Road Race: Eldora

Back home again in Indiana.

Daytona Beach may be the World Center of Racing and Charlotte is deep in the heart of stock-car racing, but Indianapolis is the breadbasket of midwest short-track racing -- and I love to explore new tracks in the area every time I'm in the Circle City on "business."

My choices this year are based on variety, historical significance -- and my ability to get there and back in between Allstate 400 activity at the Brickyard.

	Tony Stewart
	ALSO •   Eldora Speedway

I've got a gray Chevrolet HHR (a nice-looking PT Cruiser knock-off which looks almost purple in the Indiana haze) with 8 miles on the odometer, a full tank of gas, a racing schedule and Mapquest on the laptop.

So let's go racing. But where to first?

Well, there's always the Silver Crown 100-lapper at Indianapolis Raceway Park, an event which kicks off three consecutive nights of racing in Clermont, but that's too easy. I've been there several times, for both the Silver Crowns and the Night Before the 500 midget show. Instead, I'm interested in seeing another great historical track, this one across the border in Ohio.

Tony Stewart purchased Eldora Speedway in 2004 from the Baltes family, which had owned it since its inception in the early 1950s. So it's off to Rossburg, Ohio, for the All-Star Sprints, modifieds and dirt Late Models.

Eldora has a busy weekend: World of Outlaws on Friday night and a big USAC sprint feature Saturday. But it's at least 100 miles each way -- so I decide to make the trip Thursday and save the shorter hauls for later in the weekend.

It seems pretty easy on the map: I-70 to Ohio, north on U.S. 127 to North Star, turn left and you should find the speedway. The radio's appropriately playing John Mellencamp as I thread my way through what passes as pre-rush hour traffic in downtown Indy -- and within 10 miles, I'm out in corn country.

There's a sign on the highway asking drivers to call a cellphone number to report "impaired motorists." It's a good thing that's not available in Atlanta. You could use up an entire month of cell phone minutes in one morning's commute.

Out here, it's just me, a couple of RVs and a steady stream of semis heading to Dayton, Columbus and beyond.

Dinner's in Greenfield -- which is good, because there's not much past Greenfield. The Steve Alford All-American Inn is in New Castle, along with the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, I can't stop. I've forgotten to factor "Gomer time" into my trip. Indiana doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time -- at least it won't until 2006 -- so in essence, it's Central Daylight Time in Indiana, but EDT in Ohio. So it's already an hour later in Rossburg, and now it's sprinkling.

The trip from Indy to Eldora probably is no more than an hour and a half, but it seems longer because everything's so spread out -- and I'm somewhat lost. The directions say "turn left at the traffic light" but I haven't seen a traffic light -- except for one of those flashing yellow jobs -- or North Star or anybody else heading in my direction, and now I'm in yet another Greenfield. So I pull off at the Citgo and ask for directions.

Turns out I've still got another dozen miles to go. North Star is nothing more than a handful of houses by the side of the road, with one traffic light and a little green street sign that says "Eldora Speedway." Still no other cars have joined me on this road, so I'm either really late -- or they're not racing and didn't tell me.

I was late. Within a few miles, I came over a rise and there it was. Most race tracks, except for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are out in the middle of nowhere -- and Eldora is no exception. If you're weren't looking for it, you wouldn't accidentally come upon it.

I pass a lot full of RVs and turn into the speedway's main entrance, pay the $20, grab a program and sit down in the covered grandstand just in time for the modified heats. Eldora's an intriguing mix of smells: methanol, track dust, stale beer, cheap perfume and a hint of manure.

The "Big E" is a half-mile high-banked dirt oval known for strong fields, close wheel-to-wheel action and outrageous purses. Earl Baltes once paid $1 million to win for a dirt Late Model feature -- and the car counts, even for a Thursday night show, are impressive.

There are enough Late Models to run three heats and 42 modifieds on hand. But it's the roaring winged sprinters that I'm here to see -- and they don't disappoint.

The supermodifieds at Sacramento's West Capitol Raceway (Wayne Sue, Mike Andreeta and John Viel) were my favorites growing up, along with the BCRA midgets and NARC sprints. So I'm really to go back in time for a couple of hours, especially after hearing Charley Pride's Is Anybody Goin' To San Antoine on the local country station on the way to the track.

A field of 24 takes the green for the 30-lap feature and within minutes, it's like an angry nest of hornets buzzing around in a swirling brown dustdevil. Randy Hannagan, from a place called Pittsboro, Ind. (hmm, somebody else famous is from there, I think) charges to the front, chased by Ohio's Chad Kemenah. With eight to go, a caution bunches the field -- and Kemenah is able to pull a slide job on Hannagan in Turn 1. But a car's in the wall before they can get back to the line -- and scoring reverts to the previous lap in this form of racing.

This time, Hannagan has things well in hand and takes the checkered from both the flag man and a young boy sitting a few rows in front of me who has his own set of racing flags and has been matching the starter, wave for wave.

There's still the modified and Late Model features to go, but I've got a long drive back to Indy, so I bid farewell to historic Eldora and get back on the road, already thinking about Friday night ...