MOTHER NATURE SHUFFLES THE DECK AT ELDORA’S KINGS ROYAL WEEK
RAIN PUSHES BALANCE OF THURSDAY TO SATURDAY AFTERNOON; FRIDAY NIGHT SLIDES TO SUNDAY
ROSSBURG, Ohio (July 16, 2021) – With sprint car fans from across the country reunited at Eldora Speedway for the first Kings Royal Weekend in 727 days, Mother Nature made her presence known with authority at the legendary high-banked oval on Thursday night and again Friday.
Storms first interrupted Thursday’s 38th Kings Royal, the first of two $175,000-to-win Kings Royals scheduled for the weekend, as qualifying time trials were completed.
Grain Valley, Missouri’s Brian Brown was the fastest of 61 cars taking time, touring the half-mile in 13.326 seconds. Two-time Kings Royal champion, Dave Blaney, of Hartford Township, Ohio guaranteed himself another shot at a third crown with a lap of 13.345 seconds. Californian Carson Macedo, the winner of Wednesday’s Jokers Wild, used the privilege awarded to the preliminary night winner to jump ahead in the qualifying order and earned the third fastest time of the night.
Following a delay of nearly three hours, the Eldora Speedway track crew and World-Famous Push Trucks had the track surface back in shape in anticipation of completing the full event.
Owasso, Oklahoma’s Daryn Pittman won Heat Race #1 to secure the sixth starting position for the Swindell SpeedLab #39. Cory Eliason, of Visalia, California, finished second, locking the Rudeen #26 into the seventh starting position, and Brown’s third place run places him in the 13th position for the 38th Kings Royal.
As Heat Race #2 pushed onto the speedway, the rains returned and World of Outlaws NOS@ Energy Drink Sprint Car Series officials, after consulting with Eldora’s weather provider, BAM Weather, made the difficult decision to reschedule the remainder of Thursday’s event for Saturday afternoon.
The Saturday matinee, slated for a 1 p.m. start, sets up a historic doubleheader with two $175,000-to-win Kings Royal events on the same day.
With a dire forecast, Eldora and WoO officials reconvened Friday morning to consult with BAM Weather with regards to Friday night’s traditional “The Knight Before” program. With no possible window, the decision was made to reschedule the event to Sunday afternoon, also using a start-time of 1 p.m.
Reserved seats, general admission tickets, and pit passes remain available for all events. Get your mobile or print at home tickets now at
www.eldoraspeedway.comAbout Eldora Speedway:
Since carved from a cornfield in the natural amphitheater that existed between the Eldora Ballroom and the Wabash River by bandleader Earl Baltes in 1954, Eldora Speedway has grown to be a frontrunner in motorsports growth and stability. Baltes chose to sell the legendary high-banked clay oval to motorsports entrepreneur and NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion Tony Stewart in 2004.
Eldora celebrates its 68th season of racing in 2021 and the full event calendar, including ticket and campsite information, is available at
www.EldoraSpeedway.com. Race fans can join a community of over 1,000,000 people from around the world who enjoy behind-the-scenes access by following @EldoraSpeedway on social channels Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Exclusive video content posted on
www.youtube.com/EldoraSpeedway has nearly eight million views.
Longtime a favorite of broadcasters, dating back to ABC Wide World of Sports broadcasts called by the inimitable Keith Jackson, every event at Eldora Speedway is now available live. Race fans can tune into the World 100, the Dirt Late Model Dream, the 4-Crown Nationals and more on Eldora’s official livestream partner,
FloRacing.com, or on their favorite screen via the FloSports app. The live CBS broadcast of the Camping World SRX Series race from Eldora, also streamed on Paramount+, was the highest-rated event during the series’ inaugural campaign. While all of Eldora’s World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series events, including the Kings Royal, can be seen exclusively on
DIRTVision.com and via the DIRTVision app.
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