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[/media-credit]Danica Patrick announced that she would be running in this year’s prelude to the dream. A lot of people were concerned about her running it, however her Sprint Cup Series car owner Tony Stewart says he’s excited about it.
“I told her ‘don’t feel like you have to come do this,” he says. “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.”
The Prelude to the Dream is an event which takes professional stock car drivers from different forms of racing and puts them on the Eldora Speedway dirt track in late models. Te event is also used to raise money for charity.
Stewart, who runs Eldora Speedway, has already said that he will give her some lessons before he lets her loose on the dirt track.
Jeff Gordon is also looking forward to seeing her on the dirt as he says, “It’s a fun event. Those cars are a blast to drive.”
This event will mark her first time racing on a dirt track so many are curious to see how she will do in comparison to what she’s done in IndyCar and NASCAR.
Well it may be nice to have her out there to help raise money for charity, it may hurt her learning curve in NASCAR. So far this season, her best finish is a 12th at Las Vegas while her other three finishes have been outside of the top 15. Is spending the time to learn a new form of racing taking away from learning in a stock car? Should she focus on honing her skills?
However, considered how she has handled a loose race car, the hopes don’t look like high for her as an early wreck is predicted. In that respect, it may be a good learning experience as drivers have said that they’ve learned how to drive a loose race car via their dirt background.
While the future may look daunting, she will have the best of the best in the form of the tack owner teaching her so anything is possible.
The eighth annual Prelude to the Dream is schedule for Wednesday June 6th. Fans can buy tickets or watch the race live on HBO Pay-Per-View at 8pm EST.
