Midnight Mayhem: Eldora Speedway Unleashes First-Ever Under-the-Lights Dirt Duel, Shatters Attendance Records
ROSSBURG, OHIO — History was made this past Saturday night at the legendary Eldora Speedway as more than 28,000 roaring fans packed into the grandstands for the track’s first-ever Midnight Mayhem — a high-stakes, under-the-lights dirt racing showdown that blended raw speed, intense rivalries, and rock-concert energy in an electrifying spectacle.
The event, brainchild of promoter and dirt racing icon Tony Stewart, kicked off at 9:30 p.m. and barreled into the early hours of Sunday morning, with the final checkered flag waving just after 1:00 a.m. But the late hour didn’t slow anyone down. If anything, the darkness seemed to fuel the adrenaline.
“This is Eldora like you’ve never seen it before,” Stewart shouted over the thunder of sprint cars screaming around the half-mile clay oval. “We wanted to do something wild, something that felt like a dirt track version of a heavyweight title fight — and man, did we get it.”
The marquee event of the night was the Blackout 50, a no-holds-barred shootout featuring some of the nation’s top Late Model and Sprint Car drivers battling for a record $100,000 purse. Fans were treated to daring slide jobs, heart-stopping near-collisions, and a dramatic final-lap duel between rising star Jace Holloway and veteran racer Brandon Sheppard, with Holloway edging out the win by just 0.138 seconds.
“It felt like racing in another dimension,” Holloway said in victory lane. “You could see the sparks in the lights, feel the crowd shaking the earth. Eldora at midnight? Unreal.”
In addition to the on-track chaos, the event featured a fire-lit drone show, a neon-lit pit row experience, and a surprise pyrotechnic concert by country rock band Whiskey Burn, turning the night into a full-scale dirt racing festival.
With lines to the concession stands stretching hundreds of feet and traffic backed up for miles outside the gates, Eldora staff confirmed the event set a new attendance record for a non-major weekend, topping even some World 100 crowd numbers.
Though the dust has barely settled, Stewart and his team are already planning a sequel.
“We’re calling it the Moonshine Nationals,” Stewart teased. “Same chaos. Bigger stakes. Maybe even crazier.”
For fans who thought they’d seen everything at Eldora — Midnight Mayhem proved the track’s wildest days might still be ahead.