Danica Patrick Joins 5 Other Drivers @ Prelude

[DirtClassic]

Danica Patrick Joins 5 Other Drivers at Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream, Total Now 18 ROSSBURG, OH (March 14) – Dirt racing’s grandest stage, Eldora Speedway, will set the scene for Danica Patrick’s long awaited dirt track debut. She joins Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Kenny Wallace, Ty Dillon and Aric Almirola in the third installment of roster announcements for the Wednesday, June 6 running of the Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream, bringing the total of announced superstar drivers to 18. After a seven-year run in INDYCAR racing, where she captured Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 and win in Motegi, Japan in 2008, Patrick made the bold move to concentrate full-time in NASCAR racing this year. She is concentrating her efforts full-time in the Nationwide Series with JR Motorsports, along with a limited schedule of Sprint Cup racing under the banner of three-time Sprint Cup champion and Eldora Speedway owner, Tony Stewart and his Stewart-Haas Racing camp. At the age of 10, Patrick turned a few laps on dirt, but never in a stock car. “I raced on dirt once before in a go-kart when I was young, but that’s about it. It’s going to be a challenge for sure, but I know Tony has offered to help in any way possible. I’m excited about it, but I’m also nervous,” stated Patrick. “It’s a totally different style of racing, so I’m not sure what to expect. But, it’s for a great cause with Feed The Children benefiting from the money raised this year, so I’m ready to give it a shot.” Ryan Newman is no stranger to either the dirt or short track wars, as his early career found him blazing throughout the Midwest en route to an amazing 170 feature wins in USAC (United States Auto Club) Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown competition. However, he has yet to garner a victory at Eldora and that is a statistic the 15-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner wants to change. This will mark his seventh Prelude appearance, with a fourth-place finish in 2009 his highest mark to date. Inside knowledge is no problem for Bobby Labonte. The 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion fields a very successful short-track dirt Late Model team headed up by Earl Pearson, Jr. who has a much heralded Eldora World 100 win to his credit. Pearson will be coaching Labonte throughout the evening as the 21-time Sprint Cup winner makes his seventh Prelude appearance. With his ever-present smile and quick wit, Kenny Wallace returns to the Prelude as a fan favorite. As the youngest of the famed racing Wallace siblings, Kenny has had no trouble following their successful footsteps. He has a thing for firsts. Kenny won the main event in his first-ever attempt at racing when he strapped into a Street Stock in 1982 and then when the Prelude to the Dream was introduced in 2005, he was the first driver to claim a win. While he is a regular on the tough NASCAR Nationwide Series circuit, he remains close to dirt grassroots racing with his Modified efforts. His 2012 short-track season is off to a great start, with four feature wins in the month of February. Another driver having to follow older brother footsteps is Ty Dillon, brother to Austin and grandson of legendary car owner Richard Childress. As Austin creates standards, Ty reaches out and meets them. He concluded the 2011 season with an ARCA Racing Series National championship and then kicked off the 2012 campaign by capturing the UNOH DIRTcar Modified Nationals in Florida. He now sets his sights on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and taking the title that older brother Austin earned in 2011. Ty was able to get a taste of Eldora during the 2011 World 100 where he finished a creditable 8th in the B-Main in his first-ever visit to the famed .500 mile clay oval. Aric Almirola’s career began with go karts in 1992, but his tenacity to succeed has seen a steady climb up the ladder through Modifieds, into the Joe Gibbs Diversity program, into the NASCAR Nationwide Series and into today’s spotlight where he has landed a ride in the renowned Petty Motorsports #43 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is quickly adapting to that team with a twelve-place finish at Phoenix already under their belt. With six previous Prelude starts, last year’s strong third place finish was his best showing. Race fans can catch all the behind-the-scenes preparation for the event by following the track, event, charity, drivers and officials on Twitter: @EldoraSpeedway, @PreludetoDream, @FeedTheChildren, @DanicaPatrick, @RyanNewman39, @Bobby_Labonte, @Kenny_Wallace, @tydillon, @aric_almirola. Joining these six will be the previously announced Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream drivers Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Dave Blaney, Tony Kanaan, Ron Capps, Jimmie Johnson, Just Allgaier, Bill Elliott, Ray Evernham, David Gilliland and Cruz Pedregon. Tickets and campsites for the Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream and all other 2012 Eldora Speedway Major Events including the $100,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream presented by Ferris Commercial Mowers, $50,000-to-win World of Outlaws Kings Royal and 42nd Annual World 100 are available through the speedway box office (937) 338-3815 or online 24 hours a day at www.EldoraSpeedway.com. Like us at www.Facebook.com/EldoraSpeedway.

[stevo]

Is this a joke ?

[joedoozer]

Is this a joke ?

Why would it be a joke? The race is to raise money for charity, and to have a good time. They brought in Travis Pastrana to try and get the X-Games generation to watch. It's a show, and it's entertaining. It's going to be fun watching her bounce off the wall like Tony Kanaan did his first year. He is hilarious. I root for him every year in this race .

