Eldora Results
ROSSBURG, Ohio (AP) Several NASCAR drivers walked away impressed with a dirt racetrack owned by driver Tony Stewart.
Stewart hosted the Nextel Prelude to the Dream charity event Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway, a 51-year-old track in western Ohio that the driver purchased in November.
About 18,000 people flooded into Eldora, located about 40 miles northwest of Dayton, to see a race featuring drivers such as Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Petty.
Kenny Wallace held off Stewart to capture the race, which donated $50,000 to the Victory Junction Gang Camp for chronically ill children, a charity founded by the Petty family.
“The track was so much faster than I thought it was,” said Wallace, who celebrated the victory with a spin-out in front of the grandstand.
A NASCAR legend bested the current stars in the other heat. Hall of Famer driver Red Farmer led all 10 laps and held off Danny Lasoski, a former World of Outlaws champion, and Stewart to capture the second heat.
“I think I’m gonna go kid Danny and Tony about it right now,” Farmer said of the win. “I was waiting for one of them to come up along side me, maybe into the corner. Other than that I just ran my groove.”
Drivers later hopped into the back of trucks for a lap around the track and also stood in for interview sessions.
“It’s a neat place,” driver Bill Elliott said of Eldora. “There’s a lot of history here, like the first time I went to Indy.”
My two centavos: Hey give me a break will ya! My prediction was close, Capps didn’t finish last. And while Red Farmer didn’t get the expected top five in the feature, he did manage a win in his heat race. And by the way, the photo is Tony Stewart’s ride taken during hot laps and before Red dusted his ass in the heat.
1 Kenny Wallace
2 Tony Stewart
3 Danny Lasoski
4 Ken Schrader
5 Bill Elliott
6 Dave Blaney
7 Bobby Labonte
8 Red Farmer
9 Ron Capps
10 Matt Kenseth
11 Jeff Green
12 Kevin Harvick
13 Kyle Petty
14 Mike Wallace
We won’t hold that against you, Marc. Looks like a good time was had by all, and the purse went for a good cause, to boot.
True and the stands were full which is a good thing. The Eldora track has seen some pretty hard times of late. It this point in Tony Stewart’s stewardship of the track you have to say he’s been a sucess. I’ll be interesed on attendence figures for this weekends “Dream” at Eldora.
It is pretty cool to see so many Cup drivers joined Tony for this charity event. Our local track which is owned by the City of Oklahoma City is looking to bring in an outside entity to bring a larger venue and a higher caliber of racing to replace our aging State Fair Speedway. They are hoping to get a paved 3/8 of a mile or 1/2 mile paved speedway to replace our dual 1/4 mile / 1/2 mile dirt track.
Jon maybe the city officials could speak with those that run the Chili Bowl down in Tulsa. Obviously they have a dirt track but do have national connections that could help.