Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / JW MOTORSPORTS – VINCENTOWN, NJ – Despite being forced to battle head-to-head with the best open wheel competitors in the world, Vincentown, New Jersey’s Justin Whittall turned a lot of heads in his first-ever appearance at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, and ultimately left the Buckeye State as an Eldora Million qualifier, capping the $1,002,023-to-win main event on Thursday, July 13, with a 16th-place finish after starting 13th on the grid.
Over 80 entries made the call for the largest sprint car event in history with the Garden State native earning a spot in the coveted 50-lapper with a third-place finish during his respective heat race; he started seventh.
In addition, Whittall, a former Port Royal Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway winner, qualified for Eldora Million preliminary feature competition on Wednesday, July 12, also finishing 16th.
Although a great start to his inaugural visit to The World’s Greatest Dirt Track, Whittall was short of qualifying for the 40th Kings Royal on Saturday, July 15.
“What a great visit to Eldora Speedway. We wanted to be a part of the largest sprint car race in history, and to qualify for the Eldora Million main event is something we can all be very proud of. We were able to keep our nose clean during our heat race which helped us get to third, but in the end, it was this team’s effort that got us there,” Whittall, ace of the JG Kronenberger Fine Jewelry, Mid-Atlantic Transport, Pioneer Auto Body, Worldwide Bearings, Enterprise, Prime Composite Innovations, K Seal, No. 67 sprint car, explained. “We’re going to head into Williams Grove’s Summer Nationals with a lot of confidence. Racing with the Outlaws at home is always special.”
Justin Whittall and JW Motorsports will continue their 2023 campaign with Williams Grove Speedway’s annual Summer Nationals on Friday and Saturday, July 21-22. Friday’s 25-lap main event will pay $10,000, plus another $5,000 to be Morgan Cup champion. Saturday’s 30-lap Champion Racing Oil Summer Nationals finale posts $20,000 to the winner.