STORYLINES:

* Larry Rice Legacy Maintained with Hard Charger Awards
* A Look at Yesteryear, Antique Race Cars are an Annual Addition to Four Crown Nationals
* Friday Appearance Inches World of Outlaws Closer to 150 Mark at Eldora
* USAC Drivers to Gather for Saturday Afternoon Autograph Session

LARRY RICE LEGACY MAINTAINED WITH HARD CHARGER AWARDS

ROSSBURG, OH (September 18) – Larry Rice lost a courageous battle with lung cancer in 2009, but the impact he made in USAC (United States Auto Club) racing and among the racing fraternity as a whole, continues to be remembered annually during the Four Crown Nationals (September 20 & 21) at Eldora Speedway.

Established that fall (2009), the Larry Rice Hard Charger Award serves as a constant reminder of the legacy created by the three-time USAC National champion (Silver Crown-1977, 1981, Midget-1973), and is shared by drivers within the sanctioning body that Rice cherished – USAC. A $750 cash award is presented to the driver that advances the most positions from start to finish in each feature (Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown) during Saturday’s (September 21) leg of the 32nd annual Four Crown Nationals.

Rice was a four-time USAC winner at Eldora, with three of those wins coming during Four Crown National competition. He was a double winner in 1985 (Sprint, Silver Crown) and then returned to victory lane in 1987 with an additional Silver Crown triumph.

A veteran of the Indy 500, Rice had 650 USAC starts throughout his 24-year racing career. He then turned to the broadcast booth where he became a respected commentator of auto racing events.

A LOOK AT YESTERYEAR, ANTIQUE RACE CARS ARE AN ANNUAL ADDITION TO FOUR CROWN NATIONALS
ROSSBURG, OH (September 18) – Today’s speed and excitement of open wheel racing is well displayed throughout the two nights of Eldora Speedway’s annual Four Crown Nationals (September 20 & 21) with winged and non-winged Sprint Cars, Midgets, Silver Crown cars and Modifieds. Unique to the weekend is a display, static and on-track, by the Vintage American Race Cars (VARC) club.

Through VARC, race fans get a close-up look at how auto racing has evolved through the years. With some cars dating back to the pre-World War days, and many without roll cages as was customary in that era, club members put the cars on display throughout the weekend. As track time permits, many of the cars take to the legendary .500-mile Eldora clay oval for exhibition laps.

As the cars circle the historic track, they are as exact as they were during their competition days, with the exception of modern safety requirements for the drivers.

FRIDAY APPEARANCE INCHES WORLD OF OUTLAWS CLOSER TO 150 MARK AT ELDORA
ROSSBURG, OH (September 18) – With Friday’s (September 20) opening leg of the two-night Four Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, the World of Outlaws (WoO) STP Sprint Car Series is inching towards the 150 mark of features completed on the legendary .500-mile clay oval.

The pairing of Eldora and WoO dates back to April 16, 1978 when the series was just shy of one-month old; having completed its debut March 18 in Texas. Bobby Allen captured that first Eldora WoO race.

Since then, the series, which has grown through the years to become the most recognized winged Sprint Car group in the Nation, has competed an additional 145 times for a total of 146 feature events.

Standing tall on the Eldora win list is twenty-time WoO champion Steve Kinser with his 35 victories, for a remarkable one-in-four (25%) ratio of success. Kinser’s career-long rival, Sammy Swindell, sits second on the list with 20 wins, while Joey Saldana is third with 11. All three remain active in WoO competition.

Joining the winged WoO travelers on Friday evening in an all open wheel doubleheader will be the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds, while Saturday’s non-winged menu includes USAC’s (United States Auto Club) three National divisions – Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown.

USAC DRIVERS TO GATHER FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON AUTOGRAPH SESSION
ROSSBURG, OH (September 18) – Prior to Saturday’s (Sept. 21) leg of the two-night 32nd annual Four Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, participating drivers in USAC’s (United States Auto Club) three National divisions have agreed to greet the race fans in a one-hour autograph session.

From 3:00-4:00 drivers from the Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown divisions of USAC will be assembled in Eldora’s fan zone where fans can collect signatures and take photos.

The drivers will then immediately return to the pit area for their mandatory driver meeting with USAC officials prior to that evening’s racing action. Following the normal progression of practice laps, time trials, preliminary heats and semi-features, the Midget division will compete for 25 laps, the Sprints for 30 laps and the Silver Crown for 50; in a rare appearance of USAC’s three National divisions on one card.

Leading up to Saturday, the Friday night leg will feature the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds.