When the WoO touring pros venture into Eldora Friday night (Sept. 23) for the opening night of the annual Four Crown Nationals, a new twist to the plot will be added.

Not only will Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Cup Champion, be on hand to monitor his team’s performance, he’ll be competing with and against them. Not one to sit idle at a race track, Stewart confirmed this week that he will be strapping on the helmet to compete in the final WoO appearance of the 2011 season at the legendary speed plant.

And Stewart means business – this is not just a celebrity appearance.

Already a winner at his own track in Late Models, Modifieds, USAC Midgets, USAC Sprints and NRA Sprint Invaders, Stewart will be striving to capture his first WoO win at the facility where he pays the bills. It wouldn’t be his first WoO victory; however, as he broke that ice earlier this summer with a July 27 triumph at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Canada.

Stewart knows full well the competition will be formidable. Kinser, the all-time leading WoO winner at Eldora with 35 wins, is hungry. His last visit to Eldora’s victory lane was in July 2010 at the Kings Royal, while Schatz, who has four wins to his name at the Big E, has not carried an Eldora checkered flag since the 2009 Kings Royal.

Throw into the mix WoO hot shoes like defending champion Jason Meyers, Craig Dollansky, Paul McMahan; along with eager young upstarts like Lucas Wolfe and Cody Darrah, and the formula for Stewart, or anyone else, will be tough.

The WoO series will join the UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) Modifieds for a double header on Friday night (Sept. 23) to kick off the two-night Four Crown Nationals. Saturday’s (Sept. 24) card will feature the three National touring divisions of USAC (United States Auto Club) – Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown. Rounding out the busy weekend will be members of VARC (Vintage American Race Cars) with their static display and on-track exhibition.

The event will feature stars from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the IZOD IndyCar Series and the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. All will join two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart in piloting 2,300-pound dirt Late Model stock cars capable of putting out more than 800 horsepower around Eldora’s half-mile oval.

The Prelude to the Dream is a team event. There is still an individual race winner, but there is also a race within the race, with the field broken up into four teams, each representing a children’s hospital:

• Team Levine (Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.: www.LevineChildrensHospital.org):

Ø Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Bill Elliott, David Reutimann, Austin Dillon, Ray Evernham and Cruz Pedregon.

• Team Atlanta (Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: www.choa.org):

Ø Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Ken Schrader, David Gilliland and Ron Capps.

• Team St. Louis (St. Louis Children’s Hospital: www.StLouisChildrens.org ):

Ø Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Justin Allgaier, Kenny Wallace, Ron Hornaday and Ricky Carmichael.

• Team Dallas (Children’s Medical Center Dallas: www.childrens.com):

Ø Stewart, Tony Kanaan, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola and Dave Blaney.

Each hospital will receive a donation, with the payout breakdown as follows:

• Winning team receives 30 percent of net proceeds raised from the pay-per-view telecast.

• Second-place team receives 25 percent of net proceeds raised from the pay-per-view telecast.

• Third- and fourth-place teams each receive 20 percent of net proceeds raised from the pay-per-view telecast.

The lowest team score wins, and only the top-five drivers from each team will be scored. For example, if Team Levine has finishes of first, fourth, seventh, 11^th and 18^th, respectively, from its top-five drivers, its score will be 41. In the event of a tie, the sixth driver will be scored.

HOW TO ORDER:

• The live, commercial-free broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT).

• All that is necessary to order the event is a digital cable box or satellite service. You do not need HBO to order.

• The suggested retail price is $24.95. Ordering information and up-to-the minute racing information is available at either www.PreludeToTheDream.org or www.HBO.com.

• Updates can also be found on Twitter at @PreludetoDream and follow the hashtag #RideWithUs, or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PreludetoDream.

• If you have Cable, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, DIRECTV or DISH, fans can order the Prelude to the Dream beginning June 6.

• The following are step-by-step instructions to help place an order for the Prelude to the Dream on Pay-Per-View:

Ø Cable, AT&T U-verse TV and Verizon FiOS Customers: All that is necessary to order the event is a digital cable box on your TV. If you are not sure about the kind of box you have, contact your cable company and ask if you have a digital cable box that gets Pay-Per-View (PPV). Once you know you have a digital cable box, scroll through the Pay-Per-View channels on your electronic program guide for Wednesday, June 8 at 8 p.m. ET, and look for “Auto Racing: Prelude to the Dream.” Once you see the entry, click it and follow the on-screen instructions to order. If your cable system does not accept orders from your remote control, contact a customer service representative either the day before or the day of the race. Make sure you tell the representative that you are looking to order “Auto Racing: Prelude to the Dream.” Some cable systems have a short window available to order Pay-Per-View events. The more specific you are with the customer service representative, the easier it will be to place your order.

