On the other hand, it’s easy to talk about racing clean before the event’s first green flag. If the race comes down to a late battle, only time will tell how respectful everyone is to their competitors.
“Guys crash each other for $5,000,” two-time Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions champion Tyler Courtney said. “I can’t imagine what we’ll do for a million. I don’t think you’ll see any lack of effort when it comes to racing for a million.”
The $1 million up for grabs is certainly headline worthy, but there’s at least one driver in the field who hopes to compete in the event just to challenge himself against the top drivers in the sport.
Ohio native Dale Blaney, who is tied for fifth with six All Star wins at Eldora Speedway along with a pair of World of Outlaws victories at the track, has only made a handful of starts in the last three years and he is aiming to tackle the Eldora Million.
“That really sparks no interest,” he said of the payout. “I have a better chance of hitting the lottery than winning that race, but yet you never know. You go and draw the right pill in the right spot and start in the right spot in the heat race. You never know what’s going to happen. If I could make my way into the race and the track gets a certain way, you never know. Would it be impossible, at 5-million-to-one odds, but somebody has to win it.
“I wish, and a lot of guys wish this, I wish they were paying the money back then. If it was 10 years ago when I was in my prime — ’13, ’14 and ‘15 — I had some of my best years ever. It goes along with every other sport in the world. Barry Bonds probably made as much in one game as Willie Mays in 10 years.”
Bayston and World of Outlaws rookie-of-the-year contender Giovanni Scelzi both said they viewed the World of Outlaws doubleheader at Eldora Speedway in May as preparation for the Eldora Million.
“We didn’t have the best of weekends in May,” Scelzi said. “Eldora is a place I’ve had some decent runs in the past, but it’s not a place I feel that I have to have this or that. Hopefully, we get on a streak by then that works at all race tracks.”
Bayston agreed that momentum entering the Eldora Million is a critical component.
“We were definitely trying to hit on a few things and kind of using it as a little bit of a test to prepare for that event,” he said of the World of Outlaws event in May. “You want to make sure you don’t leave anything on the table leading up to the Million. We were a little more prone to thinking outside the box to see what our car liked. I felt pretty happy with our package, but in order to walk away with a win at Eldora your car always needs to be really good.
“The whole idea of preparing for that event is essentially the same as any other race at Eldora. Every race there is a big race. If you try to overanalyze and overthink the whole thing it can almost hurt you. There’s more on the line, which brings a little bit more double checking and ensuring everything is 100 percent finalized and ready to go. But I don’t think we prepare any less for any other weekly race.”
Courtney used a Kings Royal victory at Eldora Speedway in 2021 to break onto the winged sprint car scene.
“I think confidence plays more than anything,” he said. “Confidence to run the top, in having the car that’s underneath you to run other places on the track. It’s a place that has suited my style since we’ve run there a few years ago.
“Really try to treat it as a normal race. It pays a million dollars to win, but you just go there wanting to win just like every other race. Hopefully, it works out.”
Many drivers said there won’t be a special car built just for the Eldora Million unless something isn’t right with their primary car entering that week.
“Right now, if we feel we have a good car that’s been handling good and I’m comfortable in, we’ll run that car. If not, we’ll pull a new car down,” Sweet said. “I’m sure they’ll have fresh parts on the car. That’s how they treat the Knoxville Nationals and the Kings Royal.”
Logan Schuchart and Rico Abreu won the May Outlaws races at Eldora.
This story appeared in the June 28, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
