Chris Madden can’t yet picture an Eldora Speedway crown jewel in Rossburg, Ohio, without him in it as a driver. For that reason, the 49-year-old is gearing up for another run at an elusive Eldora crown jewel at Sept. 5-7’s World 100.

Indeed, the Gray Court, S.C., veteran intends to enter his 43rd Eldora major event — all since his big-race debut there in the 2003 Dream — in a G.R. Smith-owned Longhorn Chassis with support from Koehler Motorsports at Sept. 5-7’s World 100.

“I thought at first, ‘It ain’t no big deal.’ But as it’s gotten closer and closer, I started thinking about it more and more. It’s just … I’d hate to miss it,” Madden told DirtonDirt.com at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway on Saturday after his third weekend as Ricky Thornton Jr.’s crew chief on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

“I have an idea what we need to do there, so we’re not going there blindfolded and scrambling on what to do,” Madden said. “We’ll be prepared when we get there. I think he’ll have fun with it and I’ll have fun with it. He’ll do real good, and I will, too.”

Initially, Madden was going to race one of Thornton’s backup cars at next week’s World 100, but the Bobby Koehler-owned operation of Mount Airy, N.C., is running thin on resources. In a phone interview Wednesday night with DirtonDirt.com, Koehler said “we ran out of motors when we threw Ricky in the loop, so we’re letting him drive one of G.R. Smith’s cars.”

Smith will transport and, with the help from Tommy Grecco and Scott Parker, prepare the No. 44 Longhorn Chassis entry while Koehler will provide the race-day crew for Madden’s anticipated return. Smith added that the deal “all came together over the last 72 hours” and that Madden’s Eldora race car is a brand-new Longhorn Chassis with a fresh Cornett Engine under the hood.

“We’re really excited to be going to Eldora and have been working hard getting this car ready all week,” Smith told DirtonDirt.com in a Wednesday night phone interview. “It’s all my operation. Bobby got us both in touch with each other. He knew Madden wanted to race and he knew I had cars. I love going to Eldora. Chris and I talked, and he’s a pleasure to talk to and get along with.”

Madden also initially planned to simultaneously crew chief for Thornton and race at the World 100, but according to Koehler, the team will appoint Ricky Arnold to oversee Thornton’s No. 20rt operation at Eldora so Madden can focus on driving. Stephen Eldridge, meanwhile, will be part of Madden’s World 100 race day crew.

Madden’s World 100 entry doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it was also never a guarantee amid the twists and turns of his career in recent months. Madden announced in June that 2024 would be his last as a full-time racer, then a bout with diverticulitis a few weeks later forced Madden to drop off the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series. Late last month, he was tapped as Thornton's crew chief for the remainder of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season.

The return at Eldora doesn't signal any changes in his plans behind the wheel, he said.

“I don’t have intentions of being full-time again,” Madden said Saturday at Port Royal Speedway.

Madden’s “main priority here is Ricky and making sure we can do the best we can do for him and for Koehler Motorsports,” and he was OK with not running any races through Oct. 19’s DTWC if it came to that.

But now that Thornton is off and running — with two victories, four total podiums and no finishes worse than eighth in eight races thus far — Madden feels he can race the World 100 without it hindering the No. 20rt team’s progression.

“I really didn’t know if I was going to be able. But Eldora is my favorite place, you know?” Madden said. “I was having a hard time sitting out on that one. Just kind of talked about it a little bit. I asked Ricky on how he felt about it. At the end of the day, when I said I’m doing this with them, my main priority with Koehler Motorsports and Ricky is making sure I can do the best job I can do for him. We talked about it and everybody agreed on it that it’d be fine to do it.

“We have two Lucas races prior to Eldora, so, obviously our focus is there,” Madden added. “And then having Ricky ready for Eldora as well. That’s the No. 1 focus.”

As a part-time racer, Madden hopes to compete in select major events, including Nov. 6-9’s World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, another one of Madden’s favorite tracks.

“As I said, my plan, obviously, is I’m not going to be a full-time guy anymore,” Madden said. “But one of my main priorities for next year is making sure I have something together to be at Eldora and a couple other places. But that’s it. I’d love to go to Eldora as many times as I can, until I can’t go no more.”

Madden’s raced six times since June 8’s Dream XXX at Eldora with his last race July 16 in a 13th-place finish at I-75 Speedway in Sweetwater, Tenn., on the Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals circuit. He said he's “doing good right now” regarding the diverticulitis as he continues to take close care of his body.

“Everything seems to be going good,”Madden said. “Just keeping an eye on my eating and making sure I’m taking my medicine” while adding that he’s abstained from eating “anything your body can’t digest easily” like “corns, nuts, stuff like that.”

That part’s been the most annoying for Madden.

“Anything that your body can’t digest easily, you don’t eat it because it will mess you up,” Madden said. “And hot peppers, and I love hot peppers. I ate some a couple weeks ago, me and my wife went to go eat pizza at a buffet, and I had jalapeño pizza. And that night, at 2 o’clock in the morning, I thought somebody had a knife and stuck it right through my gut.”

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I am really messed up here,’” Madden continued as he laughed through his painful story. “Yeah, you just have to be careful and watch what you eat.”

The pressure of Madden wanting to win a major Eldora event doesn’t bear down on him this time like it has for so many years. Though he’s been tantalizingly close in three straight Dream runner-ups from 2021-23 with another runner-up in the 2022 Eldora Million, plus a third-place effort at the 2022 World 100, Madden is always excited to race Eldora.

“For sure. At the end of the day, our main goal is for Ricky to run well,” Madden said. “Having two cars there, we’re trying to fatten up our notebooks. We have a notebook that has zero pages (at Eldora). … That’s another reason why I feel like it’ll be better having two cars there at the World is for us to fatten our notebook up and be prepared to race for" at Oct. 18-19’s Dirt Track World Championship at Eldora that closes the Lucas Oil season.

“We’re trying to put this thing together and we’re just rolling with it, day in and day out, different racetracks here and there,” Madden added. “Just learning each other. Right now, it’s been really good so far. I think we’ve had a fast car pretty much every time we’ve out of the stable since we’ve been together. Hopefully we can keep it up and hopefully one of us can pick up a win at the World.”

When asked if he’s thought about 2025, the often-succinct Madden responded with “nothing at all.”

Madden then looked at Thornton’s race machine that was ready to be loaded up after a hard-fought runner-up Saturday at Port Royal and, through a smile, said, “I’m enjoying this.”

Madden, again, believes he can still be uber-competitive at Eldora, even on a part-time basis.

“It’s like riding a bicycle,” he said.