Best Of Both Worlds: #LetsRaceTwo With USAC & WoO At Eldora Speedway This Weekend

Story By: RICHIE MURRAY / USAC – ROSSBURG, OH – It’s the best of both worlds!  There’s no place like Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. There’s no event like #LetsRaceTwo. And there’s no place like home.

The legendary 1/2-mile dirt oval will be home to USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car racing with each series competing in a dream doubleheader on back-to-back nights, Friday-Saturday, May 2-3.

$10,000 are on the line each night for the victor of the ninth running of the event featuring a whole lot of USAC and a whole lot of wings!

Here’s some of the USAC storylines we’re watching at The Big E!

CUMMINS WANTS REVENGE

Kyle Cummins is off to a hot start during the 2025 USAC National Sprint Car season, adding top-five finishes in seven of his eight starts, including three victories. That blazing beginning has him atop the USAC National Sprint Car points entering Eldora.

Cummins (Princeton, Indiana) has seemingly turned the corner at Eldora, putting himself inside the top-five in three of his last four #LetsRaceTwo starts dating back to 2022. But it’s the first night of 2024 at Eldora he wants redemption on. Cummins led laps 23 through 29.99999 (with bar notation included) until barely being nipped at the line by Robert Ballou while Cummins was .016 seconds behind at the line.

This time around, Cummins wants a first Eldora win for both himself and his Petty Performance Racing team.

THE SITE OF THE MAD MAN’S COMEBACK

The man who got the job done on the opening night of 2024’s #LetsRaceTwo was Robert Ballou. On the 30th and final lap, he erased Cummins’ half-straightaway lead. Then with grit and determination, willed his way to the finish line with a high side ride to claim the improbable victory.

What’s not improbable is Ballou (Rocklin, California) winning during #LetsRaceTwo. In fact, he’s tied for the lead with Justin Grant as the all-time winningest driver in the event’s history, scoring four trophies in 2015-2017-2021-2024.

As a matter of fact, Ballou snared his first ever USAC National Sprint Car win at Eldora in 2007. Overall, his seven USAC National Sprint Car wins at Eldora rank tied for fourth all-time behind only Jack Hewitt (13), Larry Dickson (9) and Tracy Hines (9), and equaled with Pancho Carter and Rich Vogler at seven.

GRANT’S EARLY SEASON RAMPAGE

Tied with Robert Ballou as the #LetsRaceTwo all-time winningest USAC driver is Justin Grant, a four-time winner of the event in 2015-2017-2023-2024.

Grant’s most recent #LetsRaceTwo victory a year ago was as thrilling as it was flabbergasting. Following an incredible duel for the win with eventual series champ Logan Seavey, on the cooldown lap, Grant promptly stuffed his car in the wall and flipped, joining J.J. Yeley, Kyle Larson and Dave Darland among the USAC greats to get upside down…after the checkered flag.

So far in 2025, Grant has performed fantastically by winning in all three of USAC’s national divisions faster than any driver in series history. He leads the Silver Crown points and the National Midget points but currently resides 10 points out of the sprint car championship lead. Now Grant hopes to use this weekend at Eldora to get out in front of his pursuit of a $500,000 USAC Triple Crown prize.

A DOUBLE ORDER OF BACON

Brady Bacon has announced his intentions to pull double-duty both with and without a wing this Friday-Saturday. He’ll be aboard both the Chris Dyson Racing No. 20 with USAC and the TKH Motorsports #21H with the World of Outlaws.

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) has won in both disciplines at Eldora, capturing a pair of USAC National Sprint Car events at The Big E, including the 2018 edition of #LetsRaceTwo. He also won with a wing during 2017 with the All Star Circuit of Champions.

THE EMERGENCE OF KALE

Without question, the biggest progression of the USAC season can be attributed to Kale Drake. Following a rough and tumble 2024 Rookie season, Drake has been consistently fast and has consistently posted quality finishes throughout the course of the 2025 USAC National Sprint Car campaign.

Thus far throughout eight USAC National Sprint Car starts this year, Drake owns five top-tens and a pair of top-fives. Through 15 starts last year, he corralled just one top-ten in his 2B Racing machine.

Over the past weekend, he charged from deep in the pack to finish inside the top-five on back-to-back nights of USAC National Midget racing at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. With the Kokomo sprint cars, he took third both nights behind such stalwarts as Kevin Thomas Jr., Kyle Cummins and Robert Ballou over the two-night span.

ELDORA DAWGS

In all, eight drivers have won the USAC portion of #LetsRaceTwo dating back to its debut in 2015: Robert Ballou (4), Justin Grant (4), Tyler Courtney (3), Brady Bacon (1), Chad Boespflug (1), Bryan Clauson (1), C.J. Leary (1) and Chris Windom (1).

Half of those – Ballou, Grant, Bacon and Leary – will all be fighting for more wins this weekend.

Furthermore, the likes of Logan Seavey and Matt Westfall, who have previously won USAC National Sprint Car main events at Eldora, are seeking their first #LetsRaceTwo wins this weekend. Both have recently run up front in the event with Seavey finishing as the runner-up on night two in 2024 while Westfall claimed fifth on night one.

Additionally, Mitchel Moles has already triumphed at Eldora in a USAC Silver Crown car in 2024. Next up is his chance to tame The Big E behind the wheel of a USAC National Sprint Car as well as Briggs Danner, Chase Stockon and Jadon Rogers, all of whom own previous top-three results at Eldora in USAC competition.

RACE DETAILS

#LetsRaceTwo features two-straight nights of full racing programs featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Cars on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3.

On both days, ticket sales begin at the main gate, turn 4 and pit gate at 2pm Eastern. The grandstands open at 2pm. The drivers meeting will take place at 5pm. Cars will be on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing for both divisions immediately following.