Rossburg, OH—July 16, 2009—The traditional “Month of Money” kicks off for the World of Outlaws this weekend at Eldora Speedway in Ohio with the 26th running of the legendary Kings Royal on Saturday, July 18. The weekend will kick off with the Knight before the Kings Royal on Friday, July 17. The finale on Saturday night will pay $50,000 to the winner and the cameras from SPEED will be on hand to tape the race for broadcast on Sunday, August 9 at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Joey Saldana was bidding for his third career win in the event last season and was leading when he lost a tire with 13 laps remaining, handing the lead to Daryn Pittman, who would pace the field for the remainder of the distance to score his first win in the Kings Royal.

Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, leads all drivers with six wins in event and is the only driver that has made the main event in each of the previous 25 Kings Royals.

Jac Haudenschild has won the race three times and is one of three drivers from the state of Ohio to wear the famed crown and sit on the throne at his home state track.

NHRA Media Photoby Phil Burgess, NHRA.com
Larry Dixon, Jack Beckman, Jason Line, and Andrew Hines collected victories at the third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. The race was the 12th event of the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

The victories by the Pro winners were crucial in many aspects. Dixon used his fourth win of the season in Top Fuel to move to second in standings, while Funny Car champ Beckman moved into fourth place. Line was able to move up a spot as well, into third in Pro Stock, while Hines also took one step forward and into second place behind his teammate and fellow finalist Eddie Krawiec.

There was a lot at stake for Dixon in the Top Fuel final as a win would propel him into second place and a loss would drop him to fourth behind opponent Brandon Bernstein. The race ended early though when Bernstein smoked the tires and watched Dixon zoom away to a 3.98, 294.05-mph victory, the 47th of his career. Dixon remains perfect on the season with four wins in four finals.

by Matt Kentfield
CONCORD, N.C. -- Anderson Speedway in Indiana has always been considered the birthplace of the American Speed Association. The days of Bob Senneker, Mike Eddy, Dick Trickle, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace doing battle at the tight, high-banked quarter-mile oval are legendary. Now officials are celebrating ASA’s heritage by bringing back the historic Redbud 300 race on Tuesday, June 16th, at Anderson Speedway.

“There seems to be a tremendous interest in this race,” said Rick Dawson, promoter of Anderson Speedway. “It is almost like the perfect storm, as we have a NASCAR star coming to town; we have the CRA Series coming; we have resurrected the historic Redbud 300, and we have the added ASA flavor.”

That NASCAR star is none other than phenom Kyle Busch, who won 21 races between the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series in 2008 and has already won in each series again this year. He will bring his KBM Super Late Model team to Anderson, IN, for the Redbud 300.

by Kevin Kovac
CLOSE AGAIN: Defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Darrell Lanigan made another impressive charge in a big-money race on Saturday night, rallying from the 15th starting spot to finish third in the UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned 'Dream XV' at Eldora Speedway.

But pocketing $10,000 and ending up as the highest-finishing WoO LMS regular in the 100-lap A-Main was little consolation for the no-nonsense racer from Union, Ky., who is sick and tired of falling short in extra-distance specials this season.

Lanigan, who turned 39 on June 3, summed up his Dream effort thusly: 'We needed to start up front. If we would've been in front of Scott (Bloomquist, who finished second), I don't know if he would've gotten by us. (Jimmy) Owens (the eventual winner) ' well, he was good and would've been tough to beat even if we started up front, so I'm not saying we would've won it with a better starting spot. But I know that we could've run second.'

Dirt Late Model Race Rescheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at Eldora Speedway

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 3, 2009) – Persistent rain has forced officials at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, to postpone the fifth annual Prelude to the Dream. The all-star dirt late model race has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9. A decision regarding the broadcast of the event will be made at a later date.

The wet weather made it impossible to run the event that was slated to benefit four military-themed charities – Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House.

“We worked really hard to make sure everything was right for the drivers, fans and viewers at home on HBO Pay-Per-View, but the weather was the one element we couldn’t control,” said Tony Stewart, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and owner of Eldora Speedway.

Those who have already purchased the Prelude to the Dream on HBO Pay-Per-View, which was slated to begin today at 7 p.m. EDT, will be refunded.