MOPAR MILLION ENTRY LIST ANNOUNCED

ROSSBURG, Ohio (July 30) -- The wait is over. Eldora Speedway promoter Earl Baltes has released the much anticipated entry list for the most challenging promotion he has designed in his 50 years of ruling over America’s most visible speed plant - the Mopar Million Sprint at Eldora.

With special event sanctioning by the United States Auto Club (USAC), the September 19 and 20 contest will see $1,000,000 in prize money up for grabs for non-winged Sprint Cars, and 150 car owners have accepted the challenge.

When the unprecedented event was announced, Baltes indicated that the number of entries would be limited and immediately the naysayers doubted that any action to limit entries would be necessary. Now, the last laugh seems to be on them, as the unique and challenging race format for the Mopar Million was set up for 150 cars, and that number has been fulfilled.

A quick glance at the drivers entered by the car owners reveals entrants from nearly every sanctioning body across the Nation, with an extraordinary array of talent and an age difference from Kenny Carmichael, Jr. who will turn 18 in August through Al Thomas who continues to manhandle the non-winged machines at 68 years of age.

As expected the traditional non-winged chauffeurs head up the list, while many drivers, noted for their winged Sprint Car expertise, have answered the call and will shed their top air-foils at a chance for the $200,000 top prize. Along with that figure, the largest payout in Sprint Car history finds a luring $10,000 paycheck just to start the 40-lap main event.

But, is this entry list final?

Yes - and no, according to Baltes. The number of 150 is final and the entered cars won’t change, but driver assignments could. The owners have until the actual day of registration to announce their definitive driver selection, knowing that back-up cars are not permitted, and that the strict rules call for one-car/one-driver.

What this means is, once the team passes inspection and the owner/driver combination is announced, there are no changes past that point - even in the event of mechanical woes, crashes, etc.

One can only expect that the 150 entered car owners have some monumental decisions to make - keep their original choice or make a change and accept the desires of many of the drivers that missed the cutoff and want to participate in the biggest and richest payoff in Sprint Car history.

The chess game has officially begun and in less than eight weeks, the final playing board will be set.