Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway, has posted the largest purse in short track history: on the evening of July 13, the winner of the 50-lap Eldora Million, a winged sprint car race, will earn $1,002,023 (the total four-day posted purse even exceeds $2 million). Only the winner of the Indianapolis 500 earns more money than that, $3,666,000. But only in total! If you break the amount down to the driven mile, the winner of the Eldora Million earns way more per mile than the winner of the Indianapolis 500.
“Something like this has never been done before”, said Tony Stewart at the Media Event, “I’m really excited about that!”.
“We wanted to do something different,” Tony continued, “to get a Million dollars, a driver should really earn it. It shouldn’t be that you start from the pole, never pass another car and win the Million. We created a format that will provide the best racing for the fans. Whoever driver will win the Million will really have to earn it. There will be no easy ride, you gonna have to pass cars. The driver who drives aggressive and risks probably a bit more than usual will most likely come out on the top”
Tony shared that he expects about 80 teams with drivers from 46 States, 4 or 5 countries, the best drivers from around the country!
He states that Eldora will always strive to be a pioneer to do things bigger and better than anybody else ever has done it. This large purse is a big commitment but there are also partners who chipped in to make this happen. This commitment has more of a “history”-background than a “profit”-background.
Without even going into the details of the format, one thing is clear: the fans can expect a few really exciting racing nights!
Asked whether he is in it (Eldora) on the long run, Tony shared that he is 100% committed and that he has a lot of plans for Eldora. Next step will be a Multi-Million-Dollar renovation of the “Ballroom” and he has even bigger plans for the future.
So, the fans can expect a lot for the time coming and Eldora, already the biggest Dirt Track of the world will get even more attractive. The fans love it already – and the teams and drivers as well (we spoke to many of them in the past year and they love coming to Eldora).
Tony Stewart is not only the owner of Eldora Speedway and has an impressive NASCAR career (three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion), he is also a Philanthropist who utilizes his popularity and his money for good causes. His Tony Stewart Foundation provides grant funding to well-qualified organizations serving children who are critically ill or physically disabled; animals at-risk or endangered; and drivers injured in the sport of motor racing.
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