MOPAR TO SPONSOR ELDORA'S SPRINT MILLION

ROSSBURG, Ohio (January 28) -- Eldora Speedway’s recently announced Sprint Million has a new name. The historic event, offering one-million dollars in prize money to non-winged Sprints over the weekend of September 19 and 20, 2003, will officially be known as The Mopar Million Sprint at Eldora from this point forward.

The announcement was made Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis, simultaneously with the revelation that Eldora had granted sanctioning rights to the event with the United States Auto Club (USAC).

Eldora promoter Earl Baltes made public his intentions to stage the richest paying race in Sprint Car history while in attendance at the recent Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Within days of that declaration, officials from Mopar Excitement were on the phone to Baltes, stating their desire to be part of that history.

“Eldora Speedway has a reputation of always trying to move this sport forward,” said Kevin Miller, Senior Brand Manager - Mopar Excitement, “and with all the activities that Mopar has this year with Tony Stewart Motorsports, etc., we felt sponsoring The Mopar Million Sprint at Eldora was a great opportunity to join in and showcase this sport in a fun and exciting way”.

Baltes retorted, “Unbelievable! This is my 50th year of racing, and I’ve never had anybody knock on my door wanting to sponsor a race. Mopar came to me, said they heard about this race, and they wanted in. We talked a little, a deal was made, and now this event, with Mopar and USAC both involved, is even greater than I ever imagined.”

The Mopar Million Sprint at Eldora will see two nights of racing over the one-half mile clay high-banked oval, with a unique format that will be detailed to the participants and fans within the next few weeks.

USAC’s Special Event status will find all cars in competition falling under their technical guidelines, while the conduct of the event will be under Baltes’ watchful eye.

Over $800,000 will be up for grabs in the main event alone, with the winner capturing $200,000 and 26th place taking home $10,000.