Lots of money has been won at Eldora Speedway by drivers running inches from the outside wall. And perhaps an equal amount of cash has gone into repairing Dirt Late Models caught up against that treacherous concrete at the historic half-mile oval.

So it will be at the 50th and 51st annual World 100, the Earl Baltes-founded classic at Eldora, when some daredevil drivers will tempt the racing gods by maneuvering the fast-but-tricky high groove.

There’s no place where Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, would rather be while navigating the Tony Stewart-owned powerplant.

“Oh I love it,” said the 22-year-old Texan, who finished third in the 2018 World 100. “They could just take the bottom half of the racetrack off. Like, every (double-file)restart if the guy (starting outside) me could talk (with me), I'd just switch with him.”

Erb desperately tries to work his way into the high line as quickly as possible on starts and restarts.

“Before we get to the flagstand and I'm doing everything I can do to be up against that fence, getting into (turns) one and two, you know that I mean? Because you can just make so much time (on the high side). It eliminates like 50 percent of the cars because half of them guys just aren't going to do it … they don't race that part of the racetrack.

“I don't know if it's because I'm young, or the type of cars we've got or whatever, but that's just where I feel the most comfortable. I know that I can be more consistent right up against that fence than I can around the bottom, because maybe I don't have enough patience to slow down or whatever.”

Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., has been bitten by Eldora’s concrete more times than he can count, but it’s still often where he’s most comfortable. Despite the dangers, it becomes second nature.

“You're kind of there on the edge, but when you get used to doing that stuff, it's kind of like people sitting on the couch watching a television show. You just get really focused and kind of, you just kind of zone out, you almost want to fall asleep or something,” said the 29-year-old Bronson. “You just kind of get focused really and just try to hit your marks every single lap and don't mess up there. Your reactions gotta be pretty quick (but) you just got to drive every lap the same and just try not mess up.”

Ride with Jonathan Davenport for a lap around Eldora Speedway.

Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., who in 2016 became the youngest World 100 winner at age 19, remembers his first tough lesson in his first trip to the track as a 16-year-old.

“By that time I hadn't been to a whole lot of really big, fast tracks. I kind of mostly just rode around the middle of the bottom,” said Pierce, whose father and crew chief Bob competed at Eldora for many years. “The last day for qualifying, or the second day, I decided to try the top. You got to get a good qualifying lap and it was on the top with a decent size cushion, pretty close to the wall. I tried to not lift and I ended up stuffing the fence in turn three. That was pretty bad.”

Pierce, Bronson and Erb are among drivers whose cars have sported the badge of honor from running Eldora’s high groove — a ripped off right-rear spoiler, and sometimes a collapsed right-rear quarterpanel. That Eldora concrete does take a bite. Bronson’s team is ready with replacements.

Running the high groove is something you “gotta do, for me to be fast anyways. We build about 10 of them things. So, we got them ready just to bolt and be ready for it.”

Focus, rhythm and consistency are among the key components to a successful high side run. And a good dose of confidence you won’t end up in a heap. Erb said building up a stretch of steady laps up top is a must.

“When you go in the cushion there you've got to maintain that speed to where (lower-running drivers) don't beat you in (the corner), and they can just wash up in front of you. But then you're so close to the wall and it's always kind of like a big circle, and then leaving (turn) two. As long as you don't hit the wall leaving two you can make a good lap up there. If you hit the wall leaving two you've just ruined everything you've got built up. But it normally takes me — like on a restart, I can always get one good corner in one and two.”

Good laps breed good laps, but Erb says sometimes “what will happen is, I'll get one good restart and then the next corner I'll go in there and hit the wall on two. Well then, it takes me three laps to get comfortable again and get right up against it and maintain speed and then it gets going.

“Normally the longer the run, the better I can get up there against it. But I'm good for one lap. As soon as they drop the green, first restart I'm good. Second, third lap, probably mess up, and then about 40 laps in I'll be fine.”

For many years the top groove was virtually always the fastest way around Eldora. But drivers in the low and middle grooves have found more success in recent years. For Pierce, the risk vs. reward on the high side is often worth it.

“I guess you kind of take a chance gambling with it, but the more you run it the more comfortable you get. You've kind of got the wall to judge off of so that's nice,” he said. “When you're on the bottom to middle you've got to have a really good car to be able to stick that corner. You don't have anything to lean on and have a good exit. If your car's not very good search around a little bit and the top might be there for you, I guess.

“You don't have as many lanes to choose from as you do middle to bottom. You can do different lines kind of around the top but mostly if you're going to be on the cushion, you gotta be on the cushion. Just trying to figure out to maintain the most speed you can. Now it seems like a lot of guys on the middle to bottom can really make it work. To keep up with them even when it's slicked off, a lot of guys got pretty good cars to run down there, so to keep up with them you really got to be hitting your mark lap after lap. If you make one mistake there just went 10 laps worth of work, so you gotta get that back.”

Eldora’s dreaded wall is always ready to bite, but Bronson wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Ain't nothing like running around Eldora wide open in the cushion,” the Floridian said. “It's great racing, slide jobs and just, I mean I don't really know what else to say. Eldora is one of the best places in the country and I love going there.”

The 50th and 51st Annual World 100 at Eldora Speedway will be held September 8-11. Fans can watch all of the action exclusively on FloRacing.