"WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE RACE NAME?": Yeah, it's the Mudsummer Classic, despite some places referring to it as Midsummer. Some even automatically put "Dream" in the name, because, well, they kinda like using that for big events at Eldora. The official race name is The Car Cash Mudsummer Classic Presented By CNBC Prime's 'The Profit' (aren't you glad you asked?). I'm waiting for Car Cash or CNBC to give me my check now.
"HEY, WAIT A MINUTE! THIS TRACK LOOKS KINDA DIFFERENT!": Astute observation. That's because it's DIRT. This is Eldora Speedway. Interesting trivia: dirt is actually part of every NASCAR track you're familiar with. It's true! Underbeneaths all that pavement is...dirt! The banks at tracks like Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, etc. were made by taking dirt and scooping it into banks. Did you know there is dirt underneath what you are sitting/standing/horizontal on? Fascinating stuff, eh Tommy?
"WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT ELDORA SPEEDWAY?": It's one of the better known dirt tracks. It opened in 1954 as a 1/4 mile, then was later expanded to a 3/8 mile and then finally, in 1958, to the current 1/2 mile (.0.5 mi for you decimal heads and 0.804 km for our overseas and Canadian friends). It was built by Earl Baltes, who promoted and operated the track until he sold it to Tony Stewart in late 2004. It was a prominent track in the days when USAC sprint cars were a ticket to Indianapolis. Johnny Rutherford nearly didn't get to go on and become a three-time Indy 500 winner after this 1966 Eldora flip.
Check this out: USAC sprint action from 1965 ...or, this: USAC sprints 1981. The track is located near beautiful, downtown Rossburg, Ohio.
"IF ROSSBURG IS THE CLOSEST PLACE, WHY IS IT CALLED ELDORA?": Good question. Stories are that the adjacent park, known as El Dora or Eldora, was possibly named after El Dorado. It was a place for picnics, swimming and a place your pe-paw and me-maw might've danced to the big bands at. About that El Dorado naming business...maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. As with most things involving auto racing, there are about a dozen stories, none of which might be true. Invariably, someone knows a guy that knows a guy who knows that's the real story. Next!...
"ARE WE GONNA GET TO SEE BILL ELLIOTT AND DRAG RACERS RACE ON DIRT?": You're thinking of "The Prelude to the Dream", which features NASCAR Cup stars and occasionally drivers from other disciplines racing dirt late models on this very same track...but, this time, you'll only see them running around in your dreams after Mr. Sandman has come and paid you a visit (or possibly with some of our members, after they've passed out for the
"WHAT WILL WE GET TO SEE THEN?": The first dirt track race for one of NASCAR's top series since 1970 (that's, like, 43 years). Speaking of 43, the last time a top series in NASCAR ran dirt, it was September 30, 1970 and there was only one top series in NASCAR - then known as NASCAR Grand National Series and now known as [sponsor name] Cup Series. Trucks were used to tow the cars or get to the track. Richard Petty won the "Home State 200" on the 1/2 dirt oval at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina. Petty, Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Bobby Isaac and Wendell Scott and one driver still active, James Hylton, were among the 23 starters in what was race #42 of the 1970 season. Trivia: Petty wasn't driving a Petty Enterprises car. He was driving a Plymouth owned by Don Robertson. Robertson's regular driver was Jabe Thomas. Jabe wasn't a front-runner, but his sense of humor kept his fellow drivers entertained. Petty was quoted: "The dirt tracks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. I hope a few dirt tracks are kept on the schedule. This is where our brand of racing started." They did not. 1971 marked the first all pavement season.
"COOL! WHAT'S A PLYMOUTH?": It's a car pe-paw didn't buy.
"AREN'T THESE LINKS TO WIKIPEDIA?": Yes they are and some are pretty crappy, but, hey...I'm not getting paid to do this.
"WHAT ABOUT OTHER DIRT TRACK HISTORY?": I could write pages about this stuff, but this is going to be long enough and as I wrote, I'm not getting paid (phone call from Cash Car? They said "no"?, ok)...ok, as I was writing...dirt track racing is the sports roots in the U.S of A. While one of the earliest ovals in the U.S. was concrete (Narragansett Park), the overwhelming number of the overwhelming ovals around the U.S. were dirt. Paving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with brick in 1909 was an anomaly. Paved tracks were uncommon until after World War II and it wasn't until the 1960s that many short tracks covered their surfaces in asphalt. NASCAR's early years were predominately on dirt tracks, it's the roots of the sport, yada yada yada.
