Eldora Speedway Hosts Charity Dirt-Track Race

Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway

Tony Stewart

For the fifth year in a row, Tony Stewart is heading up Prelude to the Dream. The dirt-track race features “NASCAR and drag racing heavy hitters making the trip for some good old dirt-track night racing,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.

For the past four years, Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway has raised money for Victory Junction Gang Camp, a camp for terminally ill children. Tony Stewart started a “superdome” for indoor sports at Victory Junction Gang Camp with a $1 million donation from his Tony Stewart Foundation in 2006. Over the past four years, Prelude to the Dream has raised $2 million for Victory Junction Gang Camp.

A new dream

This year, however, Prelude to the Dream will benefit the armed forces through four charities: Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House.

Tickets to Eldora Speedway are sold out for tonight’s event, but if you want to watch the race and help out the charities that Prelude to the Dream is benefiting, you can order the race on HBO pay-per-view for $24.95. Proceeds from pay-per-view sales and ticket sales will get some fast cash to the charities.

Wounded Warrior Project

The Wounded Warrior Project states on its web site that its purpose is to honor and empower wounded warriors. According to Wikipedia:

Aid directed to soldiers varies quite widely from direct material aid to assistance with rehabilitation, providing services to attend to the special needs of injured veterans, building social support networks between different veterans and among their families and friends, raising public awareness of the existence of and issues related to wounded veterans, and lobbying Congress and participating in the legislative process for the benefit of veterans.

Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

In official web site for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund says:

The Fund has provided more than $65 million in support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation, and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans. These efforts are funded entirely with donations from the public.

Operation Homefront

Emergency assistance provider Operation Homefront is dedicated to “Supporting our troops and helping the families they leave behind.” The organization’s web site says:

Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers in 30 chapters nationwide and has provided critical assistance to more than 45,000 military families in need. Operation Homefront also operates an online magazine for military wives and women in uniform. Through this community, we reach the newest and youngest military families, instantly alerting them about our programs and other information to help them succeed in military life.

Operation Homefront provides computer programs that help military families stay in touch, financial assistance for families experience illness, homelessness or death, helps families move when service members are deployed and provides many other services.

Fisher House

The 19-year-old organization Fisher House says on its web site:

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House Foundation donates “comfort homes,” built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times – during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

The first Fisher House was dedicated in Bethesda, MD. Now, there are 43 Fisher Houses nationwide.

Catch the race, help the charities

Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway starts tonight at 7 p.m. ET with a driver meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. At that time the HBO pay-per-view showing will be live.

If you miss the show at Eldora Speedway tonight, there will be reshowings of Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream throughout the week.