This isn't a legitimate race. It's Dirt Racing's version of a celebrity Pro-Am. No one expects Bill Murray to win a golf tournament he plays in. But everyone cheers him on because it's entertaining.

[garacefan11]

ty dillon? hes my winner

[TerryM]

Is this a joke ?

No, but apparently you are.

[fryefan]

Is this a joke ?

No, but you are.

[nathans1012]

Is this a joke ?

You are the joke. At least she is giving it a shot. It's a smart move on Tony's part to help bring in more money for charity. Always a good move to try and help out the less fortunate in any way shape or form or those in need of some type off medical care.

[Red Clay Rambler]

It's not a joke, but it should be quite humorous nevertheless.

[stevo]

Yeah she might just win ! Don't
Tony make a few million on that race ?

[RandyM]

You are the joke. At least she is giving it a shot. It's a smart move on Tony's part to help bring in more money for charity. Always a good move to try and help out the less fortunate in any way shape or form or those in need of some type off medical care.

atleast she is giving it a shot.. nothing for publicity or Tony Stewart????Why dont all the Danica Band Wagoners find another wagon to ride... She screwed alotta people over to get where she is at and brags as her looks and her driving and marketing is why she is famous!.... Its Publicity!Not counting who has her in a cup car!Go figure!

[RandyM]

I could only imagine to all the cameras on that dumb broad..setting a womans example on dirt.. BS I can name many woman who could whip her ass on dirt! I wanna throw up already!

[DirtClassic]

Prelude another challenge for Danica Patrick as NASCAR transition continues

Prelude another challenge for Danica Patrick as NASCAR transition continuesBy Bob Pockrass | Friday, March 16, 2012 3:01 PM EDTBRISTOL, Tenn. – Danica Patrick has enough on her racing plate as she transitions to full-time stock-car racing.But when the boss calls and asks the driver to compete in a charity event on a dirt track, there are few worries about adding another race to the schedule.Patrick will compete in the Feed The Children Prelude To The Dream dirt Late Model charity event June 6 at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway. It will be one of 44 races for the former open-wheel driver, an addition to a schedule that already includes 33 Nationwide races for JR Motorsports and 10 Cup events in Stewart-Haas Racing cars.“I want to do well but I realize I have zero experience and I have a lot of other things I need to put my focus into this year like driving these [NASCAR] cars, so I’m going to try to go into it with more of an open mind,” she said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.Her focus remains on improving a start that has been short on results in her first month as a full-time NASCAR driver. In four races (five including a Daytona 500 qualifying race), she has only one lead-lap finish.“It’s way to early to make any kind of judgment on how the season is going or how I thought I would be doing in NASCAR,” she said. “Anything can happen. You can have a few good races, a few bad races and it’s not much of a blip on the radar. … There have been a lot of things that have been better and the results just haven’t been quite as good as I hoped.“But then again I have to remind myself not to let that get to me because the important part is the progress is happening inside the car.”Her focus is the Nationwide car, where she sits 15th in the series standings heading into the fourth race of the season at the tough high-banked 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway oval.Coming into this season, Patrick had only 25 previous Nationwide starts in two years of part-time racing for JR Motorsports. She is making her second career start at Bristol, where she had a respectable run before a crash a year ago.“Last year to start the year, I had better results,” she said. “But at Daytona [this year], I qualified on the pole and at Phoenix, my lap times were more competitive but I was more laps down so it wasn’t as good a result.“At Vegas, I was a lap down at one point in time last year and came back to finish fourth, which that didn’t happen this year [when] I worked my way up to sixth before a restart, which is what I really need to work on.”On the Cup side, the No. 10 car, fielded as a partnership of Stewart-Haas Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing, sits 40th in the owner standings, 14 points outside the top 35. If it is still outside the top 35 when she competes at Darlington Raceway, she will have to qualify on speed instead of having a guaranteed spot. David Reutimann is driving the car in the races that Patrick doesn’t run.“I’m sure it will be fine,” she said. “Obviously I sure didn’t help anything at Daytona with the 38th-place [finish]. So that’s just how it goes.“Over time, things balance out and the car will be in the top 35 and everything will be fine.”As far as the new addition to the schedule, Patrick joins a list of Prelude drivers that currently includes Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson.“I’ve only ever done one race on dirt in my life and that was in a go-kart when I was probably about 14 years old,” Patrick said.“My experience is limited. I’m really going into it with more of an attitude of just having fun, enjoying myself and raising money for hungry kids and take it all in.”Stewart has stressed to Patrick that the charity event is a chance to have fun.“I told her ‘Don’t feel like you have to come do this,’” he said. “She said, ‘No, I really want to do this.’“I’m excited for her. I don’t think it’s something that she has had a chance to do very much.“It will be fun to get her in an environment that is definitely new to her for sure.”http://www.scenedaily.com/news/artic...continues.html