RIP Earl

[lazyifoto]

They ought to do a fun fest type of deal to celebrate the life of Earl and the track he gave us....rest in peace Earl.

[ride height]

Earl was obviously the king of dirt racing promotion. Sympathies to the family. Surely there will be a Earl Baltes named race of some kind yearly at Eldora honoring him.

[dirtrcing]

The Earl Baltes World 100. That is the race that started it all.

[ride height]

Just like the Wally for the NHRA winners....they need to make bronze Earls for the winner of the annual Earl Baltes World 100.

[amalone09]

I believe they already have the Baltes Classic the weekend before the World 100. They need to rename that and create a whole different program dedicated to Earl. JMO

[dirtrcing]

Just like the Wally for the NHRA winners....they need to make bronze Earls for the winner of the annual Earl Baltes World 100.

With Earl holding the globe above his head

[lokwaidid]

a fun fest kind of event I think would be the best tribute. Eldora raced all classes of cars and they should all be involved in any kind of memorial race. they have something in oct. , but it is usually cold and gets canceled. they could move it up to late September and make a fun memory of earl. I've been going to eldora for almost 40 years and every race has a good memory. rip earl

[edavis71]

Very sad news. RIP Mr. Baltes, a man that will definitely never ever be forgotten in the world of dirt racing.

TONY STEWART, you must have a huge race in his honor!!!

[CrankedUp90]

Rest easy Earl. Thank you for everything you did for the dirt racing world. Will never be another like you. Nothing like the World 100 weekend. So many memories and good times had out there. And the many friendships created, all thanks to him. You will never be forgotten..

[chupp n bloomer fan]

Where do you start? I mean, he was the man who set the bar for dirt track promotors. I don't have any really cool stories. Yeah, I seen him around, and have I think it's his book signed. We knew his days were numbered, but it's still a shock.

Once someone leaves this Earth is when you see if they really mattered. To those of us who love dirt track racing, Earl will always have a place in our hearts. I'll always miss him at The Big E. Hopefully they do something to really memorialize him.'

I'd honestly rename the World 100. That was his brainchild and baby, it would be the most fitting.

I can't forget, hopefully Berneice can pull through and enjoy life again. They were married for over sixty years.

[zyoung25]

Just like the Wally for the NHRA winners....they need to make bronze Earls for the winner of the annual Earl Baltes World 100.

I think a smaller replica of the one him and Bernice together up by the race tower would be a good addition to the globe trophies.

I'm sure tony has something up his sleeve he cared for Earl just as much as the rest of us did.

[Highside Hustler25]

Their is a good video over at DoD with Bloomer, Moyer, Moran, Purvis and Larry Moore telling their favorite stories about Earl.

You don't have to be a member to view this one. Enjoy.

[TTS_JF]

After the Dream several years back we were old enough to know better but still to young to care. It had rained 2 of the 3 days we were there, can't remember for sure we might have ended up staying an extra day. The race ends that night and our campsite turned into a free for all, basically a boatload of people drinking, beer pong etc. Were awoke the next morning to a couple of guys basically knocking on the sides of our tents. We come out in a hungover stupor and it's Earl and one of the track officials. He said it looked like we had a really good time, and proceeded to tell us we had 15-20 minutes to get the mess picked up or the law would be there to see us.

One of the guys with us didn't have a clue who the old man with the bent bill on his hat was. We cleaned that mess up really quick. He came back by the campsite and told us he hoped we had fun and looked forward to seeing us again. Earl was just no nonsense, and he treated everyone the same. I liked that about him. We spoke several times after that experience, but I'll never forget it.

RIP Earl

[Captain Happy]

Earl didn't take noshT from nobody! It was his way or the highway, and he gave you a choice. He was tough, but fair. Drivers learned to respect that, and love him for that. He was and always will be the Godfather of Eldora!!!

[buster83]

his pride and joy was the sprint cars running around that track.however he did like the late models so in 1971 he created the world 100 it paid 4k and that was a lot of money back then,and every year after it was to raise 1k.