NANCY K. FELDNER / SPECIAL TO THE PVTKyle Petty (second from left) and Tony Stewart, along with Eldora Speedway track queens, hold a $1 million check that was presented to the Victory Junction Gang, a charity for needy and ailing children. A new "Gang" camp will be located in Kansas City. Advertisement

ROSSBURG, Ohio -- When NASCAR driver Tony Stewart came up with the idea of having The Prelude to the Dream, no one knew how big of an event it would eventually turn into.

Not even Stewart himself.

When the dust had settled at Eldora Speedway last Wednesday night, Stewart stood in victory lane for the second time in three years as the winner of the race he created on the track he now owns.

After it was all said and done, Stewart presented a check for $1 million to NASCAR star Kyle Petty for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, created in memory of Adam Petty, for kids who suffer from terminal diseases.

The proceeds from the night will be handed over to start a new Victory Junction Gang Camp in Kansas City. It will be the second such camp that will benefit children who suffer from terminal diseases.

"When Tony started talking about doing the Prelude (2004), the camp was a big part of it," said Petty, who along with his wife Patti founded the organization. "And then when we started talking about Kansas City, Tony sat down with HBO and Old Spice and Coca-Cola and a number of sponsors and said, 'I really wanted to raise a million dollars, and I really want to dedicate that to Kansas City."

Petty went on to say, "We've talked about building a camp out there, and now Tony has gone a long way toward making that a reality. ... It takes people like him, and companies like the ones he brought on as sponsors, to make things like this happen."

The million dollar donation was the goal of Stewart from the beginning.

"We don't know what the results of the pay-per-view are and everything that's coming in, but I'm going to guarantee Kyle Petty and the Victory Junction Gang $1 million from tonight's event, Stewart said. "The Victory Junction Gang camps have become such a part of my family also. That's what tonight is all about. We all get to have fun out here tonight and get to drive dirt cars and have fun here, but it's a lot deeper and bigger cause than that."

When rains and tornados ripped through the area on Tuesday night, things looked grim for getting the event in.

"Mike Arning (True Speed Communications) said at about eight or nine o'clock this morning, there was about a 99 percent chance this was not going to happen," Stewart said. "I would say Adam Petty had a hand in this today. Everything that was on the radar broke up and dissipated. Watching the Weather Channel, the whole state of Ohio was supposed to have severe thunderstorms the whole night -- and we didn't have one drop of rain. So I would say Adam Petty definitely had his hand in this. It was a miracle."

While the 2009 Prelude is not even in the planning stages yet, one can only imagine what Stewart will do at that event.

But that is still a year away.

--

To learn more about the Victory Junction Gang, go to its Web site, www.victoryjunction.org.