Ø DIRECTV Customers: All DIRECTV customers can order. You can find the event on Channel 121. Go to the programming guide for those channels for Wednesday, June 8 at 8 p.m. ET, and look for “Prelude to the Dream.” Once you see the entry, click the event and follow the on-screen instructions to order.

Ø DISH Network Customers: All DISH Network customers can order. You can find the event on Channel 455/472. Scroll through the programming guide for those channels for Wednesday, June 8 at 8 p.m. ET, and look for “Prelude to the Dream.” Once you see the entry, click the event and follow the on-screen instructions to order.

• If any problems are encountered during ordering, contact a customer service representative anytime on Wednesday, June 8, to make sure the order is processed and the race can be viewed. Once it is ordered, sit back and enjoy the ride.
• 
  

The book, which was released in March of 2010, shows off over 50 NASCAR drivers and celebrities with their pets and is a great gift for any pet lover.

Since this is a Pit Road Pets book signing, fans must purchase or already have purchased the newest release of Pit Road Pets™: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, The Second Lap book in order to get a wristband to get in line for an autograph. Members of the Ryan Newman Fan Club are also able to get a wristband when they present their 2011 membership card.

Books will go on sale at the No. 39 trackside trailer when the gates open and wristbands will be given out while supplies last. The Newman’s will sign copies of the newest Pit Road Pets book in addition to one other item per person during the autograph sessions.

Autograph session information:

Kansas Speedway
Saturday, June 4, 2011
12:15 pm approx. (signing to start after qualifying)
250 wristbands to be distributed

Eldora Speedway
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
3:00 pm
150 wristbands to be distributed

Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, June 18, 2011
10:30 am
400 wristbands to be distributed

The newest edition of the book will be on sale at the No. 39 souvenir trailers for a discounted price of $20.00 each. Proceeds from the book sales will go towards low cost spay/neuter grants to organizations across the United States.

• Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.: www.LevineChildrensHospital.org
• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: www.choa.org
• St. Louis Children’s Hospital: www.StLouisChildrens.org
• Children’s Medical Center Dallas: www.childrens.com

The seventh annual event will feature stars from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. All will join two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart in piloting 2,300-pound dirt Late Model stock cars capable of putting out more than 800 horsepower.

The live, commercial-free broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT) with an immediate replay. HBO Pay-Per-View’s racing telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95 and is available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming in the pay-per-view industry. Ordering information and up-to-the minute racing information is available at either www.PreludeToTheDream.org or www.HBO.com. Updates can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PreludeToDream and on Twitter at twitter.com/PreludetoDream

The Prelude to the Dream is a team event. There is still an individual race winner, but there is also a race within the race, with the field broken up into four teams, each representing a children’s hospital:

• Team Levine: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Bill Elliott, David Reutimann, Austin Dillon, Ray Evernham and Cruz Pedregon.
• Team Atlanta: Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Ken Schrader, David Gilliland and Ron Capps.
• Team St. Louis: Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Justin Allgaier, Kenny Wallace, Ron Hornaday and Ricky Carmichael.
• Team Dallas: Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola and Dave Blaney.

Each hospital will receive a donation, with the payout breakdown as follows:

• Winning team receives 30 percent of net proceeds raised from the pay-per-view telecast.
• Second-place team receives 25 percent of net proceeds raised from the pay-per-view telecast.
• Third- and fourth-place teams each receive 20 percent of net proceeds raised from the pay-per-view telecast.

The lowest team score wins, and only the top-five drivers from each team will be scored. For example, if Team Levine has finishes of first, fourth, seventh, 11^th and 18^th, respectively, from its top-five drivers, its score will be 41. In the event of a tie, the sixth driver will be scored.

“The team concept adds another level of excitement by having a race within the race,” said Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway and three-time winner of the Prelude to the Dream. “As individual drivers, we all want the big trophy at the end of the night. But it’s cool knowing that battles for fourth and fifth and even 11^th and 12^th will make a big difference for what children’s hospital ends up with the big check.

“We plan to raise a lot of money for all of these hospitals, no matter where their teams finish. Since HBO Pay-Per-View began televising the Prelude in 2007, we’ve been able to help a lot of deserving charities, and helping children has always been a part of that mission. With this format, and with the hospitals involved, we feel we have our best chance yet to make this year’s Prelude our most successful one to date.”

The four charities – Levine Children’s Hospital, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Children’s Medical Center Dallas – all cater to the medical needs of children.

The six previous Prelude to the Dream events have collectively raised more than $3 million. With each year’s event gaining significant stature and mainstream interest, Stewart’s ultimate goal is to have the 2011 Prelude to the Dream raise $1 million, with the proceeds impacting the four charities.

