Making a statement:
As the saying ROSSBURG — goes, if you’re going to dream, then dream big.
Race fans will be doing that in Darke County this weekend as they temporarily turn Eldora Speedway and the surrounding farmland into the county’s largest city for the 23rd Dirt Late Model Dream.
Greenville entered the week as the county’s most populated town, with 13,037 people. About 20,000 will descend on Eldora for the Dream, which began Thursday and runs through Saturday at the high-banked, halfmile oval near Rossburg.
Among the campers are Ron and Nancy Barron of Buffalo, N.Y. They look forward to the nearly seven-hour trip every Dream weekend.
“Just all the atmosphere and what everybody said about it. It lived up to the hype and a little more,” Ron Barron said of the Eldora experience. “A family event and great for camping. We come down for all the major events, and they do a great job here, no doubt about that.
“It’s known as one of the crown jewels. (Track owner) Tony Stewart has done a great job following (Eldora Speedway founder) Earl (Baltes). They’ve got a good reputation. Anyone I talk to, I tell them it’s worth the trip to come out here because it’s like no other racing.”
The three-day Dream event started Thursday night with a pair of twin 25-lap features paying $5,000 to win. The show continues today with another pair of 25-lappers paying $10,000 each. And finally, the Dream arrives Saturday with the 100-lapper that awards $100,000 to the winner. The total purse of the Dream is $411,900.
Here are three things to watch at Eldora Speedway this weekend:
In the past 22 races, only two Ohio drivers have claimed one of dirt late model racing’s crown jewels. Waterville’s Matt Miller won the event in 2005, and Dresden’s Donnie Moran claimed Ohio’s first championship in 1996.
The last time an Ohio driver finished among the top five was back in 2006, when Wheelersburg’s R.J. Conley finished third. Can Ohio break through this year? Devin Moran, Jon Henry, Jeff Babcock, Rusty Schlenk and Casey Noonan are home state drivers to watch.
Tennessee driver and six-time Dream winner Scott Bloomquist makes his return to Eldora after getting banned from the World 100 in September. Following the Dream last year, Bloomquist and four other drivers were suspended for three months from all DIRTcar sanctioned events after an independent laboratory found their tires did not meet established benchmarks.
Bloomquist, one of the most polarizing drivers in dirt late model racing, last won the Dream in 2013. Bloomquist currently leads the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings by 135 points over Tim McCreadie.
Also returning is 2009 Dream winner Jimmy Owens, who also had a failed tire test.
Great Scott! Reliving the Dream:
Illinois driver Dennis Erb Jr. became the first driver from that state to win the Dream, leading the final 11 laps. Repeating won’t be as easy. Fifteen different drivers have won the Dream. No driver has won two consecutive times.