Eldora Speedway officials have announced that Friday's portion of the Dirt Track World Championship, the season final for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, has been postponed to Saturday afternoon. The decision was made following persistent rain showers in recent days that would've made the track unsafe for competition. 

Officials from the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Eldora Speedway and DTWC jointly agreed that, even if a window of opportunity presented itself on Friday, the track surface is too soft and would not be safe for competition. The persistent showers over the past two days have provided no opportunity to work on the track and dry it out.

As a result, a jam-packed Saturday at "The Big E" will begin with hot laps for Friday's program at 1 p.m. ET. The pit gate will open at 9 a.m. with Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series technical inspection beginning at 10 a.m. Spectator gates will open at 11 a.m. and a driver's meeting will be held at 12:30 p.m. prior to hot laps. 

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series drivers will participate in qualifying and heat races to help set the lineup for the $100,000-to-win season finale later that evening. 

Three-day, two-day and Friday only tickets and pit passes are valid for the afternoon show on Saturday.

Following the completion of the Friday program, the grandstands will be cleared and cleaned and then reopened. As this clearing process takes place, the track will be refreshened and prepared for the Saturday evening show.

Three-day, two-day and Saturday only tickets and pit passes are valid for entry to the Saturday evening show. The Saturday evening show will start as soon as the stands are reopened and the race track surface is ready. Eldora Speedway officials anticipate that to be close to the original posted time of 6:00 p.m., but be aware it very well could be slightly earlier or later than that time slot.

The new championship format for the series will see Ricky Thornton, Jr., Hudson O'Neal, Jonathan Davenport and Devin Moran all enter the race with an equal shot at the $200,000 championship. The driver who record the best finish out of those four drivers will be crowned the 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion. 

In addition to the $200,000 check for the champion, the runner-up will receive $150,000, third-place will receive $125,000 and fourth-place will receive $100,000. 

Fans unable to make it out to Rossburg, Ohio on Saturday will be able to watch the full day of racing live on FloRacing.