organizing a "band of outlaw" sprint car drivers racing for larger purses and, in most cases, with aerodynamic wings on their cars. Eldora's high-banks became Ohio and the midwest's home to

2601-409: Was the race weekend's title as Dream week was held behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic , and only paid $ 50,000 to the winner because it was only available with an iPPV viewing package as there were no spectators. While Billy Moyer has ruled the World 100, Scott Bloomquist has ruled the Dirt Late Model Dream with eight $ 100,000 victories. For 2022, the "Eldora Million" returned with

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