It has been prestigious from the day Jim Dunn became an unlikely winner in the inaugural event in 1981, collecting $30,000. Now, 25 years later, the Dirt Track World Championship sits in higher esteem as one of the best races in the sport.
For the 2005 event, there were plenty of changes. A change of venue saw the event held at K-C Raceway near Chillicothe, Ohio, for the first time. The promotional effort changed as DTWC founder Carl Short partnered with Dean Nardi of Dirt Late Model magazine to conduct the show. The event paid $60,000 to the winner in 2004, but the '05 race would see "only" $50,000 on top with the rest of the money spread out through the finishing field. What didn't change was the level of competition that pulled through the pit gates to get down to the business at hand.
Known as a premier Late Model event, the 2005 DTWC also featured Modifieds, a popular class in the region; it was evident as 71 cars from eight states attempted to make the A main. The Modifieds had a 40-lap main, won by Corey Conley. The race winner was one of a number of drivers who brought a Late Model and a Modified for competition.
The Late Model entry list was a "Who's Who," as top Late Model names gathered. There were 130 cars on hand, representing 17 states and Canada.
Results of the event are well-known. For winner Scott Bloomquist, it continued a late-season surge, coming on the heels of a victory at the Late Model Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa. Through a cooperative agreement between the Late Model nationals and the promoters of the DTWC, an additional $15,000 was awarded to Bloomquist for winning both events.
In his illustrious career, Bloomquist has made numerous attempts at winning the DTWC, stretching back to the early events at Pennsboro (WV) Speedway. Though he did have some strong showings, he was never able to break through at the event until this year. It essentially completes Bloomquist's resum for top Late Model events.
Bloomquist qualified outside the top 20, an uncharacteristic 23rd, six-tenths of a second behind fast timer Tim McCreadie. Relegated to the fifth heat, Bloomquist won that preliminary and found himself on the outside of the front row for the 100-lap main. He shot past polesitter Brian Birkhofer at the green and paced the field for the distance.
As part of this year's format, the DTWC included a Jim Dunn Memorial non-qualifiers race. The event was taken by Rick Aukland with Modified feature winner Conley finishing Second.