“It’s an ambitious goal,” admits Stewart, “but if we don’t set the bar high, we’re not pushing ourselves the way we should. That’s our goal, and me and everybody else associated with this event is going to do everything we can to meet that goal. Now, we just need everyone out there to purchase the event, enjoy all the action going on at Eldora, and know that their dollars are going to a very worthy cause.”

Drivers from all types of disciplines, some with lots of dirt track experience and others with hardly any, will participate in qualifying, heat races and a 30-lap feature, all of which will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

“For the fifth year in a row we will bring live action from Eldora into living rooms across the country,” said Tammy Ross, vice president, HBO Pay-Per-View & Sports. “With this year’s new start time and enhancing the format of the telecast, race fans will have a chance to settle in at home and prepare for a great night of continuous, live racing action.”

With no points and no pressure, the Prelude to the Dream is a throwback race, allowing drivers to step back in time and compete for the reasons they all went racing in the first place – pride and a trophy. And they’ll do it on the same surface that racing legends A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti competed on nearly 50 years ago.

Other interesting storylines include:

• More Than 50 Driving/Riding Titles Represented at the Prelude: Sprint Cup [10] – Elliott (1988), Labonte (2000), Stewart (2002, 2005), Kenseth (2003), Johnson (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010); IROC [3] – Labonte (2001), Kenseth (2004), Stewart (2006); Nationwide Series [4] – Labonte (1991), Edwards (2007), Bowyer (2008), Busch (2009); Camping World Truck Series [4] – Hornaday (1996, 1998, 2007, 2009); ARCA [1] – Allgaier (2008); IndyCar Series [1] – Stewart (1997), NHRA Funny Car [2] – Pedregon (1992, 2008); Camping World Series East [1] – Logano (2007); Australian V8 Supercar [2] –Ambrose (2003, 2004); World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series [1] – Blaney (1995); AMA 125 National [3] – Carmichael (1997, 1998, 1999); AMA 125 East Coast SX [1] – Carmichael (1998); AMA 250 National [7] – Carmichael (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006); AMA 250 Supercross [5] – Carmichael (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006); U.S. Open of Supercross [3] – Carmichael (2000, 2001, 2005); WSXGP 250 Supercross [1] – Carmichael (2005); MXdN [4] – Carmichael (2000, 2003, 2005, 2007).

• Dirt Veterans vs. Dirt Neophytes: Stewart, Kahne, Newman, Blaney, Bowyer, Elliott, Schrader, Allgaier and Wallace grew up on dirt tracks, while Busch, Almirola, Hamlin and Logano spent the majority of their racing upbringing on asphalt.

• What Happens When a Drag Racer has to Turn the Steering Wheel?: Capps is a 15-year veteran of the NHRA and Pedregon is a 17-year NHRA driver, where straight-line runs over 300 mph are commonplace. They’ll have to turn right to go left as they sling their dirt Late Models around Eldora.

For those who want to see the Prelude to the Dream in person, tickets are available online at www.EldoraSpeedway.com or by calling the track office (937) 338-3815. Act fast – the race has sold out in previous years.

Snapshots of each charity supported by this year’s Prelude to the Dream are as follows:

• Levine Children’s Hospital (www.LevineChildrensHospital.org): Levine Children’s Hospital is a 234-bed hospital in Charlotte, N.C, located on the main campus of Carolinas Medical Center. Since opening in December 2007, the hospital has grown to include more than 30 pediatric specialties and has already received national distinction by U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” for treatment of kidney disorders.

Levine Children’s Hospital is also home to the Ricky Hendrick Centers for Intensive Care, which supports pediatric intensive and cardiovascular surgery patients. Additional distinctions include organ and bone marrow transplants; pediatric dialysis; interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery; heart-lung bypass capabilities for newborns and pediatric patients; an inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit; and 24/7 emergency services. Levine Children’s Hospital is the most comprehensive facility of its type between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. – meaning most children no longer need to travel outside of the region to receive the care they need.

Most recently, Levine Children’s Hospital announced the formation of the Carolinas Kids Cancer Research Coalition, a group of eight of the region’s most dedicated nonprofit organizations committed to supporting pediatric cancer research and services at Levine Children’s Hospital.

“At Levine Children’s Hospital, we are honored to again benefit from the Prelude to the Dream,” said Mark Griffith with Carolinas HealthCare Foundation. “Racing has deep roots here in Charlotte, and we can’t think of a more unique and fun race to partner with than Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream.”

• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (www.choa.org): Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a not-for-profit organization, is committed to enhancing the lives of children through excellence in patient care, research and education. Managing more than half a million patient visits annually at three hospitals and 16 neighborhood locations, Children’s is one of the largest clinical care providers for children in the country. Children’s offers access to more than 30 pediatric specialties and is ranked among the top children’s hospitals by Parents magazine and U.S. News & World Report. With generous philanthropic and volunteer support, Children’s has made an impact in the lives of children in Georgia, the United States and throughout the world.

“Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta relies on the generous support we receive from events like the Prelude to the Dream,” said Eugene A. Hayes III, president of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. “We are so excited to be a part of a fundraiser like this, making it possible for our physicians, nurses and staff to provide the best quality care for children across the Southeast and get kids back to being kids.”

• St. Louis Children’s Hospital (www.StLouisChildrens.org): Founded in 1879, St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one of the premier children’s hospitals in the United States. It serves not just the children of St. Louis, but children across the world. The hospital provides a full range of pediatric services to the St. Louis metropolitan area and a primary service region covering six states. As the pediatric teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children’s Hospital offers nationally recognized programs for physician training and research.

“St. Louis Children’s Hospital is grateful to be selected as a beneficiary hospital by Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream,” said Lee Fetter, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “Many of our young patients and their parents are NASCAR fans, and I know they’ll find this race especially thrilling. I imagine we’ll create some new fans before the end of the race – especially those in our Pediatric Neurocritical Care Program.”

• Children’s Medical Center Dallas (www.childrens.com): Children’s Medical Center is private, not-for-profit, and is the seventh largest pediatric healthcare provider in the country with 559 licensed beds, two full-service campuses and 10 outpatient sites. Children’s was Texas’ first pediatric hospital to achieve Level 1 Trauma status and is the only pediatric teaching facility in North Texas, affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center.

“Children’s Medical Center Dallas is honored to have been chosen as one of four children’s hospitals that will benefit from the 2011 Prelude to the Dream,” said Pete Kline, president of the Children’s Medical Center Foundation. “Children’s Injury Prevention Program, which is the beneficiary of the race, has provided more than 5,000 car seats, more than 2,000 water vests and more than 300 helmets free of cost to families who could not afford them in Dallas and Collin County. This is an amazing opportunity and partnership for Children’s, and on June 8, the hospital staff, patient families and our supporters in the community will be cheering for our drivers.”

Part 2

Eldora Speedway has played an important part in their step towards fame.

Of the trio, Blaney carries the most impressive Eldora record. Long known among the racing fraternity as “The Buckeye Bullet”, second generation driver Dave Blaney has amassed 16 career wins at Eldora. Six of those have come within the WoO wars at Eldora, so he will be on familiar turf during the Kings Royal.

The Ohio native needs no introduction to the pomp and circumstance of the Kings Royal, as he has sat atop the throne and worn the crown twice (1993, 1995). His final Eldora victory lane appearance came in 1997 when he snatched the $100,000 Historical Big One paycheck.

Stewart’s pre-NASCAR prowess at Eldora came in non-winged action through the United States Auto Club (USAC). Under the USAC banner, Stewart, who also carries the title as owner of Eldora Speedway, captured a pair of feature wins during the 1995 Four Crown Nationals. Checkered flag runs were earned in the Sprint Car and Midget divisions that weekend.

Very little track time in winged Sprint Cars appeared on the two-time NASCAR Cup champion’s early resume. With a desire to perfect his driving style, Stewart has been donning the aerodynamic wing repeatedly over the past few years. He captured the NRA sanctioned Old Spice Sizzler a few years ago, and has three Prelude to the Dream wins behind the wheel of a dirt Late Model, so his desire to excel at Eldora has not waned.

Kahne, the youngest of the trio, went straight from the short tracks to NASCAR-land. With plenty of Eldora experience under his belt, he has a pair of wins to his credit. In 2000 he captured a USAC Midget win during the fall Four Crown Nationals and in 2003 he returned to the massive one-half mile clay oval to reign supreme over an All Star Circuit of Champions field.

All three tested the Eldora clay during the June 9 Prelude to the Dream, and are anxious to shift gears from full bodied to open wheel racing. They are prepared to race, knowing that the WoO and NRA gentry will show no mercy.

Each night will be a full show for both sanctioning bodies. Friday’s (July 16) event has been dubbed the Knight Before the Kings Royal, with full points for the WoO fraternity. In addition to the points to be earned by the NRA Sprint Invaders, they will be chasing for the Jimmy Johnston Memorial trophy.

Saturday’s (July 17) chase is highlighted by the annual run for the $50,000 Kings Royal paycheck and the aforementioned trip to the throne and wearing of the crown.

Complete event information is detailed on the track’s website www.eldoraspeedway.com

Tony Stewart, who launched the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream at the half-mile dirt track in 2005, has won the event the past two years and three of the five since its inception. Stewart set the one-lap qualifying record last year (15.405 seconds) and led all 30 laps of the main event.

The new variation this year includes a team competition, with each team representing one of four children’s hospitals that are the beneficiaries of the Prelude, which will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View at 7 p.m. ET, with a replay to follow immediately.

