Coming into the week, 38 drivers were set to take center stage in one of the most well-known races of the summer: The Eldora Dirt Derby. The field was already strong, but on Monday, when it grew to 39, it got a little stronger. ThorSport Racing announced in the morning that Chase Briscoe would be piloting their fifth entry in the No. 27 Ford truck.
Chase Briscoe the latest addition in stacked Eldora Field
“I’m really excited to get to Eldora Speedway for this race,” Briscoe said. “Growing up racing and having a family that’s been in sprint cars since the ’70s, it doesn’t get much more special than Eldora – it’s pretty much the Daytona of dirt racing.”
Briscoe becomes a piece of one of the most intriguing entry lists that Eldora Speedway has ever seen. The field includes two Cup regulars in Ryan Newman and Ty Dillon, the ARCA points leader Sheldon Creed, and a handful of dirt veterans that could spice things up.
“I think it’s probably the toughest field we have ever seen for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Eldora, so it should be an awesome race.”
Although, Briscoe is no slouch himself when it comes to contributing to the accolades within the field. The Mitchell, Indiana native earned six wins and six poles during the 2016 ARCA season to earn himself the championship.
Though after Brad Keselowski Racing shut down, Briscoe found himself in the same spot as former ARCA champs Mason Mitchell and Grant Enfinger: without a weekly ride. A win at Eldora would help give that resume a little bit of a bump, and maybe help him with finding that elusive weekly spot in a car.
“It would mean so much to me to add my name to the list of drivers who have won at Eldora, and I’m so blessed that Ford is granting me the opportunity to run this race.”
The Rules
The entry list for Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby includes 39 drivers that will attempt to qualify for the 32-truck, 150-lap main event. Single-truck qualifying will set the lineups for five heat races over the course of the night. The top five from each race will transfer to the feature along with two more from the 15-lap last-chance-shootout.
That sets the top 27. The next four spots will go to the four drivers with the most owner points, assuring that this wildcard event doesn’t screw up an entire season of work for any of the full-time truck teams.
The last spot will go to either a past champion, or if none is available, then the fifth-highest, the non-qualifying driver in owners points will sit at the tail-end of the field.
The dirt derby will kick off on Wednesday with qualifying on Fox Sports 1 at 4:35 p.m. ET. The main event is expected to start at 9:15 p.m. ET.
MAIN PHOTO
Embed from Getty Images
