by Larry Boos
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Jan. 13, 2003) - One million dollars for two nights of Sprint Car racing at Eldora Speedway has been hinted at for several years now, but legendary promoter Earl Baltes has made it official. Over the weekend of September 19 and 20, Sprint Car history will be made at the Ohio speed plant, and in a rich way.
Baltes made the startling announcement over the weekend, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while in attendance at the renowned Chili Bowl Classic.
While the million dollar payoff was pretty much expected, and Sprints were predicted to be the cars of choice, anticipation and speculation ran rampant over the issue of ‘winged’ or ‘non-winged’. Currently, both forms of Sprint racing populate the busy Eldora schedule on an annual basis.
In his announcement, Baltes cleared the air by stating that the competition would be in the form of non-winged Sprint Car racing.
Many of the details of the historic weekend are still to be ironed out, such as ticket pricing and ordering, race format and most importantly, would the event carry a sanction? To that extent, Baltes promised to release all details as they are firmed.
“Basically, what I can confirm is, yes, Eldora Speedway will hold a race for non-winged Sprint Cars, with $1,000,000 in prize money on the line. The race will be Friday and Saturday, September 19 and 20 with a weather date of the 21st. I don’t have the complete breakdown yet, but the feature race will pay $200,000 to win and $10,000 to start - everyone will make some money,” offered Baltes during his brief announcement.
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Jan. 13, 2003) - One million dollars for two nights of Sprint Car racing at Eldora Speedway has been hinted at for several years now, but legendary promoter Earl Baltes has made it official. Over the weekend of September 19 and 20, Sprint Car history will be made at the Ohio speed plant, and in a rich way.
Baltes made the startling announcement over the weekend, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while in attendance at the renowned Chili Bowl Classic.
While the million dollar payoff was pretty much expected, and Sprints were predicted to be the cars of choice, anticipation and speculation ran rampant over the issue of ‘winged’ or ‘non-winged’. Currently, both forms of Sprint racing populate the busy Eldora schedule on an annual basis.
In his announcement, Baltes cleared the air by stating that the competition would be in the form of non-winged Sprint Car racing.
Many of the details of the historic weekend are still to be ironed out, such as ticket pricing and ordering, race format and most importantly, would the event carry a sanction? To that extent, Baltes promised to release all details as they are firmed.
“Basically, what I can confirm is, yes, Eldora Speedway will hold a race for non-winged Sprint Cars, with $1,000,000 in prize money on the line. The race will be Friday and Saturday, September 19 and 20 with a weather date of the 21st. I don’t have the complete breakdown yet, but the feature race will pay $200,000 to win and $10,000 to start - everyone will make some money,” offered Baltes during his brief announcement.