Stewart chose four captains and handicapped each team. Clint Bowyer heads the Riley Hospital for Children (Indianapolis) team that includes Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, inaugural Prelude winner Kenny Wallace and drag racer Ron Capps.

Kahne Kahne leads the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital contingent that features Stewart, Joey Logano, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott and NHRA star Cruz Pedregon.

Kyle Busch’s Levine Children’s Hospital (Charlotte) team includes Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, David Reutimann, Dave Blaney, Marcos Ambrose and motocross champion Travis Pastrana.

Denny Hamlin leads a team competing for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (Memphis) featuring Carl Edwards, Ken Schrader, Aric Almirola, Ricky Carmichael, IndyCar star Tony Kanaan and former Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham.

“You look at it, and they lined up the teams really well,” Busch said Friday at Pocono Raceway. “You look at it, and it’s like, ‘Man, that’s a really, really good guy,’ and, ‘Oh, that’s a really good guy,’ and, ‘I want that guy.’ It will be a hard-fought race for sure. I don’t know who picked the teams, but I will give them credit. They did a nice job of picking the teams.”

Stewart acknowledged that the teams were seeded largely on the basis of past performance in the Prelude, but he wasn’t reluctant to pick a favorite.

“I still think my team is probably the one to beat,” Stewart said. “We basically sat down and looked at everybody that had been there and how they had run at the Prelude and tried to evenly stack the teams up to where they were as even as we could make them to make it as close as possible.

“You don’t have a bunch of heavy hitters on one team and guys that struggled on another team. We’ve tried to make that aspect as even as we can.”

The team aspect of the competition will be scored like a cross-country meet—one point for first place, two points for second, etc., with low total score winning. Only the top five drivers on each team will count toward the team total unless sixth-place finishers are needed as a tiebreaker.

The winning team will collect 45 percent of the net money raised for its charity. Second place will get 25 percent, and third and fourth will receive 15 percent each. Stewart hopes to raise $1 million this year.

Proceeds from HBO Pay-Per-View sales also support the charities.

CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT PRELUDE TO THE DREAM THIS YEAR?:
“Excited about it. It’s obviously something we’ve enjoyed doing every year. The drivers have been awesome and very supportive of it. We’re up to that weekend before now and this is the weekend that I start getting nervous and start watching The Weather Channel like there’s nothing else on TV to watch. Worried about just making sure we get good weather for the week and excited with the new team aspect this year of having the entire field split up into four groups and divided amongst the four children’s hospital charities that we have on board. There will be an individual winner, but there will also be a team winner and that will determine who gets 45 percent of the proceeds. The second-place team will get 25 percent of the proceeds and the remaining two teams will get 15 percent respectively.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TEAM SET-UP AND TEAM CONCEPT?:
“It was kind of a hard handicapping system, we basically sat down and looked at everybody that had been there and how they had run at the Prelude and tried to evenly stack the teams up to where they were as even as we could make them to make it as close as possible. You don’t have a bunch of heavy hitters on one team and guys that struggled on another team. We’ve tried to make that aspect as even as we can. I think it gives these guys, guys that may not have a shot to win the race or may be running sixth or seventh, know they don’t have a shot at winning, but at least give them some pride in knowing their finishing position counts and they know that hopefully that will be the points that helps propel their team to getting the majority of the proceeds from it. It really has given everybody that’s coming a renewed pride in not only the fact that they’re supporting the event, but at the same time, even if they don’t have a shot to win, their finish does count and makes a big impact.”

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE TEAM AND WHO GETS TONY KANAAN?:
“I don’t know who gets (Tony) Kanaan. He ends up with St. Jude and Denny Hamlin is the captain. They also have Carl Edwards, Kenny Schrader, Aric Almirola, Ricky Carmichael and Ray Evernham. I don’t know. I still think my team is probably the one to beat. We had probably one of the best races there three years ago and I wasn’t even a factor in it. Between Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin — they put on one of the best races we’ve ever had there.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SECOND YEAR OF BEING A CAR OWNER?:
“We’re worried about the Prelude bud, we’re not worried about me being a car owner right now. We’ve got five days to make this thing happen and we need everybody’s help here. What people don’t understand, it’s four months of non-stop work to make this thing happen. The PR staff and getting drivers organized and the people at the track that are working hard and Pam Miller from Fox that come and help us out, this is a big deal that we’re putting on here and a big push we’re trying to make.”

