kelloggs5TLfan
Team Owner
Earls Retirement
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At the conclusion of WORLD 100 driver introductions, Eldora Speedway owner Earl Baltes, along with his wife Berneice, were presented to the crowd on the famous victory stage and the inevitable announcement regarding the future of Eldora was finally made...
for immediate news release e-mail: [email protected]
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EARL'S RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Rossburg, OH (Sept. 11) -- One of the most colorful and influential chapters in short track auto racing will come to a close at the end of the 2004 season, as announced before Saturday night‘s capacity World 100 crowd. After 51 consecutive years at the helm of his beloved Eldora Speedway; one of the nation’s most widely recognized short track racing facilities, 83 year old Earl Baltes is retiring from the sport due to health reasons.
His absence will be felt.
Throughout the years, the flamboyant Baltes has raised the bar in all levels and divisions of short track racing. High dollar payoffs, which resulted in huge entry fields and intense racing became Baltes’ trademark.
Baltes was a leader.
He was the first to offer $50,000 to win a Sprint Car race through his annual Kings Royal Race. He followed that up with the famed Historical Big One, the first race to ever offer $100,000 to win for winged Sprints.
And, he didn’t leave out the non-winged Sprints. For them, he created the Mopar Million, a race paying a whopping one million dollar purse and $200,000 to win.
For the Late Models, Baltes defied all odds with his Eldora Million, the only short track race in history to offer $1,000,000 to win; and the annual Dirt Late Model Dream which offers the Late Models $100,000 to win.
But perhaps his greatest claim to fame was the development of the legendary World 100 for Late Models, a 34-year tradition that has developed into the nation’s most widely known and respected event.
Baltes will quickly tell anyone within listening distance that the World 100 is his prized baby and with that respect he chose the World 100 to announce the farewell to his ‘field of dreams.
Understandably somber, Baltes and his wife Berneice extended a sincere thank you to the fans and drivers for their contributions to the success of Eldora. He was unable to announce definitive plans for Eldora at this time; however he assured everyone that the tradition and legacy of Eldora Speedway will live on.
As a special thanks to his many friends in racing, Earl announced that the final three events on his 2004 schedule will be his farewell to them.
Farewell number 1 will be September 24 and 25 with USAC 4-Crown Nationals, farewell number 2 will be October 2 with the All Star Sprints and Eldora Stock Cars. Earl will then close out a storied career October 9 and 10 with farewell number 3 and the running of the UMP National Championships.
It is never easy to say good-bye.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the conclusion of WORLD 100 driver introductions, Eldora Speedway owner Earl Baltes, along with his wife Berneice, were presented to the crowd on the famous victory stage and the inevitable announcement regarding the future of Eldora was finally made...
for immediate news release e-mail: [email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EARL'S RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Rossburg, OH (Sept. 11) -- One of the most colorful and influential chapters in short track auto racing will come to a close at the end of the 2004 season, as announced before Saturday night‘s capacity World 100 crowd. After 51 consecutive years at the helm of his beloved Eldora Speedway; one of the nation’s most widely recognized short track racing facilities, 83 year old Earl Baltes is retiring from the sport due to health reasons.
His absence will be felt.
Throughout the years, the flamboyant Baltes has raised the bar in all levels and divisions of short track racing. High dollar payoffs, which resulted in huge entry fields and intense racing became Baltes’ trademark.
Baltes was a leader.
He was the first to offer $50,000 to win a Sprint Car race through his annual Kings Royal Race. He followed that up with the famed Historical Big One, the first race to ever offer $100,000 to win for winged Sprints.
And, he didn’t leave out the non-winged Sprints. For them, he created the Mopar Million, a race paying a whopping one million dollar purse and $200,000 to win.
For the Late Models, Baltes defied all odds with his Eldora Million, the only short track race in history to offer $1,000,000 to win; and the annual Dirt Late Model Dream which offers the Late Models $100,000 to win.
But perhaps his greatest claim to fame was the development of the legendary World 100 for Late Models, a 34-year tradition that has developed into the nation’s most widely known and respected event.
Baltes will quickly tell anyone within listening distance that the World 100 is his prized baby and with that respect he chose the World 100 to announce the farewell to his ‘field of dreams.
Understandably somber, Baltes and his wife Berneice extended a sincere thank you to the fans and drivers for their contributions to the success of Eldora. He was unable to announce definitive plans for Eldora at this time; however he assured everyone that the tradition and legacy of Eldora Speedway will live on.
As a special thanks to his many friends in racing, Earl announced that the final three events on his 2004 schedule will be his farewell to them.
Farewell number 1 will be September 24 and 25 with USAC 4-Crown Nationals, farewell number 2 will be October 2 with the All Star Sprints and Eldora Stock Cars. Earl will then close out a storied career October 9 and 10 with farewell number 3 and the running of the UMP National Championships.
It is never easy to say good-bye.