Stewart Wins Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway

Tony Stewart won the fifth annual Gillette Young Guns Prelude to the Dream all-star dirt late model race Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, marking the third time in four years Stewart has won the event. Stewart passed Kenny Wallace on lap 13 of the 30-lap event and led the final 18 laps en route to victory. “This was probably the best I’ve run in the Prelude," said Stewart, who bought Eldora in 2004. “We won last year, I think we led the whole thing, but this was one I had to work for. We weren’t exactly perfect, and we weren’t perfect because I hit the wall on the first two starts right off the bat."

Clint Bowyer finished 3.358 seconds behind Stewart in the runner-up spot, while Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Drag Racing standout Cruz Pedregon, David Reutimann, Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson comprised the top-10. There were four caution periods during the event, although the laps conducted under caution did not count.

The race, which drew more than 23,000 fans, was broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View with proceeds from the nationwide telecast supporting four military-themed charities – Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House. Each has a mission that outlines assistance to the courageous men and women who serve their country and need additional support both during and after their time of service.

“The Wounded Warriors Project, Fisher House, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Operation Homefront, that’s who this money’s going to tonight," Stewart said. “Thank you to the fans – you guys helped us do this and you’re the reason we were able to do this tonight. I just really appreciate the support that our fans give us here. We also can’t thank the drivers enough. With the rainout in June, it really means a lot that they were able to rearrange their schedules and come out and help us do this tonight. We’re proud to do this. Thanks to Gillette and HBO, we’ve been able to do more than we ever thought here at the Prelude. The fans keep making it bigger and better every year. As long as the fans keep coming and I can keep getting drivers to come out, we’re going to keep doing this every year."

Results:
1. (6) Tony Stewart, 30
2. (1) Clint Bowyer, 30
3. (3) Kyle Busch, 30
4. (4) Ryan Newman, 30
5. (11) Matt Kenseth, 30
6. (15) Cruz Pedregon, 30
7. (18) David Reutimann, 30
8. (9) Aric Almirola, 30
9. (8) Kasey Kahne, 30
10. (10) Jimmie Johnson, 30
11. (17) Kevin Harvick, 30
12. (12) Brian Vickers, 30
13. (23) Ron Capps, 30
14. (19) Marcos Ambrose, 30
15. (20) Casey Mears, 29
16. (22) Red Farmer, 27
17. (2) Kenny Wallace, 20, Mechanical
18. (7) Robby Gordon, 12, Accident T3
19. (14) Ken Schrader, 12, Accident T3
20. (13) Joey Logano, 12, Accident T3
21. (21) Ray Evernham, 2, Accident T1
22. (16) A.J. Allmendinger, 0, Accident T3
23. (5) Denny Hamlin, DNS, Mechanical
Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 38.978 mph
Time of race: 23:05.405
Margin of victory: 3.358 seconds
Cautions: 4 (Lap 1: Allmendinger, Accident T3; Lap 3: Evernham, Accident T1; Lap 13: Schrader, Gordon, Mears, Logano and Ambrose, Accident T3; Lap 20: Mears, Spin T2)
Lead changes: 2 among 2 drivers
Lap leaders: Wallace 1-12, Stewart 13-30
Attendance: More than 23,000
Broadcast: HBO Pay-Per-View True Speed Communication