An extraordinary spectacle is shaping up in a rural area of southwest Ohio, where the nation’s elite winged sprint car drivers in the country will gather in the middle of July for an opportunity to make life-changing money.
Eldora Speedway, near Rossburg, is doubling up on its marquee events this year, meaning there will be a pair of $175,000-to-win Kings Royal shows, each preceded by a regular World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race that pays $10,000 to the winner.
The 38th annual Kings Royal is July 15 and the 37th annual Kings Royal, which was postponed last year because of COVID-19, is July 17. The Jokers Wild kicks off the four-race week on July 14 with the Knight Before the Kings Royal occurring on July 16.
“It’s unprecedented,” two-time Kings Royal winner and defending World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet said. “We’ve never seen anything like that in sprint car racing where in a matter of four days someone could potentially win close to $400,000. It’s unreal and shows you how far sprint car racing has come and how much Eldora is willing to push the envelope. I hope it works out well for them.
“Whenever you show up and there’s a $175,000 payday to win you bring your absolute ‘A’ game, highest intensity, the best car you have. You take every chance you can to win the race. It’s a little different mentality than the other 80 races. When you put big money on the line, for a sprint car racer you only get so many opportunities for that kind of money. Plus, getting on that trophy, there’s a lot of prestige winning that event.”
Sweet captured the most recent crown in 2019 as well as in ’13. He has earned four consecutive podium finishes during the Kings Royal and six top-five finishes during his current streak of nine straight feature starts.
“The race is so big and pays so much you can’t help but feel the extra intensity,” he said. “It’s not that we don’t give 110 percent every night. As a driver, you’re willing to take a few more risks knowing you only get one or two shots (at that amount of money).”
The Kings Royal offers the best payout to the feature winner in winged sprint car racing this year. The Knoxville Nationals pays $150,000 to win and offers a $1,000-per-lap bonus to the leader. Therefore, if a driver leads more than half of the Knoxville Nationals 50-lap feature that would become the most money a driver earns in a given race.
A driver only needs to lead one lap — the final one — on July 15 to score a $175,000 jackpot. And then two days later he or she will have another shot at the same top prize.
“Two races paying $175,000 in the same week, it’s unbelievable,” veteran racer Brian Brown said. “It shows that Tony (Stewart) and his group, how much they care about the sport and want it to continue it to grow. Someone could leave there with a lot of money.”
Brown is among a long list of drivers who have had the middle of July circled on their calendar since Eldora Speedway officials announced during the offseason that they will host the makeup Kings Royal in addition to the 2021 edition in the same week.
“You look at that, they don’t have to do those things,” he said. “I’m very thankful that Tony, Roger (Slack) and their group are doing this. It’s important to be able to be there. We want to run in Casey’s and FVP territory a lot, but we want to be at the big events. There are Casey’s in the Ohio area close to Eldora. When big events happen, we want to be there one way or another.”
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