Capps returns to Prelude to the Dream for fourth straight year
DON SCHUMACHER RACING FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net; CAPPS RETURNS TO PRELUDE TO THE DREAM FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 7, 2008) - Ron Capps, whose usual mount is the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series for Don Schumacher Racing, will compete for the fourth straight year at the fourth annual Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on June 4. The charity event for dirt late-model race cars will feature over 25 world-renowned drivers as they battle for dirt supremacy. HBO Pay-Per-View will present the event live and proceeds from the telecast will support construction of Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City, as well as the Tony Stewart Foundation. Capps, who had his best finish in the second annual event, a fourth, will battle against such NASCAR racing icons as Tony Stewart (Eldora Speedway owner), Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte and more. All will pilot 2,300-pound dirt late-model stock cars capable of putting out over 800 horsepower. In addition, drivers J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, Aric Almirola, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Red Farmer, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace have committed to this year's Prelude to the Dream. Drivers from all types of disciplines, some with lots of dirt track experience and others with hardly any, will participate in hot laps, qualifying, heat races and the 30-lap feature on the half-mile clay oval, all of which will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View. "It's very exciting," said Capps, who will then pilot his 330-mph, 7000-horsepower Funny Car at the NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill, the weekend following the Prelude. "It's neat to see how this event has grown. As a kid growing up I was a fan of Eldora Speedway, and to have Tony Stewart invite me for the first time in 2005 to race against a few of the biggest names in NASCAR was in incredible honor. "Then the following year he added even more big names. And last year, with the likes of Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, and others, just about every famous NASCAR driver that you could imagine was there. And having Pay-Per-View air it - the first time something like that had ever been done, let alone on a Wednesday night - was awesome. "All this is for Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Camp and the Tony Stewart Foundation, both great causes, and I know everyone who races in the Prelude, including me, not only enjoys the intense yet fun competition, but we're thrilled to be able to give back to help these causes. "It's a very intimidating track," said Capps of the circuit. "It's a half-mile bank, and if you ask any dirt-track racer out there which track scares him the most, I bet he'll say Eldora. It's a very, very fast place. "With all these drivers from different disciplines, it's become what IROC was and I'm just very honored to be part of it and to be back this year at Tony Stewart's invitation." As for the straight-line racer battling it out with the experienced oval and dirt-track racers? "I think for a lot of them the goal was not to finish behind the drag racer," said Capps. "We had fun with that last year. Kenny Wallace has raced on dirt a lot, and I was able to finish in front of him two years ago. We had a great battle. He made it known last year that he wasn't going to finish behind me. So that was a lot of fun." Capps' car suffered a mechanical failure on the first lap of the 2007 feature event. The live, commercial-free broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), with an immediate replay and subsequent replays throughout the week and the following weekend. HBO Pay-Per-View¹s racing telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95 and is available to more than 61 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 www.hbo.com. For those who wish to see the Prelude to the Dream in person, tickets are available online at www.eldoraspeedway.com <http://www.eldoraspeedway.com/> or by calling the track office (937) 338-3815. Act fast the race has sold out in each of its three previous years. ***