ELDORA’S DIRT LATE MODEL DREAM – IS IT THE LURE OR THE PRESTIGE?
Posted Payoff of $304,575 Keeps June 6-7-8 Nights Busy With Ferris Commercial Mowers Event
ROSSBURG, OH (June 5) – Is the lure lucrative prize money or is it prestige of participating in and capturing one the nation’s marquee dirt Late Model events? Depending upon the driver you ask, you’ll get either answer when quizzed about their travel to tiny Rossburg, OH this weekend (June 6-7-8) for the 19th annual Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Commercial Mowers.
With $304,575 in prize money posted over the course of the three full nights of racing, the dollar enticement is front and center; but there is no victory stage in short track racing more hallowed than the 250 sq. ft. concrete podium along the front stretch of 60 year-old Eldora Speedway. No matter which way you look at it, the nation’s premier dirt Late Model drivers from throughout the nation will converge upon Eldora, along with thousands of loyal race fans, to transfer the remote countryside setting into that of the largest city in Darke County.
The revamped format of the Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Commercial Mowers will keep the race teams and fans throughout the entire weekend, with complete programs each night. This includes time trial sessions Thursday and Friday evenings which will not only break the entrants into odd and even groups, but determine the starting line-ups for Saturday’s grueling heat races. Thursday and Friday’s odd and even groups will each run their own set of heat races, B-Features and 25-lap A-Features each night.
Thursday’s twin 25-lap concluding feature events pay $2,500 to win, while Friday’s twin 25’s offer $5,000 to the victors.
Saturday’s format will flavor the tradition of the previous 18 years for the time-honored event. Finishes from the six heat races lined up by a driver’s overall fastest time trial lap from the Thursday/Friday sessions will determine advancement into the subsequent C, B or A-Features.
Finishing positions 1-3 will advance to the 100-lap Dirt Late Model Dream which offers the rewarding $100,000 winner’s pay check. Drivers finished 4-6 in the heat races will go to the B-Feature, while those crossing the finish line in the 7-11 spot will earn placement into the C-Feature. The elimination process continues as follows; the top six from the C-Feature advance into the B-Feature to join the 18 other assigned cars and get a chance to fill six positions in the 28-car Dream starting line-up. Four positions in the Dream are reserved as time trial provisionals.
Cars not advancing from either the C or B-Features are given a second opportunity to get to Eldora’s famed stage through unique scramble races. At the end of the advertised distance of each feature, the transferring cars will pull off the track while those remaining will re-line themselves up and compete in a 5-lap chase around the .500 mile clay oval, a $1,000 paycheck and a trip to victory lane.
Throughout the busy weekend, no matter what the lure may be, it will be whetted.
Race tickets and campsites remain available for each night and may be conveniently purchased at any time by use of the track’s website www.EldoraSpeedway.com. That website also offers a daily schedule of events which includes the open hours of the track ticket office for on-site purchases.