Stewart Offers 'Dream' Late Model Ride To 2010 Indy 500 Winner
April 20, 2010 | By
The winner of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 will receive a bottle of milk in victory lane and the opportunity to race a dirt Late Model against the likes of Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and others at the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Stewart, a two-time Brickyard 400 winner and five-time Indianapolis 500 starter, is offering the winner of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 a car to drive in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream June 9 at Eldora Speedway.
"The winner of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 has a standing offer to compete in this year's Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway," said Stewart, who has three top-10 finishes in five Indianapolis 500 starts. "We'll have a car waiting for him or her, and we'd love to have whoever puts their name on the Borg-Warner Trophy at Indianapolis come about two hours east and compete in a dirt Late Model to raise money for charity."
The dirt Late Model stock car that will be waiting for the winner of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 will feature imagery from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Centennial Era campaign, which prominently features the famous wing and wheel logo of the venerable racing institution.
The Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream will be presented live to the entire nation on HBO Pay-Per-View® with proceeds from the telecast supporting four of the nation's top children's hospitals:
· Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis: www.RileyChildrensHospital.com
· Cincinnati Children's: www.CincinnatiChildrens.org
· Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.: www.LevineChildrensHospital.org
· St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.: www.StJude.org
The sixth annual event will be headlined by the Gillette Young Guns: Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano. All will join Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway, and many others including fellow Sprint Cup champions Johnson, Gordon and Matt Kenseth. All will pilot 2,300-pound dirt Late Model stock cars capable of putting out more than 800 horsepower.
"There are many talented drivers competing in this year's Indianapolis 500," Stewart said. "We'd love to have whoever wins come to Eldora. It'd be great to see Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Will Power, Ryan Briscoe or any of the other talented IndyCar Series drivers in this year's Indy 500 try their hand behind the wheel of a dirt Late Model."
Many past Indianapolis 500 champions have competed at Eldora since 1954, including A.J. Foyt, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, Al Unser Jr., Tom Sneva and Gordon Johncock. Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the 2000 Indianapolis 500, made his Eldora debut in the 2007 Prelude to the Dream.
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2010 Indy 500 tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 30, are on sale now. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.
Fans can order tickets online at www.imstix.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.