IS THIS THE BEST THING YOU DO ALL YEAR?:
“It’s definitely the biggest fundraiser we do all year for sure. There’s no doubt about that. Like I say, it’s a year round project, but its four months leading up to the race that really are the hardest push. This is not something that gets put together overnight. This is an event that takes thousands and thousands of man hours from a lot of different groups to make it all happen on one day. Especially at a facility that you can’t just bring a jet dryer out if it rains and dry it off. You have to have the weather cooperate with you to get it in. It’s a lot of pressure and it is probably the biggest single thing we do all year as far as fundraisers are concerned and probably the one we put the most effort into.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SPIRIT AND ENERGY OF THE PRELUDE?:
“It’s a really cool deal. We have tried every year and after every event that we have done, we’ve went to the drivers and went to different people and said, ‘how can we make this better, how can we make this more enjoyable for the guys that are coming and doing it.’ We do a short media session before hand and once the drivers actually get down in the race track with the race cars, the only media they do is during the telecast and during the broadcast of the show. It is, it’s a really cool deal. You don’t ever see drivers getting to hang out at the back of their trailers and have fun like we used to. That’s something that we do get to do at Eldora. We kind of control the pit area. There’s a lot of people down there, but there’s a lot of racing people and a lot of the crew members from the different guys teams come and support their drivers. A lot of the car owners bring their planes and help us out on that aspect and help bring guys down.

“It really is an atmosphere and I think it’s something these guys really look forward to and I don’t know how many guys this year went and tested, but I know last year (Kevin) Harvick tested about five times before he came. It just shows that these guys really care about what’s going on, it’s not that they’re just going to show up and ride around and at the end of the night go home. They really care about how they do there and have a lot of fun doing it. I know there’s a group of us staying over after the race and we’re just going to hang around and have a good time and that’s something we never really get to do.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT GILLETTE’S INVOLVEMENT?:
“This is the second year Gillette has been on board. It takes a lot of money and a lot of effort to make this event happen and Gillette has come on board the last couple years and really helped us take it a step above where it’s been. HBO has been a really big factor in that too. Without people like Gillette, it’s something that would make this event nearly impossible to try to put on and to bring the TV aspect into it to where it can generate the funds that we’re giving to these charities.

“I don’t shave very much, but every day I want to shave a little bit more because of them and every time I see an ad they run on TV, it makes me proud that they have wanted to be a part of this. They’ve really jumped in head first and really went above and beyond of what you could ask a partner to do to come in and help with an event like this.”

HOW DID YOU SELECT THE CHARITIES?:
“Last year we had the military charities and we had the four branches that we helped support and we were in a situation where we had been supporting the Victory Junction Gang Camp and we still do support them very highly. We felt like this was a great opportunity every year to do something a little different. Children and animals are two big aspects of something that I’m pretty passionate about. I really believe in kids, I believe in the attitude of children and their true emotions. Being able to help the four children’s hospitals this year was something that we were really passionate about doing. The really hard part is we know that two of these charities are only going to get 15 percent, another is going to get 25 and one winning team is going to get 45 percent of the proceeds that we raise. It’s hard because you want everybody to get the same amount, but it does add an element of excitement and I know no matter who gets what that all four of those children’s hospitals have been very grateful to be a part of this and we’re excited to raise a lot of money for them.”

DOES IT HELP THAT GILLETTE ALSO SPONSOR THIS WEEKEND’S RACE?:
“I think it’s kind of cool, but I think it was more of a coincidence than anything else that we ended up getting them back to back like this. It’s cool that they are a part of it this weekend too and it really makes for a good four or five day swing of having the Cup event and the dirt race at Eldora — both Gillette events. It’s definitely something that I think they are really excited about and been able to use both of these events to help cross promote.”

IS THERE A CERTAIN AMOUNT YOU WANT TO RAISE?:
“As much as we can get. We tried to set the million dollar mark and we fell short of it the last couple years, not by a lot, but we would love to get to that million dollar mark again. This room is the one room that can help put it over the top like that. The help that we get from you guys is really a huge factor, more than you guys can possibly imagine, of getting these people aware of what’s going on this week and letting them know how they can be a part of it with us.”

DID THE PRELUDE START THE SECOND YEAR YOU TOOK OWNERSHIP?:
“It was the first year that we owned it that we started the Prelude.”

COULD YOU EVER HAVE IMAGINED IT WOULD GET THIS BIG?:
“No, not at all. The first year I think we had 17 drivers that came and we had to beg, literally beg car owners to bring cars for NASCAR guys to drive. These car owners were so scared that somebody that hadn’t been on a dirt track and hadn’t been in a dirt late model wasn’t going to be able to drive one. We really had to beg that first year to get car owners to bring good race cars. After the first year, it went so well that the second year we didn’t have to beg near as hard to get it and now we’re still having to work to get really good cars, but we’re getting top of the line cars for these guys to drive. Mark Richards from Rocket Chassis helps with about half the field. I know Clint Bowyer’s team, they bring their own car. Bobby Labonte’s team, they bring a car. Scott Bloomquist has brought cars.

