The qualifying procedure was unique for the race; drivers' qualifying times set the starting grids for five heat races to determine the feature race's starting lineup, while the top five of a last chance qualifier (LCQ) advance to the feature. Schrader, Jared Landers, Timothy Peters, Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton won the heat races, while Brennan Newberry won the LCQ. The feature's format was also distinctive compared to other NASCAR events, as it was divided into three segments, lasting 60, 50 and 40 laps. In the feature, Larson took the lead from Peters on lap 39, and later battled with Dillon for the win, and Dillon claimed the victory after he retained the lead on the green–white–checker finish for his fifth career Truck Series win.
Eldora Speedway, which opened in 1954,[6] is a 0.5 mile (0.80 km) oval with turns at a 24 degreebanking, while the straightaways are 8 degrees. The track's grandstands can fit 17,782 spectators, and the hillside seating can fit an unlimited number of fans.[7]
On October 15, 2012, track owner Tony Stewart and Austin Dillon held a private test at the track, driving trucks.[8][9] On November 28, NASCAR announced that Eldora Speedway would be on the schedule as the first of two Wednesday Truck races, along with the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway for 2013.[10] Although the track does not have any SAFER barriers, Tom Gideon, NASCAR Director of Safety, stated the track meets NASCAR regulations.[11] By January 29, 2013, the 17,782 grandstand seats had been sold out,[12] with purchasers from 48 states and six countries.[6]
"We've been looking at getting the trucks back to short tracks – to the roots of racing including the dirt – and we’re excited to announce our 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will race at Eldora Speedway in July. The door-to-door racing that our truck series is known for plus Eldora's popularity and [Tony Stewart]'s dedication to putting on great shows for the fans is a perfect fit. We'll have a maximum starting field of 30 trucks at Eldora. More details on the race format are still being developed."
— Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations[10]
In preparation for the race, tire provider Goodyear created new tires, branded "Wrangler",[18] based on a previous dirt tire that the company made. To give the trucks more grip, the tires were widened by one inch to eleven. The bias-ply tires (instead of radial tires)[16] also had treads to remove dirt quicker, in a block pattern,[18] along with being softer. The left-side tires were staggered three inches shorter to 85.5 inches than the right tires (88.5)[18] to assist in handling.[19] Meanwhile, the trucks had mesh shields and hood deflector screens attached to prevent debris from the dirt from entering the radiators[20] and damaging the vehicles.[21] The trucks also had the front spoilers[6] and splitters removed, the grille closed, and the rear spoilers raised[22] and enlarged by 40 square inches to generate more downforce.[20] The trucks' windshields remained, meaning the track crew had to keep the track dry, to prevent mud from making them unable to be cleared.[6] On the hoods, bug deflectors, which were 8 by 12 inches, were installed to prevent stones from hitting the windshield. Teams added under panels to the trucks' chassis to prevent dirt from increasing the trucks' weight.[20]
Two-hour practice sessions were held on July 23 from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M. EST, followed by another from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M, the latter being televised on Speed. Another practice was held the following day from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.[16]
Kyle Larson held the fastest lap time in the first practice session with a time of 19.645 seconds and speed of 91.626 mph (147.458 km/h), followed by father/son pair Dave (19.856 seconds, 91.653 mph (147.501 km/h)) and Ryan Blaney (19.918 seconds, 90.371 mph (145.438 km/h)) and brothers Austin (19.982 seconds, 90.081 mph (144.971 km/h)) and Ty Dillon (20.205 seconds, 89.087 mph (143.372 km/h)). The top five featured three Chevrolets and two Fords; the fastest Toyota driver was John Wes Townley (20.483 seconds, 87.878 mph (141.426 km/h)), who was seventh-fastest.[24]
In the second session, the top five consisted of three Chevrolets in the top three positions and Toyotas in fourth and fifth: Austin (21.644 seconds, 83.164 mph (133.839 km/h)) and Ty Dillon (21.703 seconds, 82.938 mph (133.476 km/h)), Larson (21.719 seconds, 82.877 mph (133.378 km/h)), Ken Schrader (21.748 seconds, 82.766 mph (133.199 km/h)) and Tracy Hines (21.753 seconds, 82.747 mph (133.168 km/h)). The fastest Ford truck was Dave Blaney, with a lap time and speed of 21.872 seconds and 82.297 mph (132.444 km/h), respectively.[25]
In the final practice, Toyotas dominated the top five, with Darrell Wallace Jr. leading the session with a time of 20.040 seconds and speed of 89.820 mph (144.551 km/h), followed by Hines (20.182 seconds, 89.188 mph (143.534 km/h)), Townley (20.303 seconds, 88.657 mph (142.680 km/h)) and Germán Quiroga (20.307 seconds, 88.639 mph (142.651 km/h)) comprising the top four; Chevy driver James Buescher (20.528 seconds, 87.685 mph (141.115 km/h)) was fifth.[26]
Qualifying
Ken Schrader (pictured in 2007) won the pole along with his heat race.
