The Auto Channel: North America | Europe

Eldora Speedway On Track for Sell-Out of June 4 Old Spice Prelude to the Dream

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Ticket renewals for the fourth annual Old Spice Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway are ahead of schedule, pointing to another sell-out of the all-star dirt late model race featuring 25 world renown drivers.

For those who want to see the Old Spice 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 each of its three previous years and only a few thousand general admission tickets remain.

Last year, nearly 20,000 fans sitting in the track’s grandstands watched Carl Edwards hold off strong charges from Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon to take his first win at the half-mile clay oval in Rossburg, Ohio. Those unable to secure a ticket to last year’s event watched live on HBO Pay-Per-View, with the collective audience raising $800,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the Tony Stewart Foundation.

Those three drivers and more will be back for this year’s event, as will HBO Pay-Per-View, with the goal to raise $1 million to support construction of Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City, as well as the Tony Stewart Foundation.

Two-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is a newcomer who will join Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte and others as they pilot 2,300-pound dirt late model stock cars capable of putting out over 800 horsepower.

“The Prelude is a fun, but unbelievably competitive race,” said Stewart, a multi-time racing champion and proud owner of Eldora Speedway. “Last year’s race was probably the best yet as Carl Edwards held off Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon for the win.

“Eldora has always tried to go above and beyond for its fans, and last year with the addition of HBO Pay-Per-View, people across the country got to see what racing at Eldora is all about. HBO Pay-Per-View is back this year, and thanks to our partners at Old Spice, we’re ready to top the $800,000 we raised last year.”

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-View’s 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.

In addition to the aforementioned drivers, J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Robby Gordon, Aric Almirola, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Red Farmer, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace have also committed to the Old Spice 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, all of which will be televised live HBO Pay-Per-View.

With no points and no pressure, the Old Spice 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.

“Tony Stewart’s support has been huge for Victory Junction,” said NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty, who together with wife Pattie founded the Victory Junction Gang Camp in memory of their late son Adam. “Tony was one of the first drivers to get on board with us, and beyond the money he and his foundation has donated to the camp, he’s brought notoriety, which has helped fuel interest in the camp. Now, there’s so much interest that four years after opening the camp in Randleman, N.C., we need to open a second camp.

“The Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City will allow us to serve more kids, but also allow more kids from the West Coast and the middle of the country to enjoy camp. If a family is in California or Nevada or Washington, the costs to get them to North Carolina are almost double. By having a second Victory Junction Gang Camp in Kansas City, we’ll be able to bring what we’ve built in North Carolina a little closer to kids in the rest of the country.

“What last year’s Prelude did for the camp was unbelievable,” continued Petty. “It was an incredibly cool event that raised a lot of money. Tony Stewart has always been a big supporter of the camp, and the event that he’s created with the Prelude and its broadcast on HBO Pay-Per-View has become one of the camp’s biggest contributors. And as we get ready to break ground on Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City, the Prelude’s impact on our overall goal at Victory Junction – enriching the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses – is even greater.”