Track Facts The ‘411’ on The World’s Greatest Dirt Track Eldora Speedway is a half-mile dirt racing facility located in western Ohio. The ‘Big E’ is owned by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, Tony Stewart. The Indiana native purchased Eldora from legendary promotor Earl Baltes in 2004. Baltes built Eldora in 1954 and had been the sole owner of the facility from day number one. Eldora plays host to some of the largest dirt racing events in the country, including the Dirt Late Model Dream, Kings Royal, and World 100 – all of which attract over 20,000 spectators on an annual basis. Directory Track Name: Eldora Speedway Physical Location: Rossburg, Ohio Mailing Address: 13929 State Route 118 New Weston, OH 45348 Telephone: (937) 338-3815 Fax: (937) 338-3167 Website: www.eldoraspeedway.com Owner: Tony Stewart Track Info Size: One-Half Mile Surface: Clay Configuration: Oval Banking: Turns – 24 degrees / Straights – 8 degrees Year Built: 1954 Seating: Permanent – 22,886 / Hillside – unlimited Parking: Free in designated areas Camping: Pay lots and free lots Concessions: 4 permanent stands Racing Flags Green The green flag is waved to indicate the start of a race. The green flag will remain displayed during a race as long as the track is clear for full speed competition Yellow The yellow flag is used when hazardous conditions are present on the track. Once the yellow flag is displayed, drivers cannot advance positions on the track. Laps made under yellow flag conditions do not count in the total number of race laps. Red The red flag is used when track conditions become too severe for cars to continue circling the track. The red is automatically displayed any time a race car flips. Black The black flag is a consolation flag, indicating that the driver must report to the pit steward immediately. The black flag is used when a driver violates a track rule or has an safety issue that needs checked before returning to the race. White The white flag indicates there is one lap to go in the race. Checkered The checkered flag indicates the race is complete. Crossed Flags The flagman will take two furled flags and cross them to indicate to the drivers that the race has reached its halfway point. Half of the scheduled laps have been completed and half of the scheduled laps remain. Racing Terms Track Packing After water is applied to the dirt surface just prior to racing, track crews may call upon the help of ‘packer trucks’ to help iron in the racing surface by making several laps with their large tires. This process is known as track packing. Hot Laps Otherwise known as practice; these are laps given to a driver at the beginning of a race night, just prior to qualifying. Time Trial A timed lap(s) given to each driver. The results of time trials are typically used to line up heat races. Heat Race A short distance race (typically 8-10 laps), whose results are used to line up feature events. For example: drivers finishing 1st, 2nd, & 3rd in a heat race would advance to the A-Feature event; drivers finishing 4th, 5th, and 6th would advance to the B-Feature; and so on… B-Feature Drivers who failed to transfer to the A-Feature event through their heat race are required to run a B-Feature. This is the last chance for drivers to advance to the A-Feature. Only the top finishers of the B-Feature will advance. A-Feature The main event for a racing division is called the A-Feature. This race is longer in distance, sometimes up to 100 laps in major events. Pit Area The pit area at Eldora is located inside of the racing oval. This is the working area where teams are located on race night. An overflow pit area, located behind the turn three bleachers is also used on occasion. Driver Meeting A meeting where drivers and officials meet before a race to discuss the upcoming event, rules, procedures, and any other pertinent information. Banking The Eldora Speedway is banked 24 degrees in the corners and 8 degrees on the straightaway Cushion As race cars continue to make laps around the track, they tend to push loose dirt up the track. As the dirt gets pushed up higher and higher, a ‘cushion’ of loose dirt develops. Drivers will often race their cars right up against the cushion. Late Model Late models are full-bodied stock cars that push over 800 horsepower. The largest dirt late model events in the country are run at Eldora each season – The World 100 and Dirt Late Model Dream. Modified Modifieds sport a unique configuration, with rear tires fully protected and fendered, while the front tires sport no fenders and are ‘open wheeled’. These cars race on extremely narrow tires and weigh approx. 2,400 pounds. Stock Car Stock cars are heavier full-bodied cars, weighing in around 3,000 pounds. They run on gasoline feature local racers from the area. Many of the nation’s stop racing stars began racing in a stock car. Sprint Car High-powered ‘open wheel’ race cars designed for the purpose of running short distance races. Weighing in around 1,200 pounds and pushing upwards of 900 horsepower, sprint cars have the highest horsepower to weight ratio of almost any car on the planet. Sprint cars are run with and without a giant 25 square foot top wing. Winged sprint cars produce lots of downforce, helping them reach speeds of nearly 150 mph. Non-Winged sprint cars have much less downforce and traction, making the cars ‘slide’ through the turns. Sprint cars run on methanol. Invert Often times, heat races or feature events are ‘inverted’ – meaning a select number of cars may have their starting position inverted. Example: An invert of 8 is drawn for heat races. This means the top 8 positions in each heat race are inverted – the driver originally scheduled to start first will now start eighth and the driver scheduled to start eighth will start first.