The Eldora Dirt Derby was a annual race in the

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...

race held at

Eldora Speedway Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "The Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "The World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, it features permanent and ...

Rossburg, Ohio Rossburg is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 201 at the 2010 census. History Rossburg was platted by John G. Ross in 1868. In its early years, the community was also known as "Hagerman"; under this name a po ...

. During its existence from 2013 to 2019, the race was the only

dirt track racing Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced oval race tracks often used for thoroughbred horse racing. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s ...

event on any NASCAR national touring series (

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...

, or Truck) schedule and the first since 1970. Due to coronavirus concerns in 2020, the race was not run and is not scheduled to be run again in the Truck Series. The standalone dirt event was later moved to

Knoxville Raceway Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile dirt oval raceway (zook clay) located at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa, United States. Races at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World" are held on Saturday nights from April throug ...

for 2021.

History

On November 28, 2012, NASCAR announced the addition of a race at Eldora Speedway to the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series's schedule. The race would be the first on a dirt surface in any of NASCAR's national series since 1970, with the last being at the

North Carolina State Fairgrounds The North Carolina State Fair is an American state fair and agricultural exposition held annually in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1853, the fair is organized by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It attrac ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. The inaugural running of the event, which completely sold out in January 2013, was run on July 24, 2013.

Austin Dillon Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. ...

won the event after retaining the lead on a

green–white–checker finish In North American auto racing, a green–white–checker finish (GWC) is a racing restart procedure one in which the race is restarted from a caution period with 2 laps remaining. When the race distance is extended to accommodate such a finish, i ...

. The event was originally branded as the Mudsummer Classic, but was re-named for the 2016 edition due to a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

dispute with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, as the league's

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

is marketed with the trademark "Midsummer Classic". The event was ultimately re-named the Eldora Dirt Derby, with the 2016 edition being sponsored by

Aspen Dental Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) is an American dental support organization (DSO), a dental practice management corporation that provides business support and administrative services in the US. Its headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. Histo ...

. The 2020 race was canceled due to state restrictions on large gatherings as a safety measure against the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Derby was removed from the schedule in 2021.

Format

There are five qualifying races, consisting of ten laps each, that determine the starting grid. However, driver's starting positions in the qualifying races are determined by normal two-lap qualifying sessions. Caution laps in the qualifying races are not scored, and five trucks will transfer from each qualifying race. After the five races, a total of 25 trucks will have qualified for the feature (the main event). Another race, named the 'Last Chance Race', consists of 15 laps, and determines the lineup from position 26 to 29. The final position on the grid is awarded to the most recent Camping World Truck Series champion, unless there is no beneficiary to that position. In that case, the fifth-place finisher in the 'Last Chance Race' is awarded the final starting position. The main event, or feature, is 150 laps long, with three segments of 40, 50 and 60 laps. During each break, drivers are allowed to make

pit stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...

s. In 2014, the format was changed. Instead of lasting eight laps, the heat races will now consist of ten laps, with the top five teams failing to qualify for the Main Feature being awarded owners' points. Additionally, drivers are no longer required to pit. Following the abolition of the "all exempt" tour format in 2015, the last chance format changed. Only the top drivers advance to the feature from the Last Chance race, for a net of 27 cars. The remaining five trucks in the field will be filled by NASCAR's provisional starting regulations; trucks in the top four in owner points standings that have not qualified for the race, and then the most recent Truck Series driver champion not in the field if necessary, or if not, the fifth-place truck in owner points standings of those not qualified.

Past winners

Qualifying races

"Last Chance" qualifying race

Feature (Main Event)

*2013, 2015 and 2018: The race was extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish. *2020: Race cancelled and moved to

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due to the

Multiple Feature winners (teams)

Manufacturer wins

Tuesday Night Tailgate

The Tuesday Night Tailgate is the supporting event to the Mudsummer Classic featuring pre-race technical inspection for the Truck Series teams. From 2014 to 2015, the event included the Sunoco American Late Model Series. In 2016, the event will feature the

Super DIRTcar Series The Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds is a North American big block modified touring series currently promoted by World Racing Group. The series primarily races on dirt ovals in the Northeastern United States and Canada along with select d ...

Big Block Modifieds, which will return to Eldora for the first time since 2006.

Past winners

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eldora at Eldora Speedway 2013 establishments in Ohio NASCAR races at Eldora Speedway Former NASCAR races NASCAR Truck Series races Recurring sporting events established in 2013 July sporting events Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2020