The Crown Jewels Question Again

[Snake X3]

Over the years we've had the discussion about which races are crown jewels and what defines a crown jewel. The most recent post I found was in 2020 when Hoosier Dirt posted asking about the top 10 crown jewels. His qualifications for the post were...

01. Length & longevity the Race has been around (Must have been around longer then 5 years)
02. Prestige of the event amongst Drivers, Race Teams, & Fans
03. Take in consideration the total event payout.
04. Quality of the racing at said venue / track from touring stars to local drivers
05. Atmosphere at said track during the event

What got me thinking about the question again was the lower car counts at races as the years have gone by and the lack of participation by WoO drivers at Lucas sanctioned crown jewel events even if they don't have a scheduling conflict. I believe Pierce was the only WoO driver to run the Show Me and (I think) the North/South only got Pierce and Hoffman. In 2024 I think The Jackson only had 37 drivers total and the Topless only had 45 cars this year with WoO scheduling against it. The big WoO races like the PDC, USA Nationals and World Finals (IMO not a crown Jewel) don't have an issue attracting Lucas drivers.

Which races do you guys think are crown jewels? Do you think the increased purses across the board Dirt Late Model Racing has contributed to the status of races that were traditionally considered crown jewels? Do you think the DTWC has lost some of it's prestige due to the move to Eldora?

[Pennsboro32]

just my opinion.

In order.

1.) World 100
2.) Dream

Gap

3.) DTWC
4.) North South
5.) PDC
6.) USA Nats
7.) Show me

Gap

8.) Knoxville
9.) Firecracker
10.) Topless

[t4g2]

There's only 1 superbowl so World 100 is it

[zyoung25]

I think it was John Gill that said in an interview a really long time ago, "the world 100 is the one everybody wants. The rest are just practice." That may not be the exact quote, but it's not far off from it. I've always felt like he was dead on.

It's hard to argue with what Penn posted. 3-7 has always been a toss up for most. I do feel like the dome is making its case to knock the topless off of the list.

[Finnfan25]

I think it was John Gill that said in an interview a really long time ago, "the world 100 is the one everybody wants. The rest are just practice." That may not be the exact quote, but it's not far off from it. I've always felt like he was dead on.

It's hard to argue with what Penn posted. 3-7 has always been a toss up for most. I do feel like the dome is making its case to knock the topless off of the list.

Agree with everything you said ZY25, but I just can't see the dome ever being considered a crown jewel.

[Morgs153]

Knoxville lost its luster as a late model crown jewel a few years back. It might still make a list but it is tenth out of ten if it is on that list. When they shortened it they made it just another Lucas race with a decent purse.

[chathamracefan]

The sanctioned events hurt the crown jewel status a bit IMO. That's one thing Eldora still does right. To me a true Crown Jewel should not have series provisionals for the feature. Eldora still avoids this. Also on the sprint car side, Knoxville Nationals & Kings Royal don't have provisionals.

There are Eldora & then a gap as mentioned to the sanctioned crown jewels. Good races all of them. In terms of race quality these days, I'd honestly put Fairbury at the top of the non Eldora ones.

[0cents]

If you go off of those 5 factors for it to be considered a crown jewel it's hard for someone not to put the dome on the list even though most would never consider it on their list.

[Highside Hustler25]

If your going off of those 5 factors, I'll give Eldora 4 out of the 5. They fail at #4 miserably.

[zyoung25]

The sanctioned events hurt the crown jewel status a bit IMO.

I agree. The formats are basically all the same for the sanctioned races.

[4Barrel]

World 100
Dream 100
North/South 100
Dirt Track World Championship

/end

[chathamracefan]

I agree. The formats are basically all the same for the sanctioned races.

And to me part of what makes the World 100 is that anyone can miss the show. Heck Bloomer & Moyer missed it a few times. Same with Knoxville on the sprint car side. If you have a problem in qualifying or a prelim race there are no bailouts. Heck this year at Knoxville David Gravel had major problems on prelim night, had to come thru the non qualifies show on Friday & then came from 21st to 3rd in the A main. If it is a fully sanctioned event format, he just takes his provisional & starts the A main without having to run the Friday show.

[MRM]

I've said for several years for any race to be considered a crown jewel, it's one that every driver wants to win, every fan talks about and has a fair amount of history. Having said that, all three Eldora races (World, Dream, DWTC) fit into that category. The PDC is there as well. The USA Nationals is there minus the fanfare before the race. The North/South 100 was on the verge of that, but only a couple of WoO drivers have been there the last couple of years. It's lagging behind. I wish all the others would be called something like a marquee race instead of a crown jewel because there aren't 8-10 of them.

[Henry Every]

For me a Crown Jewel follows this criteria:

1. Must be 100 laps for main event, period.
2. Must've been around at least 10 years.
3. Must pay more than $20K to winner.
4. I have to care about seeing it.
5. No Gimmicks formats or rules.
6. Open to whomever wants to attempt to make it.
7. Open Tire rules

[MRM]

For me a Crown Jewel follows this criteria:

1. Must be 100 laps for main event, period.
2. Must've been around at least 10 years.
3. Must pay more than $20K to winner.
4. I have to care about seeing it.
5. No Gimmicks formats or rules.
6. Open to whomever wants to attempt to make it.
7. Open Tire rules

Is there one that fits your list?