ROSSBURG, Ohio — The world of sprint car racing congregates at Eldora Speedway this week for four nights of racing that culminates with the 41st running of the Kings Royal on Saturday.
The event features a who’s who of sprint car racing’s elite from the nascent High Limit Racing and the established World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
And for those still climbing the racing ladder, Eldora is a stage filled with opportunity.
McKenna Haase knows the allure of Eldora and its ability to crown racing royalty.
“A win at Eldora can be life-changing,” said Haase, who will attempt her third Kings Royal this Saturday night. “It’s hands-down one of the most expensive weeks of the year for our team. We have to spend a lot of money just to be there, which for a smaller team like mine can put our budget in a pinch. To be able to make the features is financially critical to keep our team going and to keep me going as a racecar driver. Finishing first on any of these nights, or even a top-five, is a game-changer.”
Haase received some critical support earlier this year from Interstate Batteries. The leading replacement battery brand with the largest independent battery distribution system in North America signed on to sponsor Haase for 12 sprint car races, including the Kings Royal.
Most importantly, it allowed Haase to hire veteran crew chief Lee Stauffer.
“Finally having a crew chief is huge,” said Haase, who for the majority of her sprint car career has simultaneously worn the hats of driver, team owner and crew chief. “A lot of times, we’re done racing around midnight, but then I’d have to be up at 7 a.m. and wash the car from the night before and get it ready for that night’s race.
“Over four nights of racing, stopping to sleep or taking the time to just sit down and eat was a luxury. One year at the Kings Royal, I actually considered sleeping in the trailer with the car sitting outside in my pit stall just because I was too tired to drive home and then drive back to the track. But now with a crew chief, I feel like I’m finally doing what I need to do at the track with my sponsors, and I’m showing up rested and ready to race.”
Stauffer, who has worked with some of the best drivers in the business over the years, made his debut with Haase on June 28 at Pennsylvania’s Lernerville Speedway. She led her qualifying group, finished second in her heat and was fifth in the feature when she jumped a curb late in the race. She finished 18th.
Haase is still hands on when it comes to race preparation. The 27-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa, maintains her sprint car in Indianapolis alongside her crew of three – Tyler and Abby Hewitt and Seth McNichols – with Stauffer flying in to serve as crew chief at the track.
With Stauffer providing insight to Haase over the phone and via email, she and her team gets the car ready for the track and then Stauffer fine-tunes it with real-time feedback from Haase.
“With Lee at the track, I’m definitely able to focus more as a driver,” Haase said. “We communicate really well together. We were running really well at Lernerville before I started trying too hard and got up over the curb, so we came out pretty strong together. I know for the Kings Royal, once I get the car there, I can focus on the driving and he can do the wrenching.”
Kings Royal Week provides a busy racing schedule with the $12,000-to win Double Down Duels on Wednesday night, the $100,000-to-win Joker’s Jackpot on Thursday night, the $25,000-to-win The Knight Before on Friday night and the marquee Kings Royal on Saturday night with $175,000 earmarked for the winner.
“They’re each kind of their own separate show, and every night the format’s a little different,” Haase said. “You push pretty hard in all of them because the fields are so tight, but you also don’t want to take any crazy chances that might risk tearing up your equipment. It’s a balancing act of pushing hard to get a good result so that you make the shows and get paid. You never know what night could be your night for a good run, but you’ve got to put yourself in position to make it a good night.”
How does one achieve the right position to have a good night at Eldora?
“Qualifying is crucial. You get two laps to qualify, and that really dictates the rest of the evening. You need to have a good engine and a good, fast car,” Haase said. “But when the track slicks off, you’ve got to find a way to keep your car hooked up. You don’t want to make too much horsepower to where you’re spinning the tires.
“The toughest part about Eldora is when the groove gets way up on the fence. It’s pretty gutsy because you have to run full-throttle and you have to be right on the wall. It can be pretty tricky to find that fine line between not getting up into the wall and maintaining your speed up there.
“Running the bottom is really fun because there’s a wall right there on the inside, and I like to get super, super close to it, where you can kind of feel the air between your tire and the wall,” Haase continued. “The fans are right down there on the other side of the wall. They’re just 12 inches from your race car, so it’s a pretty spectacular view as a fan. I don’t think there’s anything like watching sprint cars coming out of turn two at Eldora from the infield.”