In the Field: Elliott Sadler

I'm on the verge of competing in Tony Stewart's Prelude to the Dream charity dirt race at his Eldora Speedway in Ohio, and I don't know whether to be excited, or nervous.

But I am proud to be one of the guys on the great list of drivers who are coming.

It's going to be my first dirt race, and as I got ready to go there, I didn't even know how to get the car started -- or how to put it in gear.

Those dirt cars are configured a little different. They've been telling me how they put them in gear, because it's just a high-low, slam-shift kind of deal.

So I'm going to have a lot to learn, in only a couple hours of practice. Eldora's a pretty fast racetrack, so I hope I pick up on it, quickly.

But the bottom line is this: It's for a good cause, and I'm going to have a lot of fun with it, even though I guarantee you it's going to be a competitive situation.

I think what Tony does with this event, at Eldora and how much money he raises for the Victory Junction Gang Camp is incredible.

I mean, this event Wednesday night is a mini-Nextel Cup race, and we've got more guys coming, who are more serious than you can even imagine.

I've been hearing that Kevin Harvick has tested more for the Prelude to the Dream than he did for the Daytona 500 he won.

A lot of guys got serious for this, buying dirt late-model cars and what have you. There are a lot of bragging rights that are going to be settled on this one race, and I think Tony is starting a tradition without even knowing it.

I think this is going to be a huge event, each and every year at Eldora, and I think he's going to have more and more Cup drivers involved each and every year. I betcha it's going to get to the point he'll even have to go to a waiting list, to get invited.

This is going to be a non-points Nextel Cup race, is kind of the way we're looking at it. And the fact that it's on dirt makes it a neat throwback.

Heck, I think he's going to need to go to a program of pre-qualifying heat races just to get to the main event -- it's going to get that big.

Last year, the guys that did it had so much fun; I think that's why he's got so much support this year. You ask anyone in this garage area and they'll tell you the most fun we have racing is when we're not racing for points. (Continued)