Eldora Race Brought Stars and Fans Together
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Eldora Race Brought Stars and Fans Together
How many of you have ever been to a race at a dirt track before? I will admit, I don’t even know where the closest dirt track is to my house in northern Virginia, but I know it isn’t super close by. As such, I had never been to a dirt race…until this week.
This week…I was initiated into what it is like to be a dirt fan at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH. And what an initiation it was!
As I mentioned last week, I was sent to Sharonville, OH, for work on Monday. As I was packing for the trip, I realized that Sharonville (a suburb of Cincinnati) wasn’t too far in the greater scheme of things from Rossburg. (A mere 93 miles). I hopped on the Eldora website and discovered they still had tickets left and decided right then and there I was going to go to the Prelude to the Dream in person.
I have to say, it was the best $30 I have spent in a very long time.
I was up early to see my co-workers off on Wednesday morning. I had a conference call with other co-workers at 11, then it was in the rental car and off up I-75 towards Huber Heights, where I had a hotel room for the night. Well, the room wasn’t ready, so I decided to just head on up to the track. The first 20 miles from the hotel was on interstate highways, but once you got off in Troy, it was quite the circuitous route to get to Rossburg. 8 miles on OH 41, 3 miles on OH 48, another 13 miles on OH 185, 1 mile on US 127, 2 miles through Rossburg to OH 118 and 3 miles to the track. The track is out in the middle of nowhere on a two-lane road. As I approached, I had a momentary reminder of Talladega, with campers and RV’s lined up along the road and back as far as the eye could see to my left and cars parked in the lot on the right. I was guided to my free parking spot in the third row by some local boys in blue shirts, and as I pulled into my spot, I got out and realized I was closer to the track than I was even able to get here at my local track.
From the outside, there is nothing impressive about Eldora. It looks like many other local tracks across the country. Except for the satellite trucks. And the NASCAR souvenir haulers. And the fact the first 100 or so people I saw were wearing Tony Stewart shirts. However, much like the other races I have been to, people were gathered around the backs of trucks and cars, grills going, coolers filled with beverages, and music blaring from portable radios. The sun was high in the sky, which was nearly cloudless, and the temperature was maybe 80 degrees.
Wonderful.
As I walked through the gates, I took in what was around me. The Old Spice girls were set up front and center, handing out samples of deodorant. The concession stands were already feeding the hungry fans that, like me, were on hand 4 hours before the race. A woman was seated up against the press box selling programs with color photos of all the participating drivers. Pick-up trucks were out on the track, packing down the dirt. None of the haulers had arrived yet, so the infield was empty.
I strolled over to where several large souvenir trailers were set up. Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick had the full sized version on hand, much like you see at a Cup venue. Eldora shirts and hats were being sold in another trailer, and NEXTEL had a trailer offering simulator rides. Tony’s red 33 Old Spice Busch car was where fans could touch it, as was one of Jeff Gordon’s old dirt cars, and Benny Parson’s old Torino, which he raced to the win at Eldora nearly 40 years ago.
I decided to head down trackside to watch the trucks packing the dirt. The haulers were starting to come in, so I watched them pull in and maneuver into their assigned spots. I turned my attention back to the pick up trucks, and suddenly, I realized the driver of one of the trucks was none other than the track owner: Tony Stewart, He was behind the wheel of a 15 year old Ford F-150 (shhh, don’t tell Chevy), cruising around in the various grooves of the track, packing the dirt down, a big smile on his face. I figured I was about the only person who made this connection, because several hundred people milled back and forth around me, but no one stopped to watch, or comment.
As the infield filled up and late models were off-loaded, the owner stopped his circles and parked to check on the cars. He not only checked on his own, but poked his head in the car wrapped to look like the 24 car, and to check with Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader to make sure their cars (which they owned) and they were OK. Then it was back out onto the track, going clockwise this time, which put Tony on the side where fans could see him…and this time they DID see him…and line the fence to call out to him. He smiled and kept circling. Then he stopped and made the rounds again amongst the cars and the drivers.
