Levi Jones
Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, owned by Columbus native Tony Stewart, has hired championship-winning USAC driver and motorsports executive Levi Jones as general manager for the World’s Greatest Dirt Track.
The appointment serves as a homecoming for Jones, with the 42-year-old from Olney, Illinois, having raced for Stewart in the United States Auto Club (USAC) from 2006 until the midpoint of 2013, winning six of his seven USAC championships with Tony Stewart Racing.
Jones comes to Eldora from IndyCar, where he has been director of Indy NXT, the steppingstone division to the flagship NTT IndyCar Series. Prior to his three-year tenure at IndyCar, Jones held numerous competition and executive positions with USAC, rising from national series competition director in 2015-19 to executive vice president from 2019 until October 2021, when he joined IndyCar.
“On behalf of everyone at Eldora Speedway, we’re excited and grateful to have Levi Jones as our general manager,” Stewart said. “Levi has always held Eldora in high regard, both as a racer and as an executive. Now in his role as general manager, he combines a racer’s perspective with excellent managerial and promotional experience earned in USAC and IndyCar. Our fans and competitors should know that Eldora is in very good hands, just as it had been before.
“We had a terrific leader in Jerry Gappens, and all of us were devastated by his passing,” he added. “I’m incredibly proud of the entire staff who stepped up in what has been a very trying time. At numerous points this summer, we all asked, ‘What would Jerry have done?’ as we worked to put our best foot forward.
“I want to especially thank Jonathan Bateman, who has worn nearly every hat and done every job at Eldora since joining us in 2006. He became our interim general manager after Jerry passed, and he had less than two weeks to get ready for one of our biggest races, the Dirt Late Model Dream. He was an absolute pro, and the Dream and our summer slate of racing wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the experience and work ethic Jonathan brings to Eldora every day.”
Jones delivers another established work ethic to Eldora. He won 35 feature races during his USAC driving career, a tally spread amongst Sprint Car (28 wins), Midget (four wins) and Silver Crown (three wins). His USAC Sprint Car titles came in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and he earned back-to-back USAC Silver Crown championships in 2010 and 2011. All but Jones’ 2005 Sprint Car championship came with Tony Stewart Racing.
That experience made Jones a perfect fit for USAC, where as its national series competition director, he led the planning and operation of more than 75 USAC events across the United States in the Sprint Car, Midget and Silver Crown divisions. When Jones was promoted to USAC executive vice president, he helped diversify the sanctioning body’s scope beyond open-wheel racing. Under Jones’ watch, USAC expanded to youth racing, off-road competition, rally and sports car racing. All the while, Jones was responsible for maintaining and executing annual rule books, managing sponsorships for each series, negotiating sanction agreements, personnel management and working as race director, when needed.
“Being general manager of Eldora Speedway is a huge opportunity, and I’m grateful for it,” Jones said. “I know I have big shoes to fill from all that Jerry Gappens and his predecessors accomplished, but I’m ready for this moment. I know Eldora’s history and what it means to fans and everyone who comes through its pit gate, whether they’re a driver or a crew member. We are passionate that Eldora remains the preeminent dirt track in the world, and that’s my aim as general manager.”
Carved from a cornfield in 1954, Eldora has become a leader in motorsports growth and sustainability. The half-mile, dirt oval hosts some of the most prestigious grassroots racing events in the world, and 2024 is its 71st consecutive season of racing.
“Eldora is the track where everyone wants to win because you really have to earn it, and when you do, your name is on a list of legends,” said Jones, a two-time winner of Eldora’s 4-Crown Nationals (2005 and 2010). “There’s a lot of pride that comes with just competing at Eldora, and credit goes to track founders Earl and Berneice Baltes. They made Eldora a destination with constant improvement and innovation. Tony Stewart has done an incredible job of continuing all that Earl and Berneice created, and I’m honored to help carry on their vision.”
Jennings County Karts hold finale
The Jennings County Kart Track, which conducts events at the Jennings County 4-H Fairgrounds in North Vernon, closed out its’ racing season on Oct. 12 with a full racing program.
The division winners were Macy Staton (junior 2 purple, junior 1 green plate, and pro purple), Robby Young (clone medium and clone heavy), Huntly Hupp (kid karts), Larson Sheets (rookie red), Jax Hickman (beginner champ), Danuel Burton (flat head), Seth Wilkerson (clone super heavy), Stan Burnside (pure stock 350) and Kyle Willis (rwyb).
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected]
