CHICO, Calif. — The 70th Mike Curb Gold Cup Race of Champions will be run this weekend at Silver Dollar Speedway.
After 69 previous races, the winner’s list is a who’s-who of sprint car racing history. Forty-three drivers have won the Gold Cup, with 13 of them winning the race more than once.
John Soares was the first Gold Cup winner in 1951 and teenager Corey Day won the race last year. Steve Kinser is the all-time leading winner in the race that has been run at the quarter-mile Silver Dollar Speedway since 1980, with 12 victories.
The race ran 22 times at West Capital Raceway and was also run Hughes Stadium where it began as a hard-top race.
This year’s edition of the event kicks off Wednesday with 360 winged sprint cars before High Limit Racing takes over with three nights of racing featuring split fields on Thursday and Friday, which lead into Saturday’s $100,070-to-win main event, the highest-paying race in the history of the event. Sixty-eight cars are currently entered in the High Limit portion of the event.
Here’s more about who has won the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
Mike Curb Gold Cup Winners List
1951 John Soares
1952 Johnny Key
1953 Tony Goularte
1954 Danny Graves
1956 Gene Dudley
1959 Red Mullican
1960 Joe Guisti
1961 Al Pombo
1962 Red Mullican (2)
1963 Mark Ward
1964 Al Pombo (2)
1965 Marshall Sargent
1966 Al Pombo (3)
1967 Jimmy Gordon
1968 Wally Baker
1969 Jimmy Gordon (2)
1970 Al Pombo (4)
1971 Mike Wasina Sr.
1972 Larry Burton
1973 Jimmy Boyd
1974 Johnny Anderson
1975 Terry Crousore
1976 LeRoy Van Conett
1977 Gary Patterson
1978 Steve Kinser
1979 Steve Kinser (2)
1980 Johnny Anderson (2)
1981 Sammy Swindell
1982 Doug Wolfgang
1983 Steve Kinser (3)
1984 Steve Kinser (4)
1985 Danny Smith
1986 Steve Kinser (5)
1987 Steve Kinser (6)
1988 Steve Kinser (7)
1989 Darrell Hanestad
1990 Steve Kinser (8)
1991 Joe Gerte
1992 Steve Kinser (9)
1993 Stevie Smith
1994 Andy Hillenburg
1995 Andy Hillenburg (2)
1996 Jeff Swindell
1997 Dave Blaney
1998 Jac Haudenschild
1999 Jac Haudenschild (2)
2000 Danny Lasoski
2001 Mark Kinser
2002 Steve Kinser (10)
2003 Steve Kinser (11)
2004 Donny Schatz
2005 Steve Kinser (12)
2006 Daryn Pittman
2007 Joey Saldana
2008 Jac Haudenschild (3)
2009 Joey Saldana (2)
2010 Jason Meyers
2011 Kyle Larson
2012 Kyle Larson (2)
2013 Jason Meyers (2)
2014 Jonathan Allard Â
2015 Donny Schatz (2)
2016 Rico Abreu
2017 Shane Stewart
2018 Rico Abreu (2)
2019 Daryn Pittman (2)
2020 Not Run Due to Covid 19
2021 Logan SchuchartÂ
2022 Jacob Allen
2023 Corey Day