Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, and official livestream partner FloSports, a leader in sports streaming and original content, have announced the return of The Eldora Million, one of the most legendary events in the history of the hallowed high-banked half-mile clay oval.
For just the second time ever — on June 9, 2022 — the blue-collar superstars of Dirt Late Model racing will compete for a winner’s purse of $1 million.
The Eldora Million will feature a full-program of heat races, last chance showdowns and culminate with
the $1,002,022-to-win Championship Feature. The initial seeding for the June 9 heat races will be set on June 8, via a program of tournament-style preliminary features.
The combination of two giant shows — The Eldora Million and the 28th running of the $128,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream on June 11 — in a span of four days, creates one of the richest open competition events in motorsports history with posted prize money already exceeding $1.9 million.
“I have said from the first-day I took ownership of Eldora that we want to make Earl and Berneice proud and continue to push the limits of race promotion. I can’t think of a better way to honor their legacy than bringing back The Eldora Million one more time for both our longtime drivers and fans as well as a whole new generation who have only heard about it,” Stewart said. “And I couldn’t do it without our phenomenal partnership with Mark Floreani and his team at FloSports. I love working with them in growing our sport, showcasing our events, and creating engaging content for our fans on FloRacing, and the entire FloSports subscriber base.”
All four days of action from the 28th Dirt Late Model Dream Week, including The Eldora Million on June 9 and the 28th Dirt Late Model Dream on June 11, will be available worldwide exclusively on FloRacing, Eldora’s official livestream partner.
“Tony Stewart and his team keep raising the bar with their incredible events at the legendary Eldora Speedway,” said Mark Floreani, CEO and Co-Founder, FloSports. “Their commitment to motorsports has been integral to the growth of FloRacing and we are proud to support their mission to bring this sport to an even wider audience around the world.”
It was February 2000 when the inimitable promoter and founder of Eldora Speedway, the late Earl Baltes, stood up at the annual Racing Promotion Monthly Workshops in Daytona Beach, Fla., and shocked the industry with the announcement he would pay an unprecedented $1 million to the winner of a Dirt Late Model race that coming October. However, a combination of heavy rains, wet grounds, and unseasonably cold temperatures forced the event to be rescheduled to June 9, 2001 — in place of the Eighth annual Dirt Late Model Dream.
Fan-favorite Donnie Moran, a four-time winner of the World 100® and native of Dresden, Ohio, triumphed by passing Martinsville’s Don O’Neal, an eventual Dirt Late Model Dream champion, with a slide job for the lead on Lap 25 to lead the remaining 74 laps, forever earning the moniker “The Million Dollar Man — Donnie Moran!” Now, just over 20 years later, both Moran’s son Devin and O’Neal’s son Hudson are two of the young lions who make up the next generation of stars in the Dirt Late Model ranks.
“With last week’s confirmation, there will indeed be a sequel to The Eldora Million, our great team here at Eldora now has the 2022 Major Events ticketing and camping calendar finalized. We appreciate the patience of our loyal fans, and renewal notifications will begin showing up in their patron accounts and email by early next week for their 2022 ticket and campsite renewals,” said general manager Roger Slack. “Like everything these days, it took a little longer than anticipated to deliver all of the details for a week of events of this magnitude. Our team wanted to get everything right and assure an expedited renewal process for the many patrons who hold tickets to each of our major events.”
Patrons who had tickets for the 2021 Dirt Late Model Dream — the 27th edition, which was held back on June 9 and 10 — will have the first opportunity to purchase those same seats for The Eldora Million® as part of the event renewal process.
Public sale for tickets and campsites for all 2022 Major Events will begin on at 10 a.m. Dec. 18 exclusively at EldoraSpeedway.com, where fans can also sign-up for breaking news updates delivered via email or text message. The latest event information, including race day schedule and weather updates, can be found on the official @EldoraSpeedway accounts on social channels Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
