Kyle Strickler needed a few minutes to gather himself. No driver, after all, should be expected to jump out of their car after losing a $50,000 race to a blown tire on the final lap and immediately face the media.

With eight laps remaining in Saturday’s Intercontinental Classic feature at Eldora Speedway, Dale McDowell found himself in a familiar position as he raced among the top five in the $50,000-to-win World 100 replacement event. But just as McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., moved into second and prepared to make a late run at leader Kyle Stickler, his car failed to fire on a restart, forcing McDowell to retire from the 67-lap race.

Row 1: Dale McDowell, Spencer HughesRow 2: Dennis Erb Jr., Ricky WeissRow 3: Tim McCreadie, Scott BloomquistRow 4: Cory Hedgecock, Zack MitchellRow 5: Zack Dohm, Jon HenryRow 6: Gordy Gundaker, Jerry Bowersock

When Shannon Babb happily bounded into his chassis builder Scott Bloomquist’s trailer after postrace tech following his victory in Friday’s 30-lap Intercontinental Classic preliminary feature at Eldora Speedway, he received a loud, warm welcome.

By the time Friday’s Intercontinental Classic preliminary feature rolled around at Eldora Speedway, Kyle Strickler had plenty of reasons to be frustrated. 

Chris Ferguson was among the many drivers who struggled to get their cars to turn on a hammer-down Eldora Speedway surface during Thursday's Intercontinental Classic prelim night. That cost him dearly midway through Thursday's 30-lap feature when the Mount Holly, N.C., driver jumped the cushion getting into turn one and dropped from fifth to 16th.

Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., seemed destined for a strong — perhaps even a podium — finish in Thursday’s 30-lap preliminary feature at Eldora Speedway's Intercontinental Classic after bolting into fourth place on a lap-14 restart. Then his advance from the seventh starting spot stalled.

After a season full of near-misses and heartbreaking defeats, Josh Rice thought his luck couldn’t get much worse. But during the first night of Eldora Speedway’s Intercontinental Classic on Thursday, it did.

As Josh Richards walked with his father, Mark, from victory lane to the infield technical inspection area after winning Thursday’s 30-lap Intercontinental Classic preliminary feature at Eldora Speedway, he received a congratulatory handshake from a reporter.

Spencer Hughes needed the help of his fans and supporters to earn an invitation to Eldora Speedway’s Intercontinental Classic through the fan vote. During Thursday’s first night of preliminary action for the spectator-free event, Hughes rewarded them with a top-10 finish in his first ever race at Eldora’s famed half-mile oval.