Joseph Joiner first attempted to make the World 100 at Eldora Speedway in 2021 and that’s exactly what he did, but he has been humbled by the track and event in subsequent years, where he’s failed to make the feature.

Joiner spoke about just how difficult it is to make the feature let alone win the race on the Turn Four After Dark World 100 Preview show. First, He talked about how he made the show in his first attempt, “That was our first weekend up there racing, the first crack at Eldora. That’s the only time I ever made the show there when were going to the Dream or World 100 races. That’s the only one ‘ve ever qualified for the main event.”

“And it’s crazy because like, I think about it, especially after we went up there the first time and made the race, it’s like, ‘Oh man, this is not as hard as what people make it out to be.’ But I think we had a lot of things go our way,” he shared. “And looking back, and now having been there every year since then and just can’t find our way in the show, it’s like, ‘Holy smokes! This is very hard to get in there.’ I think about how that went and I think we had a few good breaks that kind of just put us in position to make a move or something, to kind of put ourself in place to get there.”

“Eldora is one of those places that you don’t really get that often. If you do get it, you better take advantage of it. And if you don’t you’ll never get it again,” Joiner said. “The place is really circumstantial, really hard to put a whole night together. It’s hard to make your own luck, it seems like. You really got to have things go your way.”

He admitted that guys like Dale McDowell and Jonathan Davenport can make it look easy by not only getting in the show, but competing for wins every year, “I don’t know how they do it, but somehow they can. I don’t know how to do it. I know every time I’m on the race track, I’m on the floorboard and we’re doing all we can to be up there. It falls how it falls. Usually, I’d say we’re fast enough to be up there with them, it’s just something I’m doing, or something however things work out, I don’t really know what the answer is, but we’re not really in the show.”

He then shared the tough break he experienced last year as an example, “We were leading the heat, had a really good night going. I think had them covered. Was about to win a heat and a caution comes out and gets everybody jumbled back up. I didn’t clear the guy on the outside on the restart. I leave turn 2 in second. Then I get slid in turn 3. They take the top 3 in the heat. We wound up running fourth. All four of us were literally, you could throw a blanket on us at the checkered flag there in that heat.”

“And then we were in the B-Main and we didn’t have anything right for the B-Main,” he continued. “Car wasn’t any good and we fell back. We’re like right there and that’s how it’s been the last few years.”

After recounting his struggles at the Dream back in June, he added, “I feel like we get around there good enough. It’s just nothing seems to really just get us there. And maybe I’m not good enough or not experienced enough at the place to make it happen. I don’t know. All I know is get out there and put it on the floorboard and drive it like our ass is on fire and keep on going.”

The World 100 kicks off with $12,000 to-win Twin 25s on September 10th. The entire field will be split into Group A and B via random draw. After qualifying, there will be six 12-lap heat races or shootouts with the top six being inverted. The top 8 cars from each heat race will advance to their respect feature. There will be two provisionals for the two fastest qualifiers who do not advance to the feature from the heat races. This format will be repeated on Friday, September 11th.

On Saturday for the World 100, there will be six 15-lap heat races. The starting positions will be determined by the track’s Every Lap Matters point standings and then will be inverted based on the top point man’s spin of the Wheel of Misfortune. The top three finishers from each heat race will advance to the World 100 feature. Cars finishing 4th through 11th will go to one of two 15-lap B-Features. The top cars from the B-Features will advance to the World 100. The two highest point earnings who do not advance to the World 100 feature through their heat will receive provisionals and start 19th and 20th in the World 100.

The World 100 will pay $100,000 to win and $5,600 to start. Additionally, B-Main start money has been increased to $1,000 with the first non-transfers earning $3,000. Eldora Speedway GM Levi Jones explained the increases, “Because of the incredible loyalty of our fans and the unwavering commitment of Tony Stewart, we’re proud to announce that competitors at Eldora Speedway will race for even more money in 2026 — while ticket prices remain the same. More reward for the teams. The same value for our fans. Get ready for incredible action, unforgettable moments, and the kind of entertainment you can only find at Eldora Speedway.”

There are currently 102 entries registered to compete in the World 100 as of September 7th.

NEXT: Kenny Wallace Explains Why He Believes Nick Hoffman Will Win The World 100 At Eldora Speedway