[media-credit id=4 align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Robin Buck started off the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season solidly with a top 10 finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last month. He was hoping that when they got to Circuit ICAR, he would continue the early season success as he had won the race last year. However, damage in an incident with another competitor ended his day early.

“It’s a shame to get collected like that, especially that early in the race and when the team worked so hard getting the car back together after the failure in practice,” Buck says.

Looking back at the whole week, it was eventful as a whole for the No. 66 Quaker State team as the problems started in the Saturday practice session as a problem with the transmission sent Buck spinning off the course into a tire barrier.

“We had extensive body damage and some suspension damage to the car,” Buck says.  “But the team went to work and did a remarkable job repairing the car to be ready for the race.”

Buck would start the race in 16th after qualifying was rained out, though quickly made his way up through the field, moving into the top 10. While Buck remained patient, some other drivers weren’t and Buck would get damage in one of the incidents.

“There was a lot of aggressive driving going on,” Buck says.  “It looked like the #21 (Jason White) and the #02 (Kerry Micks) car got together and when they collided in front of us I had nowhere to go.”

Buck will not compete in the ovals this season as his plan is to only run the five road course events. The next road course is the Edmonton City Airport on Sunday July 22nd. It marks a return to the track for the Canadian Tire Series after it was not on the schedule for a couple of years.

[media-credit name=”Ron McQueeney/Indianapolis Motor Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]For the third consecutive year, Tony Kanaan is going to run the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora’s half-mile clay oval on June 6th. Kanaan is fitting the race amongst his busy schedule that includes back-to-back IndyCar race weekends, testing, sponsor appearances and meetings.

“It’s always a pleasure to come back, and unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time to test,” Kanaan says. “I can’t thank (track owner and event organizer) Tony (Stewart) enough for inviting me. I always enjoy it and look forward to it again.”

The 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series Champion ran road and street courses and a variety of ovals, though his first dirt race was three years ago in this event. He finished 24th in his first outing and finished 27th last year.

“It’s only two times that I’ve raced those cars on that type of track, but my mentality is to have fun and get INDYCAR out there in an environment that’s not ours,” he comments.

The Prelude to the Dream is an event that has stars from a different arrange of racing backgrounds drive 2,300 dirt Late Models. NASCAR, NHRA, ARCA and IndyCar drivers come together to raise money for Feed The Children, a U.S.-based charity that has helped over 365,000 families since 2009. The money is raised by selling tickets to the even, fans paying to watch the race through HBO pay-per-view and donations on top of that. This will mark the eighth year that Tony Stewart has hosted this event.

This year’s event will include hot laps, qualifying, heat races and a 40-lap feature with double-file restarts.

“We have the most diverse group of drivers we’ve ever had for the Prelude, and for the first time, the Prelude will be broadcast in high-definition,” Stewart says. “This year’s event is going to be a can’t-miss show. We’ve added 10 laps to the feature and partnered with a great charity in Feed The Children.”

Most drivers are returning from previous years of running, while others are trying it for the first time, including Danica Patrick.

The commercial-free broadcast begins at 8 p.m. (ET) with an immediate replay. Order at eitherwww.PreludeToTheDream.org or www.HBO.com. Ticketsare available online at www.EldoraSpeedway.com or by calling (937) 338-3815.