“The major chassis manufacturers in the dirt late model industry have really wrapped around this event too and they realize that this is a good advertising night for them too as much as it is what we’re doing for charity. If their brand and make of car wins the race then it’s just like we do with the Cup side. If their car can win then it helps them sell chassis. We’ve really got top notch cars for these guys to drive and that makes the even that much better because they know they are in good cars when they get there.”

Tony Stewart at Pocono 2009.
Photo by Geoff Burke Getty Images

It was a monumental win, not just in terms of numbers, but also because it stamped Stewart’s foray into team ownership with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) as a success. It was his 34th career Sprint Cup win, but first with SHR after leaving the comfy confines of Joe Gibbs Racing, where the two-time Sprint Cup champion spent his first 12 years as a NASCAR driver.

That it came at Pocono wasn’t really a surprise, for Stewart had proven quick at the Tricky Triangle since first turning a wheel on the track’s infield road course in 1986, where at age 15 Stewart raced a go-kart as a member of the World Karting Association. Upon returning to Pocono in a 3,400-pound stock car in June 1999 as a Sprint Cup rookie, he promptly finished sixth and then followed it up with a fourth-place run when the series returned to the Keystone State in July.

Stewart knocked down his first Pocono pole in July 2000 and his first Pocono win in June 2003. In 22 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono, Stewart has seven top-fives and 16 top-10s. And in eight of his last nine Pocono races, Stewart has finished 10th or better, an impressive achievement considering that 500 miles at Pocono provides a daunting test of man and machine, for races easily nudge the four-hour mark.

Yet there Stewart is after running 200 laps at nearly 200 mph no worse for wear. He simply wipes his brow with a strategically placed Old Spice towel, takes a swig of ice-cold Coca-Cola, dons a sponsor hat and a pair of Oakley sunglasses and describes his day at the office. He’s cool, even in the dog days of summer, which is now upon the Sprint Cup Series. And as the weather heats up, expect Stewart to heat up at Pocono.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing:

With all of the wins you’ve achieved in your racing career, where did your win last June at Pocono rank?
“We don’t keep rankings. We keep trophies. They’re on a shelf and you scoot one over and slide the next one to it. You love having the opportunity to do that. It’s not about rankings. It’s just about enjoying the moment. Obviously, special races like the Brickyard 400 and Daytona 500 and Indy 500s are marquee events that mean more, but a win is a win. It’s just the personal satisfaction at the moment that you have for it and the appreciation that you have for how hard everybody works to get you in a situation like that.”

Your win at Pocono last June came in a fuel mileage race. Can you explain what you did to make sure you had enough fuel to go the distance while many of your competitors did not?
“I’ve lost a lot more races like that than I’ve won. It was between Carl (Edwards) and I. We were the strongest two cars at the end of the race and we were able to get the track position we needed. Our guys did a great job of getting us out of the pits in the lead and that gave us the opportunity to make Carl push harder in the beginning to get the lead. Once he went into that fuel conservation mode, we had to follow suit. To be in a situation where your speed is dictated off the guy behind you and not off of what you can do, it’s a different style of racing. It’s hard. It’s just as hard, if not tougher, than trying to run 100 percent.”

That win at Pocono was the first point-paying victory for Stewart-Haas Racing. Now that you’re going back to the scene of that impressive “first,” can you reflect on the impact it made within your organization?
“I knew it was big when we were there in victory lane, obviously. Getting the first one at Charlotte (the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) was a huge accomplishment for the organization, but that first official points win was big, too. The feeling was the same as it was in Charlotte, but it was different because you knew it was a points race. It just meant a lot. It meant so much to a lot of people because it had been a long road to get this organization to where it could win races. Everybody put a lot of hard work into getting this program where it’s at, so it was nice to get to victory lane for a points race.”

Was winning any different as an owner?
“Does it matter? As long as you’re enjoying it, you’re enjoying it. The one part that was a little different than it had ever been was when we won the All-Star Race. Afterward, all I cared about was getting back and seeing my guys. I didn’t really even realize it until after we finished third in the Shootout at Daytona in February. It was the first event we ran and couple of the guys came up and were high-fiving each other and said, ‘Hey, that is the best finish we’ve ever had.’ It was like, ‘You guys have never run in the top-three in a Cup race… ever?’ That was what was so exciting about the All-Star Race – knowing that there is a group of guys in this organization that have been there from day one, guys on my team, guys on Ryan’s team, that had never been to victory lane. That, from a driver and owner standpoint, is just cool, that you were part of getting them their first win and being there to celebrate with them.”

