Hall of Famer Will Crown Kings Royal Feature Winner

ROSSBURG, Ohio, June 30 — Eldora Speedway announced today that National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Bobby Allen of Hanover, Pa., will serve as the Royal Sovereign for the 40th running of the Kings Royal at Eldora on Saturday, July 15.

An original outlaw and the owner of Shark Racing, “Scruffy” will crown the winner of that night’s 40-lap World of Outlaws (WoO) NOS Energy Drink sprint car feature. The winner will earn an incredible $175,000 out of an even more impressive $383,000 purse.

Allen, 79, can be excused for hoping that one of his drivers will end up taking the checkered flag first. Both his grandson, Logan Schuchart, and his son, Jacob Allen, are regulars on the WoO tour and fan favorites. A third Shark Racing entry may also be on hand driven by Landon Myers, who competes in selected events.

The Kings Royal is the final event in a four-day extravaganza of winged sprint car racing at Eldora July 12-15 that will pay a total purse of $2,000,023.

“I predicted this a few years back,” Allen said. “Everybody is running bigger races, and everywhere we go the crowds are great. I’m glad I’m still around to be able to see it and do it.”

Allen admitted he hasn’t paid much attention to the victory lane ceremony at the Kings Royal in the past due to being on the track or in the pits, but he said he’ll try his best to do what’s requested of him. After the checkered drops on Saturday night’s feature, the winning driver will pull his car into victory lane and the ceremony will begin. A racing trophy queen will place a cloak on the winner while another one hands the driver a scepter. Allen, the Royal Sovereign, will go up a ramp to the stage carrying the crown, and the winning driver will kneel down.

Allen then will state: “With the power bestowed upon me, I hereby crown thee King [driver’s name] the 40th,” and will place the 14-inch-high crown on the winner’s head. The driver then sits down on the 287-pound throne which has been used since 1984, and will rule his kingdom.

The Kings Royal started in 1984 by the late Earl Baltes. It is a crown jewel of the WoO NOS Energy Drink sprint car series. While the racing has always been spectacular, it’s Saturday night’s pomp and circumstance, and the $175,000 winner’s check, that has set the event apart.

Although Allen won the Knoxville Nationals in 1990 and a host of other races and championships, he never won the Kings Royal during his prolific driving career. He almost won the 1988 Kings Royal before his motor blew and he ended up second to Steve Kinser. Kinser leads all other drivers with seven Kings Royal victories.

Ten-time WoO sprint car champion Donny Schatz is the only driver to have won three Kings Royal races in a row (2016-2018), and he has five Kings Royal victories in all.

Brent Marks is the defending Kings Royal winner. Schatz finished second last year followed by Carson Macedo, Schuchart and Kyle Larson.

The action kicks off on Wednesday, July 12 with the preliminaries for the Eldora Million, an unsanctioned special event. The $1,002,023-to-win Eldora Million, which carries the largest purse in sprint car history, is Thursday, July 13. The Knight Before the Kings Royal WoO race follows on Friday, July 14 paying $20,000 to win, and the Kings Royal itself is the following day, Saturday, July 15. These four days of racing are all bucket-list events for fans and career highlights for the winners.

Tickets, schedules, entry lists , camping information and other information are available on the track website at eldoraspeedway.com. Tickets can also be purchased through the speedway office phone number of (937) 338-3815 during normal business hours

The schedule for the Kings Royal shows the pit gates and the spectator gates opening at noon. The pre-race ceremonies are scheduled for around 7:45 p.m. followed by the complete Kings Royal program. All times are Eastern.

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ROYAL SOVEREIGNS FOR THE KINGS ROYAL:

1984 Tim Bertke
1985 Charlie Buck
1986 Tim Bertke
1987 Russ Clendennen
1988 Ralph Capatani
1989 John Padjen
1990 Don Martin
1991 Cary Agajanian
1992 Bert Emick
1993 Bill Holder
1994 Tom Schmeh
1995 Russ Clenennen
1996 Chris Economaki
1997 Ted Johnson
1998 Jim Wahlie
1999 Berneice Baltes
2000 Gene Frankart
2001 Brad Doty
2002 Terry Baltes
2003 Jack Hewitt
2004 Earl Baltes
2005 Jack Hewitt
2006 Kasey Kahne
2007 Tom Deery
2008 Shirley Kear
2009 Bob Kinser
2010 Jean Lynch
2011 Earl Baltes
2012 Doug Wolfgang
2013 Charlie Fisher
2014 Shane Carson
2015 Susie Barga
2016 Ralph Hurd Sr.
2017 Steve Kinser
2018 Joe and Starr Schmitmeyer
2019 Scott Gerkin
2021 Mark Rushbrook
2021 Kenny Jacobs
2022 Jac Haudenschild
2023 Bobby Allen