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Eldora gears up for Prelude

Dream Week draws  huge crowds to dirt  track to see Sprint Cup drivers in action.

Nascar driver Tony Stewart in the qualifiers for SUBWAY 50 for World of Outlaws Late Models at Eldora Speedway in 2008.

Teesha McClam/Dayton Daily News Nascar driver Tony Stewart in the qualifiers for SUBWAY 50 for World of Outlaws Late Models at Eldora Speedway in 2008.

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By Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 8:15 AM Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Consider today the Prelude to the Party.

With two races drawing 20,000-plus fans each, campgrounds starting to turn Rossburg into one of the largest — albeit temporary — Ohio towns in six surrounding counties and a handful of side events, this week makes Eldora Speedway the Miami Valley’s place to be.

“When I pulled in the first time (in 2007), I was like, ‘Man, what are all these people doing here?’” said NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch, who makes his third Prelude appearance. “There really is no place to stay around there. You are just out in a bunch of cornfields. So, the cool part about it is that the fans camp out and they don’t care if it’s raining, pouring, snowing, sleeting, whatever — they are going to be there to watch some dirt late model racing.”

The highlights are the Prelude to the Dream charity race with Sprint Cup drivers and other racing professionals on Wednesday and the $100,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream on Friday and Saturday. In between is a trade expo, the Race 2 Taste and Ms. Eldora pageant (visit eldoraspeedway.com for the schedule).

What race fans don’t want to see is bad weather. Severe storms ripped through the campgrounds last year, nearly postponed the Prelude and turned Eldora into a muddy mess.

One comment left on Fox Sports’ Web site read, “I was at Eldora; got wacked in the face with mud from Schrader’s car! Ate dirt all night and was in the shower by midnight, but it was still one of the best times I’ve ever had.”

A blogger who attended the 2008 Prelude summed it up this way: “Mud in my hair, dirt down my pants and bathrooms that don’t work ...” She watched people fall down muddy hills and nearly get their cars stuck in fields. Her verdict? It’s a must-see experience.

Drivers agree. The event is for charity — this year four military-themed organizations benefit — but the racing is real.

“We’re all racers and competitors,” said Sprint Cup driver Brian Vickers, who makes his Prelude debut Wednesday. “I can assure you if we all showed up to play putt-putt we’d be joking around renting our clubs. But once the match started we’d all be serious.”

Eldora owner Tony Stewart has two Prelude wins and is the defending champ. Kenny Wallace (2005) and Carl Edwards (2007) also have Prelude wins.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or gbilling@DaytonDaily News.com.