Racing on Eldora's dirt path special for big-time drivers

They're billing it as "Prelude to the Dream," and selling the event on HBO pay-per-view.

But truth be told, Tony Stewart and the other Prelude competitors, most of them Nextel Cup drivers like himself, would race at a place like Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, with no one watching and for little more than bragging rights for a day.

"We could race for a six-pack, I wouldn't care," Cup driver Clint Bowyer said. "That's the part about being a racer that you never lose."

Bowyer and Stewart are two of the competitors in the field of 27 who will participate in the Nextel Prelude to the Dream in support of the Victory Junction Gang this Wednesday at Eldora, the legendary, half-mile dirt oval located in tiny Rossburg. Other notable participants include Cup drivers Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler, J.J. Yeley, Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Mike Wallace and Ryan Newman, as well as Cup car owner Ray Evernham.

The difference between Stewart and the rest, of course, is the fact that Stewart also happens to own the place where they'll be racing. He bought the joint known as "Auto Racing's Showcase since 1954" from original owners Earl and Berneice Baltes in November 2004.

At the time of the sale, Baltes said of Stewart: "I wouldn't do it unless I knew the track was being left in the right hands. Tony Stewart is a true racer. He's raced here many times, but he's also been here as a car owner and as a spectator. He knows what Eldora is all about, and he's the perfect guy to run Eldora for the next 50 years."

That would take Stewart well into his 80s, if his blood pressure permits it. And yes, Baltes was talking about the same Tony Stewart who frequently catches heat from NASCAR officials and others for the outspoken, controversial ways he conducts his Cup business. But this much is certain: Stewart is serious about how he conducts his business at Eldora -- and his main order of business is pleasing everybody else. (Continued)