He was the track owner, and you could tell he loved every moment of it.
Over the next hour, familiar faces began appearing in the infield. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Elliott Sadler, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Ray Evernham, Kevin Harvick, David Reutimann. All drivers were called to the stage for the “pill pull”, or drawing of their qualifying positions. The stage was a small one, and many of the drivers were in jeans and t-shirts. Fans lined the fence as each one came across and picked their spot….Denny Hamlin got #11…and then Tony came up on stage to play host and thank all the fans for coming out to support Victory Junction Gang camp and he hoped everyone was going to have a great time. He noted that Kyle Petty was up in the press box to watch the race, and the fans all stood up and saluted Kyle and it was obvious everyone was happy that their ticket money was going to help his camp.
As practice began, I took my seat near the start finish line….front row….and prepared for my first real introduction to dirt racing. I had been told by friends the week before to be prepared to get filthy, so I was wearing a black t-shirt and huge sunglasses to cover my eyes. (Note to self…goggles are a very good investment for dirt tracks). Jeff and Tony and Ray and Juan and Red Farmer and Kasey and all the rest were out sliding into the corners sideways and kicking up rooster tails of dirt as they came past and bumped the burm.
I loved it!
Qualifying was broken into three heats. The first heat was filled with excitement, with Ryan Newman and Bill Elliott battling it out to the very end….and crashing as they passed in front of me. Both went up on their side, and while Ryan came back down on all fours, Bill ended up on his roof. Half a dozen men, including Smoke, came running over and after a moment, just flipped the car over, allowing Bill to climb out and jump on the roof to show he was fine. Sadly, it was also the end of his night.
The rest of the qualifying heats ran clean, and as the sun set, the festivities really began. The drivers were re-introduced, and all posed for a photo on the stage. Their cars were rolled out onto the track and lined up so that fans could take pictures along the fence. Most of the cars, owned by local drivers, had been re-wrapped to look like the drivers cup cars. (Tony was going to cover the cost of repair should any of the cars owned locally get wadded up over the course of the event). Elliott Sadler, who claimed to “never have seen a dirt track before today”, decided to sit the A-main out for fear of causing more problems than was worth the effort.
Fans were on their feet as the cars circled for their warm up lap…the track lit off fireworks behind the track and on the light posts to signal the start of the event. Darrell Waltrip paced the field in Benny Parson's old Torino, a huge smile on his face.
As the green flag flew, so did the dirt. I don’t know how people without glasses were able to watch the race, because it became a dust bowl as the cars made their laps. As someone who has never been to a dirt race, it was amazing to watch the cars make the turns sliding sideways as they made the corners, some scraping the wall and sending up sparks as they hit the front stretch. On lap 9, Kasey got into Bobby, sliding sideways and collecting Smoke, who had nowhere to go. A few laps were needed to get the cars off the track, and unlike a Cup race, those laps didn’t count (which was good since it was only a 30 lap race). As the cars took off again, it became clear it was a three car race: Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Those three swapped the lead and ran three wide at times as they fought to cross the line first. In the end, it was Edwards who took the checkered flag, and as a result, entertained the crowd with a back flip as thousands of fans lined the fence to watch.
With both cameras dead and the awards ceremony over, I hiked back up the steps and back to my car. As I walked, I chuckled to myself: I reminded myself of the character Pigpen from the Peanuts comics. I shook myself off, tried to dust off my backpack, and climbed back into the rental car, not sure how long it was going to take to get out of the parking lot. Much to my surprise and delight, I was out in less than 10 minutes, and on the road back to the hotel.
I can’t explain how much fun I had. Tony has a great track, and put on a wonderful show for both the fans at the track and those watching on HBO. He was a courteous host, and it was a wonderful way to help the kids at VJGC. Already I am trying to recruit folks to go with me next year. I can’t wait!