Explain a lap around Pocono.
“Turn one is probably the easiest of the three – you drive it in kind of deep and then try to float the car through the corner. You go down the backstretch and into the tunnel turn and it’s basically one lane. It’s flat and very line-sensitive. You’ve got to make sure you’re right on your marks every lap when you go through there. Then you’ve got a short chute into turn three. It’s a big, long corner and it too is very line-sensitive. Add the fact that we’ve got a straightaway that’s three-quarters of a mile long after that, and it’s very important that you get through the last corner well. You need to come off the corner quickly so that you’re not bogged down when you start down that long straightaway. Each corner has its challenges, and each one tends to present a different set of circumstances with each lap you make.”

From a driver’s standpoint, what’s your biggest challenge at Pocono?
“All three corners are different – that’s the most challenging part. It seems like you can always get your car good in two of the three corners, but the guys who are contending for the win are the guys who can get their car good for all three corners, which is very hard to do. It seems like if we can get our car to go through the tunnel turn well, then we’re normally able to get it to go through the rest of the racetrack well. The tunnel turn seems to be our toughest turn on the racetrack. Getting through turn two and the last corner of the racetrack that’s flat, long and sweeping – those seem to be the toughest two corners to get through. And if you’re a little bit off, you’re a bunch off. If there’s a guy who can get all three of those corners right, then that’s the guy who’s going to win the race.”

After you’re done competing at Pocono, you’ll put on your track promoter hat and get ready to host the sixth annual Prelude to the Dream Wednesday, June 9 at your racetrack – Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Talk about that.
“It’s a lot of fun. The biggest part of the gratification for me is just seeing the guys that come up there and how much fun they have driving these dirt Late Models on a night where we get to race with guys we’re typically racing with every week. But we get to do something a little different, and that takes the edge off I think.”

Why should someone order the sixth annual Prelude to the Dream and watch it on Pay-Per-View?
“The Prelude to the Dream is a race that we hold prior to ‘Dream Weekend,’ which is one of our biggest weekends at Eldora Speedway. Professional dirt late model racers from across the country are racing for $100,000 to win. The Prelude to the Dream is on the Wednesday before, and it’s a race that myself and more than 25 drivers from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, the NHRA and extreme sports compete in for bragging rights, but also to raise money for charity. It’s a fun atmosphere for the drivers, crews, fans and the people watching at home on Pay-Per-View. Most of these guys don’t race on dirt very often, so it’s a chance for a lot of us to go back to our roots and have a great time. The viewers at home get to see us much differently than they would on a normal race weekend. There are no points, no pressure, just a lot of fun. This year, we’re helping out children by raising money from the Prelude to benefit four of the nation’s top children’s hospitals – Riley Hospital for Children, Cincinnati Children’s, Levine Children’s Hospital and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.”

How gratifying is it for you to see all the drivers come together to help you with such a great cause?
“That’s the best part of it. To me, that’s the biggest compliment – that they are willing to take a day out of their schedule. You know, our schedules get more and more hectic every year. So, to get a full day on your schedule, that’s taking away a lot. And, for these guys to all do this once a year and come to our facility and race at a place I’m very passionate about is something that is very humbling, but at the same time, it shows their passion and compassion for charities and the fact that they work very hard to give back to communities.”

Why is racing on dirt so much fun for you guys?
“I think what’s fun, or challenging, about dirt is that the surface is never the same. When we go to Charlotte or Daytona or Talladega, the conditions are pretty much the same every time, as far as the surface goes. Dirt tracks are always different from the last time you were there. So, for the guys who are preparing the cars and doing the setups on them, they kind of have to guess ahead and try to plan for what they think the track is going to do. The drivers have to plan accordingly, too, and they have to make adjustments while they’re out on the track because the conditions are constantly changing. That’s what’s so fun about dirt – it’s never the same twice.”

How unique is it for more than 25 of the top drivers in the country to race at a half-mile dirt track in the middle of Ohio cornfields?
“It’s unreal. I guess it would be like Tiger Woods taking all of his buddies and going to play the local putt-putt course, or Michael Jordan taking all of his friends to the playground and shooting hoops. These guys all converge on this track and it’s fun, and it gets us back to our roots – why we got into racing to begin with. There are no points, no prize money. Guys pay their own way to get there and it’s for a worthwhile cause.”

When you guys go to Eldora, the routine is totally different from a normal race weekend. Is that part of the challenge, or the fun for you guys – getting adjusted to the dirt and getting away from your normal routine?
“Yeah, I think if we could get an hour of practice like we do at a (Sprint) Cup race, most of these guys would really pick this up really quick – and they do anyway. But they have to do it in probably a total of 10 to 12 laps, and that’s something they’re not used to having to do. I mean, they’re used to being able to have a lot of practice time, where on dirt tracks, you just can’t spend that much track time without it affecting the racetrack. So, where you used to have two warm-up sessions for the race at a Cup event, now, all of a sudden, you get two five- or six-lap sessions to get ready to go qualify right away, and that’s not a lot of time for a professional driver to try to figure out a different racecar and a different racetrack and surface.”