Tony Stewart: “I Would Say Adam Petty Had A Hand In This Today”
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Jun 06, 2008
Prelude to the Dream wasn’t about a KyBusch win. It was about raising $1 million so that Kyle and Patti Petty can begin planning for a second Victory Junction Gang Camp in Kansas City.
And to do that, Tony Stewart personally saw to it.
Not only did Stewart host the fourth annual Prelude at his Eldora Speedway, he also won the race and guaranteed to make up any difference if the $1 million goal falls short.
But given the record 23,000 fans who packed the little dirt track located 50 miles north of Dayton, as well as a national pay-per-view audience, something tells me Stewart won’t have to dig into his pocket.
“It’s like the charity ride we do (each summer),” Kyle Petty said. “We have a good time riding motorcycles, but we raise a lot of money for charity. Nobody says that you have to have a bad time raising money for charity. You can have a good time, too.”
Even with rainy weather threatening, the Prelude went off without a hitch.
“When I woke up this morning, one of my guys said there was about a 99 percent shot that this wasn’t going to happen,” Stewart said. “I would say Adam Petty had a hand in this today.
“I watched the weather channel all day and the entire state of Ohio was under threat of severe thunderstorms, and knock on wood we haven’t had a drop of rain here since this morning. Everything that was in the radar broke up and dissipated.”
Adam Petty, Kyle and Patti’s son, died in a racing accident in 2000, prompting the couple to create VJGC in his memory.
Stewart’s win was his second in three years, having captured the second annual Prelude in 2006 (Kenny Wallace won in 2005 and Carl Edwards last year). He did so by racing a high line most of the night, ultimately leading every one of the main event’s 30 laps. It may have been unconventional on a dirt track, but it worked.
“Thirty laps here is tougher than 500 laps at Bristol, especially with the conditions,” Stewart said.
But the biggest surprise was not Jeff Gordon, but the “other Gordon,” Robby.