The field for the main event consisted only of 30 trucks instead of the usual 36, with the top 20 trucks in the owner's points standings guaranteed a spot.[16] To determine the field, two-lap qualifying runs were held, which determined the starting grids for five heat races of eight laps each. The top five fastest qualifiers started on the pole for the heats, and the highest non-locked-in truck were transferred in to the main event until there were 25 trucks in the field. For drivers that did not qualify via the heats, the top four in a last-chance qualifier advance, with the final spot reserved for the most recent series champion, and if that spot is vacant, the fifth-place finisher in the LCQ would qualify for the main event.[27]
Qualifying was held at 5:05 P.M. Ken Schrader won the pole with a lap time of 19.709 seconds[16] and a speed of 91.329 mph (146.980 km/h) for his first Truck Series pole since 2004,[28] and became the oldest pole-sitter in NASCAR history at 58 years of age, passing Dick Trickle, who won the pole at Dover International Speedway in the Busch Series' MBNA Platinum 200 in 1999.[29]
The heat races began at 7:00 P.M., with each heat race occurring after 15 minutes of the previous heat's start. The last chance qualifier was held at 8:45 P.M.[30] Schrader eventually won his heat race after leading all 8 laps.[31] In Heat 2, the first caution flag of the day was flown for Darrell Wallace Jr.'s spin with three laps remaining, and Jared Landers prevented a comeback by Matt Crafton to win. The next heat was dominated by Timothy Peters, who led all eight laps; Heats 4 and 5 were won by Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton, respectively,[32] the two drivers leading every lap. In the last chance qualifier, J. R. Heffner, who started first in the race, failed to finish the race after completing one lap. Ultimately, Brennan Newberry led all fifteen laps to win,[33] followed by Jeff Babcock, Jason Bowles and Justin Jennings. Norm Benning clinched the fifth and final transfer spot after holding off Clay Greenfield, who nearly wrecked him three times;[31] in response, Benning gave Greenfield the finger after the race concluded.[21] Because they did not finish in the top five, Greenfield, Jimmy Weller, Bryan Silas, Joe Cobb and Heffner did not qualify for the event.[34] When asked about the duel with Greenfield, Benning stated Tony Stewart told him that he "singlehandedly made the show a success".[35]
In victory lane, race winner Austin Dillon (pictured in 2013) stated, "This is real racing right here, this is all I've got to say."[43]
The race started at 9:35 P.M. EST and televised live on Speed, while being broadcast on radio by Motor Racing Network.[44]Krista Voda hosted Speed's prerace show, while Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip called the race from the booth; the network's pit reporters for the event were Ray Dunlap, Hermie Sadler and Bob Dillner.[16] 1.4 million people viewed the race on television, the tenth-most viewed Truck race in series history, and the highest-watched event of the day; the race also had a Nielsen rating of 1.20.[3] The weather for the race was mostly clear with a temperature of 68 °F (20 °C).[45] The St. Henry High School band performed the national anthem,[46] while the parade lap featured a four-wide salute by the trucks to the fans.[47]
Due to the lack of a pit road,[22] the race was split into three segments of 60, 50 and 40 laps so teams can make pit stops and adjustments between each segment,[27] and there would be no positions gained nor lost during stops.[22] In segment 1, Timothy Peters took the lead from pole-sitter Ken Schrader on lap 15, and led for 23 laps until Kyle Larson took the lead on lap 39, who led for the remainder of the segment. In the final five laps of the segment, the first caution of the race flew for debris, and the beneficiary was Max Gresham, who was the first driver at least a lap down, which allowed him to regain a lap.[48] In the second segment, Larson continued to lead for a total of 50 laps until Austin Dillon passed him on lap 89[49] after the former collided with Germán Quiroga.[50] One lap later, another caution was flown for debris, and Gresham was again the beneficiary.[48] On lap 116, Jared Landers' truck became loose in turn 2, collected Ty Dillon and made contact with Johnny Sauter.[51] Quiroga was the beneficiary on the resulting caution.[48] Larson and Austin Dillon dueled for the remainder of the race, with Dillon allowing Larson to pass on lap 122, but Dillon managed to get past Larson on the following lap. Two more cautions for debris (first on the front stretch, the second in turn 4) were eventually flown,[48] and a green–white–checker finish was initiated due to debris in turn 4 on lap 149. Dillon retained the lead on the GWC to win, beating Larson by 1.197 seconds.[52][53] Behind Dillon and Larson, Ryan Newman finished third, followed by Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, Timothy Peters, Darrell Wallace Jr., Matt Crafton, Dave Blaney and Max Gresham. Sauter (accident) and Jeff Babcock (engine) failed to finish the race.[48]
The race concluded with four different leaders, eight lead changes, and six cautions. Dillon led the most laps with 64, followed by Larson (51), Peters (23) and Schrader (15). Despite winning the race, Dillon, along with six other drivers,[48] did not receive Truck Series points due to a rule that allowed drivers to compete in only one series' drivers championship.[54] The win was Dillon's first of 2013[55] and fifth Truck Series victory in 53 starts.[21] It was also the 29th Truck Series win for owner Richard Childress and Richard Childress Racing's second Truck win of 2013.[56]
In August, Dillon's truck, his winner's trophy and a jar of dirt he shoveled at the start/finish line were placed on display in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.[57]
^"CAR-CASH MUD SUMMER CLASSIC PACE TRUCK AT ELDORA". Eldora Speedway. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015. For the third straight year, the American Legion Post 648 Honor Guard from St. Henry, Ohio, will present the colors of the United States and the St. Henry (Ohio) High School marching band will perform the National Anthem.
