MLB wants speedway to alter race's name

ROSSBURG, Ohio (Dec. 7, 2015) — Major League Baseball (MLB) must think its fans are idiots.

And in order to protect their fans, the league threatened legal action against Eldora Speedway, a half-mile clay oval in western Ohio near New Weston.

Why?

Because MLB was apparently concerned that its fans — which it must think have the brain capacity of a 3-year-old — would somehow confuse Eldora's “Mudsummer Classic,” a NASCAR truck series race, with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which is often promoted as the “Midsummer Classic.”

Let's examine the issue: Both events take place in July, but, besides the similar monikers, that's about all they have in common.

Regardless, in order to avoid any kind of friction, Eldora has agreed not to use the Mudsummer name in the future. There is no word on whether or not the race will be renamed the “This Is Not A Baseball Game 75.”

It's a good thing MLB is looking out for its fans. It would have been a shame if a baseball fan somehow ended up in Rossburg — more than 100 miles away from the nearest MLB stadium — expecting to see Miguel Cabrera and Zack Greinke, only to get Bubba Wallace and face full of dust.

Eldora Speedway, also known as “The Big E,” is located near New Weston, according to an online source, and has an estimated seating capacity of nearly 18,000.

Roger Slack, the speedway's general manager, made an official “apology” to any baseball fans who might have made the error.

“We hope all the baseball fans who traveled to Rossburg, Ohio, the past three years in anticipation of the MLB All-Star Game enjoyed the race and the $2 beers,” he said in a statement.

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This report appeared on the website of Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.