The Kings Royal was first run in 1984, when Eldora Speedway promoter Earl Baltes offered $50,000 to the winner of a 40-lap race. The event quickly established a ceremonial character: the winner is seated on a throne in victory lane, adorned with a crown and robe, and presented with a scepter — traditions that have remained in place throughout the race's history.
Steve Kinser won the inaugural 1984 running and went on to win the event a record seven times, a mark no other driver has matched.
The $50,000 winner's purse remained standard from 1984 through 2018. In 2019 the prize was raised significantly to $175,000, reflecting the event's stature and the scale of investment in top-level sprint car racing. The purse was raised again to $200,000 for the 2025 running.
For much of its history the Kings Royal was staged as a single-night Saturday event, but Eldora later developed a multi-day format around it. The supporting Joker's Wild event was introduced on the Thursday of race week beginning in 2016, and the Knight Before the Kings Royal was added on the Friday. The 2021 edition, disrupted by the global pandemic aftermath, was run as a double-feature across a single Saturday afternoon and evening, with supporting events shifted accordingly.
For the first 33 years of the event, no driver won consecutive Kings Royals. Donny Schatz ended that run in 2017 when he won back-to-back, then went further in 2018 to become the first driver to win three Kings Royals in succession, a record hat-trick. In 2014, Kerry Madsen became the first Australian to win the event.
The 2021 edition marked the start of a nine-year sanctioning agreement with World Racing Group, promoters of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. From 2024, following Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet's acquisition of the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions, the official Kings Royal weekend was restructured as a two-day format: the Knight Before the Kings Royal on Friday and the Kings Royal itself on Saturday. A separate High Limit Racing midweek show, run by Larson and Sweet's organization, precedes the official World Racing Group events in the same week.
Under the current qualifying format, the top two drivers in qualifying are guaranteed A Main starting positions; a power-of-six qualifying position earns its winner the pole for the heat race, creating strategic incentive for drivers to target those slots. Drivers must post a podium finish in their heat race to advance directly to the A Main; those who do not are relegated to the B Main. The 2025 Kings Royal was broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
The Kings Royal's longevity — more than four decades of continuous running interrupted only by the 2020 pandemic cancellation — and its winner-takes-royalty ceremonial tradition have made it the signature event of American sprint car racing. The race's ability to command six-figure purses, draw crowds exceeding 30,000, and sustain a long-term World Racing Group sanctioning agreement reflects its standing as the benchmark for prestige in the discipline.