Battle Of The Bullring Rained Out, Stewart Says He’ll Try Again

NASCAR Champ Tony Stewart watches the rain come in at Plymouth Speedway.

Saturday night’s Battle of the Bullring, featuring NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart, was actually a battle with Mother Nature – and Mother Nature won.

Rain canceled the Sprints on Dirt race on the dirt track at the Plymouth Speedway. The much-anticipated race has been rescheduled for August 18, but Irish Saunders of the Plymouth Speedway said it was an interesting day, not only because of the rain situation at the Plymouth Speedway, but for Tony Stewart as well.

Stewart's crew awaits his arrival

“He called this morning and said, ‘Man, I’ve got some tire problems up there,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, you’re not running Hoosiers,’” Saunders laughed. “He said, ‘No, I’ve got more problems than that. The tires are wrong here, we’ve got some problems with this new asphalt.’ I feel bad for Goodyear, I really do, because we’ve been in that situation before and he said they had a mandatory practice tonight from 6 until 7:30, then he was going to helicopter in to Plymouth and he said he’d probably be here between 8 and 8:30. He planned on being here, and he’s going to run tonight,” said Saunders.

Stewart's winged sprint car

Stewart did appear at the Plymouth Speedway close to 10 p.m. ET, but another heavy downpour of rain halted all racing for the evening. He told the fans that he will be back in August to try it again.

Saunders said racing the winged Mini-Sprints in the Bullring on Saturday, August 18 should be exciting. He talks about the track.

Here's a sneak peek inside Tony Stewart's hauler

“This is the new thing here, for the Plymouth Speedway. We’ve got the dirt track now on the inside of the asphalt track – which, that’s the first track that’s ever been done like that. I give credit to my son, Eric, he raced motocross for Tony for many years. It helps promote this with Ed Kennedy, the owner of the place,” said Saunders. “I’m gonna say that you’re probably going to see some cars in the neighborhood of about of 120 miles per hour down the straightaways of this little bullring.”

Officials encourage you to reprint your tickets and present them at the gate on the rescheduled date. If you purchased a pit pass, save the bracelet and you will be able to be readmitted on August 18.

Tony Stewart is escorted to the tower to announce the cancellation of the event.