ROSSBURG, Ohio – Eldora Speedway officials have announced the return of the Eldora Million dirt late model race.
For just the second time ever – on June 9 – the blue-collar superstars of dirt late model racing will compete for a winner’s purse of $1 million dollars.
The Eldora Million will feature a full-program of heat races, last chance showdowns, and culminate with the $1,002,022-to-win championship feature. The initial seeding for Thursday’s heat races will be set on June 8 via a program of tournament-style preliminary features.
The combination of two giant shows – The Eldora Million and the 28th running of the $128,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream on Sat., June 11 – in a span of four days, creates one of the richest open competition events in motorsports history with posted prize money already exceeding $1.9 million.
“I have said from the first-day I took ownership of Eldora that we want to make Earl and Berneice proud and continue to push the limits of race promotion. I can’t think of a better way to honor their legacy than bringing back The Eldora Million one more time for both our longtime drivers and fans as well as a whole new generation who have only heard about it,” said track owner Tony Stewart.
It was February 2000 when promoter and founder of Eldora Speedway, the late Earl Baltes, stood up at the annual Racing Promotion Monthly Workshops in Daytona Beach, Fla., and shocked the industry with the announcement he would pay an unprecedented $1 million to the winner of a dirt late model race that coming October. However, a combination of rain, wet grounds, and unseasonably cold temperatures forced the event to be rescheduled to Saturday, June 9, 2001 – in place of the eighth annual Dirt Late Model Dream.
Fan-favorite Donnie Moran, a four-time winner of the World 100 and native of Dresden, Ohio, triumphed by passing Don O’Neal, an eventual Dirt Late Model Dream champion, with a slide job for the lead on lap 25 to lead the remaining 74 laps. Now, just more than 20 years later, both Moran’s son, Devin, and O’Neal’s son, Hudson, are two of the young lions who make up the next generation of stars in the Dirt Late Model ranks.
“With today’s confirmation there will indeed be a sequel to The Eldora Million, our great team here at Eldora now has the 2022 major events ticketing and camping calendar finalized. We appreciate the patience of our loyal fans, and renewal notifications will begin showing up in their patron accounts and email by early next week for their 2022 ticket and campsite renewals,” said general manager Roger Slack. “Like everything these days, it took a little longer than anticipated to deliver all of the details for a week of events of this magnitude. Our team wanted to get everything right and assure an expedited renewal process for the many patrons who hold tickets to each of our major events.”