Image details: Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream served by picapp.com

Every year he puts on the annual “Prelude to the Dream” race at the track that he owns, Eldora Speedway, but for the first time, Tony Stewart can call himself the winner of his own event. After the qualifying heats tore up several cars, Stewart went onto dominate the 30-lap feature, after which he and his crew promptly climbed the fence.

The event included several of NASCAR’s top-reigning stars in addition to Stewart, to include two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson; four-time Cup champ, Jeff Gordon; Carl Edwards; Kasey Kahne; Kevin Harvick; Matt Kenseth; JGR teammates, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin; and a slieu of others.

Inclimate weather from this past weekend that carried over into the early parts of the week left the dirt track wet and, as some described it, lightning fast. Stewart was apologetic for not being able to get the track in better condition for his guests, stating that it was a little rough for the dirt late models they were racing.

Robby Gordon finished runner-up to Stewart in the race, with Clint Bowyer, Kenny Wallace, and Denny Hamlin following behind to round out the feature race’s top-five finishers. Following the race, Stewart presented Kyle Petty with a check for $1 million in support of the Victory Junction Camp II, which is being built near Kansas City.

Post from: EveryJoe

Stewart Wins the Dream

Image details: Nextel Prelude To The Dream served by picapp.com

If you thought it was bad sitting through the rain delay that slowed down the action this past Saturday for the Nationwide’s Heluva Good! 200 at Dover International Speedway, then you’re not the only one feeling the anguish that Mother Nature can put on racing events.

Fullthrottle.com has reported that rainy skies have delayed – or, in some cases altogether postponed – racing events across the nation this past week.  The Tri-Track Challenge Series that takes place at Paducah International Raceway, Macon Speedway, and I-55 Raceway probably felt the weather a bit more than most.

After the first leg of the Tri-Track Challenge on Friday was won by Ken Schrader at Paducah with a last lap pass over second place finisher, Jason Feger, the second race – held at I-55 scheduled for Saturday, May 31st - was rained out just prior to the hotlaps, and they have re-scheduled the event for August 2nd. The third event – held in Macon, IL – was also delayed by rain, though they eventually got that race underway. 

As if all that rain weren’t enough for Schrader, he was again slated to run on Tuesday at the Iowa Sate Fairgrounds along with fellow NASCAR driver, Kenny Wallace, but that, too, was halted by some nasty weather. That race has been re-scheduled for June 16th.

Wednesday evening will bring the annual running of the Prelude to the Dream race held at Eldora Speedway in Ohio. The event will feature a myriad of NASCAR stars, including Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, and others.

For more information on this story, as well as message from Ken and Ann Schrader, please read Where in the World are Wallace and Schrader? over at Full Throttle.

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Rain Puts a Damper on Racing Across the Country

Image details: Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Qualifying served by picapp.com

There’s been talk all over the internet (again) revolving around the infamous Tony Stewart and his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. Smoke has been driving for JGR since 1998, and back in 2003 signed a six-year deal with the team that would put him there through the 2009 season. Just as he did in ’03, Stewart appears to be willing to listen to just about anyone talking to him about offers, and as one might expect, a two-time former champ is going to receive plenty of them.

Some believe he may be letting his negotiations fall into the public eye purely for the sake of having some leverage to get a more lucrative deal from JGR, but it appears also that Stewart’s long-time relationship with the folks over at General Motors may be playing a large role in his uncertainty. There are certainly some viable options out there that would put him back in the seat of a Chevy, including the now widely-gossiped notion of becoming at least a part owner at Haas CNC Racing, whom not only drives Chevy’s, but also have a standing business relationship with Hendrick Motorsports. We also know that Richard Childress Racing will be fielding a fourth car next season, but placing Tony in that car would require an early release from his contract.

Stewart has stated that there have been talks with a couple of teams out there that would include him becoming a car owner in the Cup Series, but he said that he has not yet talked to the Joe and/or JD Gibbs about becoming a partner at JGR. He also said that while he and his agent have presented various scenarios to Gibbs to feel out whether or not there might be a possibility of being released from his current contract prior to ’09, he has not actually asked for that to happen.

JD Gibbs has gone on record by stating that they have Tony under contract through the 2009 season, and that they have no intention of allowing him to part from the company early. He and Toyota’s President of Competition, Lee White, both also said that they would like to see Stewart not only re-sign with Gibbs, but to retire with the organization.

I’ve scouted many sources on this topic, and just about everyone seems to have a differing opinion.  Reverand Jim’s Rants ‘n’ Raves is shrugging the rumors off for the time being, whereas Bruce Simmons over at Bruce’s Bits and Pieces seems to think that it might just make too much sense for Tony to move back to a GM-based team. One article that I found very interesting, however, was the opinion of Matt Mercer posted over at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie. Matt made a very good point in that if Joey Logano runs well enough in the Nationwide Series later this year, then they just might be willing to bring him up early and let Stewart out of his contract.

I can’t say that I necessarily agree with that assessment, but it did get the wheels churning a bit. I don’t think that there’s going to be any situation that presents itself that would cause Gibbs to let Tony walk early, nor do I think they should. That said, however, if Logano does run well in the Nationwide Series this year and in his first full season in ’09, then I could see a situation where JGR may not offer Tony the exact dollar figures he’s going to be looking for. I mean, let’s face it, there’s very few – if any – names in the sport that can replace Tony Stewart, but at the same time, if you’ve got a team with the youth and talent of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano … well, let’s just say that you’re not hurtin.

If Stewart does get into the car ownership side of the house in the Cup Series, it would be a crowning achievement to his long list of business ventures. He currently owns several lower-series race teams (all GM powered, mind you) and also has stock in quite a few race tracks, including full ownership of Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

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Stewart Not Going Anywhere … Yet