Gold Cup called off, rescheduled for 2021
Race was set to celebrate its 67th edition on Sept. 9-12
Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at the speedway was to celebrate its 67th edition in September.
CHICO » Every year, race fans from all over the country convene at the Silver Dollar Speedway for the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
The event, which has been coined the Fastest Four Nights of dirt track racing, was to celebrate its 67th edition on Sept. 9-12. However, the coronavirus pandemic and the surging cases in Butte County have forced speedway officials to move the race to 2021.
It’ll now take place Sept. 8-11, 2021. All tickets and reserved camping spots purchased will be valid for the rescheduled dates. Those who wish to forfeit their tickets can return them to the speedway office, 2343 Fair St., for a full ticket refund.
One of the main factors that went into the decision to call off this year’s races was that the World of Outlaws, the traveling sprint car series, decided to cancel all its trips to the West Coast.
“Rather than head towards the West Coast where local restrictions in several municipalities will make it impossible for the series to compete, the Outlaws will aim to fill that stretch of the schedule from Aug. 28 through Sept. 19 with races that had been postponed in the spring when the sports world shut down,” the World of Outlaws said in a statement.
Gold Cup week could be considered like the Super Bowl for the speedway and the area’s racing community. Fans turn out in large numbers, camp at the fairgrounds and spend nearly $50 a ticket for the final two nights of the four-day event. Without the Gold Cup, the Silver Dollar
Speedway and the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds are facing a financial blow.
“Financially this is dreadful for both the fair and the speedway,” said Dennis Gage, promoter for both the Silver Dollar and Marysville Raceway. “Not only do we have the lack of income for the year … we still have all the bills for the speedway that are pretty impossible to pull the plug on.”
When fans travel to Chico for the Gold Cup, they stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and visit stores. The lack of revenue from the fans will also be hit on the local economy, Gage said.
Other major sprint car events that have been called off were the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway in Tennessee and the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway in Ohio.
The Gold Cup, which was a race that started in 1950, had been held in Chico since 1980. It’s served as a chance for the local drivers who race every Friday night at Silver Dollar to race against the World of Outlaws and showcase their talents.
“When the Outlaws come to town, the reason that race is so important is you get to test yourself against the world’s best and see how they rank,” said Troy Hennig, announcer at the Silver Dollar Speedway. “The competition is what our local guys will miss the most about not having the Gold Cup.”
The speedway hasn’t held a race since March 13 with the Silver Cup. Since then, races have been shut down in order to limit gatherings and help slow the spread of COVID-19. Holding the Gold Cup with fans seated six feet apart wasn’t an option for Silver Dollar Speedway officials since the number of drivers, pit crew members and staff would still result in a large gathering.
“We want to be responsible and we’re trying to do the right things. We’re trying to take care of our fans and our racers,” Gage said. “The Gold Cup is important to not only us but to the community.”
Contact reporter Sharon Martin at 530-896-7778.