"WHEN DOES THIS HAPPEN, WHEN CAN I SEE IT?": Follow the schedule listed below, which I
SCHEDULE
All times EDT. For MDT add 2 hours, for PDT 3 hours, for Hawaii 5 hours, for that mean, mean Greenwich Time, go by this:
Tuesday, July 23
16.30-18.30: Truck practice 1
19.00-21.00: Truck practice 2
Wednesday, July 24
11.30-13.00: Truck practice 3
17.05: Trucks qualifying (two laps each)
19.00: Speed broadcast begins
19.00-21.00: Heats A-E and last chance qualifier
21.35: Truck race: 150 laps in 3 stints (60 laps-50 laps-40 laps)
Mudsummer Classic at Eldora!
"WAIT A MINUTE, THAT FORMAT IS DIFFERENT!": Another good observation. They're kind of paying homage to the format many short tracks use. Not precisely, I mean, they have to have locked in drivers...but it is sort of a modified version of short track formats, which often (at least with open wheel cars) advance only the top four finishers in what is known as a "Progressive Format" The number of locked in drivers means the teeth have been taken out of this and it will more resemble the Daytona 150 duels with 1-2 drivers scrambling for a lone spot in each heat. Even the 150-lap race is broken down into segments of 60-laps, 50-laps and then 40-laps, distances that aren't uncommon for short track main events.
"IS IT PRETTY MUCH THE TRUCK REGULARS OR DO WE SEE SOME OTHER GUYS?...IF SO, WHO?": Yes and a big yes. Several of the truck regulars raced on dirt early in their careers, or in the case of Ron Hornaday Jr. a long time ago. Those highlighted in brown are dirt track specialists.
ENTRY LIST
Locked in drivers:
3 "Cowboy" Ty Dillon
4 Jeb Burton
7 John Wes Townley
9 Ron Hornaday Jr.
13 Tracy Hines
17 Timothy Peters
18 Joey Coulter
19 Dave Blaney
29 Ryan Blaney
31 James Buescher
32 Miguel Paludo
39 "Cowboy" Austin Dillon
51 Scott Bloomquist
54 Darrell Wallace Jr.
60 Dakoda Armstrong
62 Brendan Gaughan
77 German Quiroga
81 Kenny Wallace
88 Matt Crafton
98 Johnny Sauter
Drivers NOT locked in:
5 Jason Bowles
6 Jared Landers
07 Jimmy Weller
8 Max Gresham
10 Jennifer Jo Cobb
24 Brennan Newberry
30 Kyle Larson
34 Ryan Newman
44 J.R. Heffner
52 Ken Schrader
57 Norm Benning
63 Justin Jennings
68 Clay Greenfield
84 Jeff Babcock
93 Chris Jones
99 Bryan Silas
"WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THOSE DIRT TRACK SPECIALISTS?": Scott Bloomquist is the man. I mean, the guy is in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Over 500 wins, including "The Dream" (the big late model race) at Eldora six times, including this past June. And to think, it all started at a 1/2 mile dirt oval in Corona, California. Kyle Larson is the next big thing. He's won a ridonkulous number of races in all types of cars on dirt and has made a rather spectacular transition to pavement. J.J. Heffner races DIRT big-block modifieds and is a 2-time track champion at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York (apologies for the cheesy music, but I wasn't director). Jared Landers is a dirt late model racer with over 100 career wins. Oh, and he shares a hometown with this guy. Babcock is from the Buckeye State and has won 134 features in his dirt late model career. Ken Schrader was Tony Stewart before Tony Stewart, racing any and every thing he could. Like Stewart, he got to Indy first, then headed to NASCAR. He was in that second YouTube clip, racing at Eldora in 1981 (!).
"ANYONE ELSE I SHOULD WATCH FOR?": The Blaneys, both father and son, have a lot of laps on dirt and at Eldora. Also, Tracy Hines. He ran quite a few truck races, but has excelled on dirt (and pavement) in open wheel USAC divisions. Despite what folks write, Ryan Newman was never that much of a dirt racer. Yeah, he ran it as part of the USAC series on his way up, but he'd likely be the first to tell you he was more about pavement. He certainly was much better on the asphalt.
"ISN'T THIS THE PART WHERE YOU BASH TONY STEWART?": Wait, who are you? Usually, but running a dirt track is a thankless task and I absolutely salute Tony for doing so
Besides, he's kind of had a bad week already.ANYTHING ELSE?: This isn't long enough? If you made it this far you deserve a medal. Just go to Risil's post for look at a better version of what I attempted here. Also to see what portions I
Edited by Jim Thurman, 22 July 2013 - 22:39.
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