By James Hannah
Associated Press
ROSSBURG, Ohio ó Tony Stewart won his own charity dirt-track race Wednesday night, leading nearly the entire way.
Robby Gordon was second in the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream, followed by Clint Bowyer.
Stewart grabbed the lead from Kevin Harvick on the first lap at Eldora Speedway and led the rest of the way in the 30-lap race.
Gordon moved into second by the 20th lap, but couldn’t close.
After the victory, Stewart raised his arms to the cheers of the crowd and then climbed to the top on the chain-link fence that separated the fans from the track.
Coming so close to winning the race last year is one thing that brought Kyle Busch back for another.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader finished second in the 2007 Prelude to the Dream, edged out by winner Carl Edwards ó by 0.3 seconds ó and finishing just ahead of Jeff Gordon.
He was among the 25 drivers who competed in the contest Wednesday evening.
“We’re back for more,” Busch said before the race. “Finishing second and being so close ó that was obviously the first thing, to try to come back and win. Not only that but just the fun.”
Busch ended up finishing 10th.
Organizers weren’t counting on the 3 inches of rain Tuesday night and Wednesday morning that turned the track into a sea of mud.
“It’s probably going to be pretty tacky once it gets wore in, and it’s going to be pretty fast,” Busch said. “I don’t presume it drying out that much and laying any rubber down and getting dusty and all.”
Edwards said he was told this year’s car is better than the one he had last year.
“I think that’s going to be necessary,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be an easy race to win.”