Rossburg, Ohio--July 15, 2010—The history, aura and prestige of the Kings Royal at the legendary Eldora Speedway in Ohio is second to none and that tradition continues to grow each and every year. Another chapter will be added to the famed event this weekend as the World of Outlaws will take part in the storied classic with $50,000 awaiting the winner along with the crown, robe and scepter. The list of winners of the Kings Royal is a “Who’s Who” of Sprint Car Racing, with five drivers that have won World of Outlaws titles winning the event, along with four Hall of Famers.
The Kings Royal weekend kicks off on Friday, July 16 with the Knight Before the Kings Royal, which is a full racing program, followed by the 27th Annual Kings Royal on Saturday, with the cameras from SPEED capturing all of the action of the finale for broadcast on Saturday, August 7.
Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, who has won the Kings Royal a record six times, leads the series into Eldora Speedway after taking the lead in the championship standings on Wednesday night following a runner-up finish in the Brad Doty Classic at Limaland Motorsports Park. Kinser won the first Kings Royal in 1984 and followed that up with victories in the famed event in 1988, 1991, 1997, 2003 and 2005. The living legend is the only driver that has made the A-Feature at each and every one of the 26 previous Kings Royal events and has finished on the podium 15 times to lead all drivers in the event.
Donny Schatz, the four-time and defending World of Outlaws champion, is the reigning winner of the Kings Royal, scoring his second win in the crown jewel event last season. He wore the purple robe for the first time in 2007. The North Dakota native, who drives for Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart’s team, has five career wins at the half-mile.
Joey Saldana, who leads the World of Outlaws with eight victorious this season including one earlier in the year at Eldora, is also a two-time winner of the Kings Royal. He sat on the throne in Victory Lane for the first time in 2002 and was victorious again in 2006. The second generation driver has seven overall wins with the World of Outlaws at Eldora in his career.
Jason Sides, who has won three times this season and is currently fifth in points, made history in 2004 winning the Kings Royal to score his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature win, making him the only driver in the history of the series to accomplish that feat. He won at Eldora last fall.
Sammy Swindell, who has won the Kings Royal three times will also be in action this weekend, along with Dave Blaney who has won the event twice and his brother Dale who was victorious in the 2000 Kings Royal.
- Tony Veneziano on Jul 15, 2010
- Article Date: 7/15/2010