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NASCAR will be returning to its roots in a fashion when the Camping World Truck series makes its' dirt debut at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, the.5-mile track owned by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart on July 24th. This event will be the first of two Wednesday night races for the series, joining Bristol Motor Speedway's popular mid-week race on Aug. 21.
“We've had talks about getting the trucks on dirt in the past,” said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “The door-to-door racing that our truck series is known for plus Eldora's popularity and Tony's dedication to putting on great shows for the fans is a perfect fit. We'll have a maximum starting field of 30 trucks at Eldora. More details on the race format are still being developed.”
"It has been one of the hardest things to not talk about I think in my entire professional racing career," Stewart said. "To have had the opportunity to go and do a test earlier this year with the trucks was just really a dream come true for us as a facility. I've always joked around and people say, What would you do if you could change the schedule? I always joke around about saying, I would add a dirt race.
"Roger Slack and Steve took that and ran with it. Now we're fortunate enough to have the Truck Series at Eldora finally.
"It's really a dream come true for us as not only a promoter, but I don't think any of us really thought, like we mentioned since 1970, the national series have never been to a dirt track. To imagine that 42 years later we're going to be taking a national NASCAR series back to a dirt track is a huge honor for us, something that everybody, including Roger Slack, Larry Kemp, Larry Boos, everybody at Eldora, are extremely excited.”
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), a 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course in Bowmanville, Ont., will host its inaugural truck event on Sept. 1, becoming the first road-course track for the series since 2000, and ensuring a NASCAR national series presence in Canada for a seventh-consecutive season.
"It's very important that we maintain our national series presence in Canada,” O'Donnell said. “We've accomplished that goal while also bringing a world-class venue like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on board. The Canadian fan base is so passionate and has a high regard for NASCAR. We're excited to increase our role with our great partners at Canadian Tire while also introducing the truck series to our fans in Canada."
CTMP, which has hosted NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events since 2007, becomes the fifth different track to hold a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series road-course event, and first since Watkins Glen International on June 24, 2000.
Also beginning in 2013 as was recently announced by NASCAR, at road courses and tracks measuring 1.1 miles in length or less, the driver age restriction will be lowered to 16 years old. Currently, the minimum age to compete at the national series level is 18.
The balance of the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck schedule, the series' 19th season, maintains a familiar feel, opening with Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 22 and culminating on Nov. 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“We've had talks about getting the trucks on dirt in the past,” said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “The door-to-door racing that our truck series is known for plus Eldora's popularity and Tony's dedication to putting on great shows for the fans is a perfect fit. We'll have a maximum starting field of 30 trucks at Eldora. More details on the race format are still being developed.”
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| Eldora Speedway. (Photo: Getty for NASCAR) |
"It has been one of the hardest things to not talk about I think in my entire professional racing career," Stewart said. "To have had the opportunity to go and do a test earlier this year with the trucks was just really a dream come true for us as a facility. I've always joked around and people say, What would you do if you could change the schedule? I always joke around about saying, I would add a dirt race.
"Roger Slack and Steve took that and ran with it. Now we're fortunate enough to have the Truck Series at Eldora finally.
"It's really a dream come true for us as not only a promoter, but I don't think any of us really thought, like we mentioned since 1970, the national series have never been to a dirt track. To imagine that 42 years later we're going to be taking a national NASCAR series back to a dirt track is a huge honor for us, something that everybody, including Roger Slack, Larry Kemp, Larry Boos, everybody at Eldora, are extremely excited.”
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), a 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course in Bowmanville, Ont., will host its inaugural truck event on Sept. 1, becoming the first road-course track for the series since 2000, and ensuring a NASCAR national series presence in Canada for a seventh-consecutive season.
"It's very important that we maintain our national series presence in Canada,” O'Donnell said. “We've accomplished that goal while also bringing a world-class venue like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on board. The Canadian fan base is so passionate and has a high regard for NASCAR. We're excited to increase our role with our great partners at Canadian Tire while also introducing the truck series to our fans in Canada."
CTMP, which has hosted NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events since 2007, becomes the fifth different track to hold a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series road-course event, and first since Watkins Glen International on June 24, 2000.
Also beginning in 2013 as was recently announced by NASCAR, at road courses and tracks measuring 1.1 miles in length or less, the driver age restriction will be lowered to 16 years old. Currently, the minimum age to compete at the national series level is 18.
The balance of the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck schedule, the series' 19th season, maintains a familiar feel, opening with Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 22 and culminating on Nov. 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.