Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway, announced this week that the Eldora Million for sprint cars will be held next July at the Rossburg, Ohio, facility.
Submitted photo
The richest race in Sprint Car history is coming to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, next summer.
Track owner Tony Stewart announced on Wednesday that the Eldora Million will return July 12-13, 2023, at “The Big E,” but this time it will be Winged Sprint Car drivers battling for the $1 million prize.
Featuring a winner’s purse of $1,002,023 and a total purse of $1.4 million, the unsanctioned event will serve as a historic moment for sprint car racing. The unprecedented event is a cooperative effort between Eldora Speedway and FloSports, the exclusive live streaming partner of the event.
“All of us at Eldora are super excited to host the first million-dollar-to-win sprint car race,” Stewart said. “Back in 2003, Eldora hosted a non-wing race that paid $200,000 to winner Jac Haudenschild, but this will be the first time a sprint car driver will race for a winner’s check worth $1 million. This will showcase the best of the best. You’re going to want to see how this race unfolds, where in the final laps, with guys still in the hunt running close together, what they will do to win a million dollars.”
This year, The Eldora Million made its return as a dirt late model race for the first time since the inaugural event in 2001. Donnie Moran won the inaugural race, while it was Jonathan Davenport becoming a millionaire in 2022.
Now, it’s time for a Sprint Car driver to become a millionaire at Eldora Speedway.
The Eldora Million will be the 17th sprint car race in track history to pay at least seven figures, joining the Historical Big Ones (12), Kings Royals (2) and Mopar Million (1).
Combined with the Kings Royal, which will take place July 14-15 following the Eldora Million, the overall purse for the four-day stretch will exceed $2 million.
“I think it’s been long overdue,” Stewart said. “We’ve had two, $1 million-to-win dirt late model races at Eldora, but to finally do it for the sprint car community is something that makes all of us at Eldora really proud. Sprint car drivers put on some of the best shows in all of racing and this is our way of saying thank you.”
“From the beginning of our partnership, Tony and FloSports have shared a passion for grassroots motorsports,” added Mark Floreani, FloSports founder and CEO. “With a shared goal of growing the sport via world class and game-changing events, The Eldora Million for winged sprint cars is yet another example of pushing the sport toward new heights. We’re thrilled to part of history.”
In a format that is unique to sprint car events, The Eldora Million will feature a full racing program that culminates with the $1,002,023-to-win feature. Competitors will earn points in the July 12 preliminary action that will help seed the July 13 events. The July 12 program doubles down on racing action with competitors split into groups. Each group will compete in a full racing program highlighted by $12,000-to-win and $1,000-to-start main events. In total, that night’s purse exceeds $115,000.
“This format will offer an exciting, unique program of racing on Wednesday and Thursday for fans and competitors, said Jerry Gappens, general manager of Eldora. “Wednesday’s program is a ‘big bang for the buck’ for the fans with all the racing plus twin 25-lap features. For competitors, it basically compresses two nights of preliminary action into one night and guarantees 48 different cars will race in a feature. We will detail more information on the complete two-night format when the official entry form is released in the spring. Fans will be able to look forward to various entertainment elements and that information will be forthcoming, as well.”
Ticket and camping renewals for all of Eldora’s traditional marquee events will begin showing up in patron accounts next week and run through Jan. 31. Due to the unique nature of the Eldora Million, patrons who had tickets for the 2022 Kings Royal race will have the first opportunity to purchase those same seats for July 12 (The Eldora Million prelim) and July 13 (The Eldora Million) as part of the event renewal process.
Public sale for tickets and campsites for all 2023 Major Events (The Dirt Late Model Dream, Eldora Million, Kings Royal, World 100) will begin at 10 a.m. Feb. 13. For the recently announced 43rd running of the Dirt Track World Championship, Oct. 19-21, last year’s DTWC ticketholders will have first opportunity to purchase tickets beginning Feb. 20. Public sale is slated for Feb. 24.
The complete 2023 schedule will be released on Jan. 4. Renewals for the remaining 2023 events will take place in March.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected]
