Story and photos by Bob Buffenbarger
40 years. That’s how long I’ve been attending races at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, and oh how have things changed. A single guardrail was the barrier around the turns when I first visited the high bank ½ mile. That has long since been replaced by a continuous cement wall encircling the entire track which is topped by a high fence.
Improvements throughout the facility are many, including vastly improved restrooms and crowd management with small changes that veteran race visitors will find helpful, such as cutting behind the concessions to traverse the main grandstand congested area. Also, several years ago, new bleachers were erected all the way around the turns so a person can view the racing surface from almost any angle.
New state of the art suites sits high atop turn three and turn two will find an electronic scoreboard and jumbotron. The video screen has come into it’s own the past two seasons, with great coverage of races on the track, replays, live interviews and more.
The staff at Eldora is friendly and outgoing all the way from ticket takers to concession workers. Congenial workers are a huge plus to a fan based complex like this.
Nestled in the heart of rich Ohio farming country, Eldora Speedway still holds a mystic in that you can drive past and barely know it’s there. A few buildings are visible from the highway, but un-assuming passers bye would have no idea what goes on behind that fence and down the hill. Eldora, still the same but different.
