Chico’s Gold Cup Race of Champions: Dirt, Speed and a $100,000 Payday

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Every community has certain events that become part of its identity. In Chico, we have the Thursday Night Market, Bidwell Park, Chico State, the Silver Dollar Fair—and for racing fans, one event stands above almost everything else:

The Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway.

If you've never experienced a Gold Cup sprint car race in person, it's difficult to explain just how exciting it is. Television simply doesn't capture the noise, speed, dirt, vibration and sheer horsepower you experience sitting in the grandstands.

This isn't cars politely circulating around a racetrack. These are incredibly powerful, lightweight winged sprint cars sliding sideways around a high-banked quarter-mile dirt oval, sometimes separated by only inches.

And it's happening right here in Chico, California.

One of Sprint Car Racing's Great Traditions

The Gold Cup Race of Champions has a long history, and Chico has been its home since promoters John and Robbie Padjen moved the event to Silver Dollar Speedway in 1980. That decision helped turn the Gold Cup into a nationally recognized sprint car event.

Today, the event is officially known as the Mike Curb Gold Cup Race of Champions, and its prestige—and prize money—have grown considerably.

And that $100,000 figure you may have heard about is real.

In 2024, the 70th Gold Cup finale paid an extraordinary $100,070 to win, which Silver Dollar Speedway described as the biggest sprint car race in California history. Then in 2025, the 71st Gold Cup increased the winner's prize to a record $100,071.

That's quite a payday for a Saturday night in Chico.

The purse also helps explain why the Gold Cup can attract some of the finest sprint car drivers and teams in the country. This isn't merely a local Saturday-night race. Winning the Gold Cup means putting your name alongside some of the biggest names in the history of sprint car racing.

Why Sprint Cars Are So Spectacular to Watch

For someone who has never attended a sprint car race, the first impression is usually the same:

These cars are unbelievably fast.

Silver Dollar Speedway is a high-banked, quarter-mile dirt oval. Historically, lap times have dipped below 11 seconds, with the track record listed at 10.918 seconds.

Think about that for a moment.

In roughly the time it takes to read this paragraph, a sprint car can make an entire lap around the racetrack.

But speed is only part of the show.

Unlike many forms of pavement racing, sprint cars are constantly moving around underneath the driver. They enter the corners at tremendous speed and frequently turn while sliding sideways through the dirt.

The rear of the car steps out. The driver countersteers. Dirt flies. The enormous wing provides downforce, and then the driver gets back into the throttle and launches down the straightaway.

When two or three cars do this side-by-side, you understand immediately why dirt-track racing has such passionate fans.

You're not watching it from half a mile away, either.

At Silver Dollar Speedway, the compact quarter-mile configuration brings spectators remarkably close to the action. You hear the engines. You feel them. You smell the race fuel and the dirt. And when a pack of sprint cars charges into a corner together, there's an energy that simply doesn't translate through a television screen.

Gold Cup Week Is More Than One Race

Part of the Gold Cup's appeal is that it has traditionally been a multi-day celebration of racing.

Recent editions have featured several nights of competition culminating in the big Saturday-night finale. The 2025 Gold Cup, for example, ran over four nights, beginning with 360 winged sprint cars before the premier competition took over for the remainder of the event.

Over the years, Gold Cup week has also developed its own atmosphere away from the racetrack, with fan activities and traditions adding to the feeling that this is much more than an ordinary racing program.

For serious race fans, it can become a destination event.

For Chico residents, it's another reminder that our relatively small Northern California community hosts events that attract people from well beyond Butte County.

Some Very Big Names Have Raced in Chico

The history books at Silver Dollar Speedway read like a who's who of American sprint car racing.

Past Gold Cup and major-event winners include legendary names such as Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Doug Wolfgang, Jac Haudenschild, Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana and Kyle Larson, among many others.

California racers have also enjoyed tremendous success here, which gives the event an added dimension: the opportunity for West Coast stars to compete against some of the country's best traveling racers.

That's part of what makes Gold Cup special.

Drivers aren't simply racing for a large check. They're racing for a trophy and a place in the history of an event that has been contested for generations.

An Experience Even Non-Race Fans Can Enjoy

Here's what I tell people who aren't necessarily racing enthusiasts:

Go at least once.

You don't have to understand sprint car setups, qualifying formats, tire choices or racing strategy to enjoy the spectacle.

When a field of winged sprint cars comes roaring toward the green flag under the lights at Silver Dollar Speedway, you'll understand immediately.

It's loud.

It's fast.

It's unpredictable.

And it's exciting.

There's something wonderfully old-school about dirt-track racing. Fans sit together in the grandstands, kids watch through the fence, competitors work on their cars in the pits, and everyone waits for the next green flag.

For a few hours, smartphones become a lot less interesting.

Another Reason Chico Is Such a Great Place to Live

The Gold Cup is also part of a larger story about Chico.

One of the things I enjoy about living here is the remarkable number of recreational and cultural opportunities we have for a community our size.

We have Bidwell Park, cycling, hiking, swimming, Chico State athletics, farmers' markets, community festivals, the Silver Dollar Fair and an impressive variety of outdoor activities.

Then we also have one of California's great dirt tracks sitting right at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.

Silver Dollar Speedway has been entertaining generations of Northern California racing fans, and the Gold Cup is its signature event.

It's part sporting event, part Chico tradition and part sensory overload.

Put the Gold Cup on Your Calendar

If you're already a race fan and you've never attended the Gold Cup, you really should make the trip.

And if you've never seen sprint cars race on dirt, the Gold Cup may be one of the best possible introductions.

The recent $100,000-plus winner's prizes demonstrate just how important this race has become, and the combination of elite drivers, a tiny high-banked dirt oval and Chico's enthusiastic racing crowd makes for an unforgettable evening.

The 72nd Gold Cup is expected to return in 2026; Silver Dollar Speedway began offering 2026 seat renewals after the 2025 event. Because the complete 2026 event details and purse can change, check the track's current schedule before making plans.

Silver Dollar Speedway — Gold Cup information, schedule and tickets

Bring hearing protection, be prepared for a little dirt, and get ready for an experience unlike almost anything else in motorsports.