Eldora Speedway founder Earl Baltes dies at 93

Legendary short track promoter Earl Baltes, who founded Eldora Speedway, died Monday morning at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. He was 93.

Baltes constructed Eldora in Rossburg, Ohio, in 1954 and through the years transformed it into one of the most well-known dirt tracks in the country. Among Eldora’s marquee events are the Kings Royal for World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, the World 100 for dirt late models -- the largest dirt race in the world -- and the USAC Four Crown Nationals.

Tony Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, purchased Eldora from Baltes in November 2004. With Baltes as a consultant, Stewart expanded Eldora’s seating capacity to 20,000 and enacted other initiatives. Most notably, Eldora has hosted the Camping World Truck series, the only NASCAR national series race on dirt, since 2013.

Stewart erected a statue of Baltes and his wife of 67 years, Berneice, at the track in 2008.

“Earl Baltes was the yardstick other track promoters measured themselves by,” Stewart said in a statement. “He constantly raised the bar, and he did it by creating events everyone else was afraid to promote. He did them himself, too. Not as a fair board, or a public company, or with major sponsors or millions of dollars in TV money. He put it all on the line with the support of his family.

“He and his wife, Berneice, created a happening at Eldora. They turned Eldora into more than just a racetrack. They made it a place to be. They were integral to the evolution of dirt-track racing and the sport as a whole. Earl will be missed, but he won’t ever be forgotten because of his devotion to auto racing.”

Baltes is survived by Berneice, two children, six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.