Eldora GM Kemp keeps Stewart's dirt track tidy (cont'd)

Q: It's impressive seeing Tony get right on the tractor and get out there to help you get the track just right. That's not a publicity show, is it?

Kemp: I've got a better off-the-wall story, now that you mention that. I can't remember what race it was last year, but I was sittin' at home in the evening about 9:30 and he called. When he calls, it's always like, 'What are you doing?' And I was like, 'I'm sittin' here watching TV and thinking about going to bed in a little bit.' And he says, 'Well, I'm gonna be there in 15 minutes.' I was like, 'What?'

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He gets there and we go out and we work on the race track. We started at 10 o'clock at night. He was doing his Sirius radio show live from here up in the tower. So I kept working and when he got done with his radio show at 11 o'clock or something, he comes back down and we get on the equipment -- and we worked on the track until 1:30 in the morning. He did everything he possibly could.

Q: Tony's attention to detail at Eldora with all the other stuff he's got going on is impressive. Has it waned at all since he took on the Stewart-Haas deal?

Kemp: As opposed to him coming to visit, we probably do more on the phone now. ... That's just the way it is. But I think as time goes on, he'll get here when he can.

Q: Did reality meet your perception of Tony when you first met him?

Kemp: The first time he came to the track, he came pretty much by himself. My wife and I and Tony sat in the house visiting and getting acquainted for two hours while watching Animal Planet on TV -- because he's a huge animal lover. So Animal Planet was on and we spent about two hours that day at the house, and that was the first time I really met him.

He was like, 'Here's the deal.' My wife had just baked some chocolate-chip cookies. So every time he's coming now, there is a basket of chocolate-chip cookies waiting for him. He calls my wife the Cookie Lady. That's kind of a thing that developed between him and Kathleen. Even when he was on the huge Subway thing, he'd be like, 'Well, I still can't give these cookies up.'

That's how common he is. When we visit, we don't spend five minutes talking about NASCAR stuff. It's all Eldora stuff. That's the way he is. This is a serious place for him.

Q: What's new at the Eldora track for this year?

Kemp: We just built these hospitality suites and they're awesome. But part of what comes with that is that we've got to have all these smoke detectors and fire alarms and all that stuff. So the other morning at 1 o'clock, I get this call from the monitoring company that they were detecting something from one of the smoke alarms in one of the suites. I had to stumble down there to check it out and reset the alarm.

Q: So you live right there in a house on the property, don't you? That must be a nice commute. ...

Kemp: Last year when they did the Prelude to the Dream, Darrell Waltrip was up at the house for like two hours, entertaining my wife and kids with stories. They were looking for him and no one could find him, but that's where he was. That's the way it is when we're having an event. The house is open to everyone when we have an event going on, and the carport is usually full.

Q: What about Tony? Does he ever stay there?

Kemp: He has friend that he used to race sprint cars for who lives about 30 miles north of here, and that's usually where he stays.

Q: Any major concerns as the Prelude gets closer?

Kemp: The track is a big worry. Like last year, we were only a few minutes away from having to cancel because of the big rain we had overnight. But it does drain well, and we're going to be prepared as much as we can for whatever may come our way.

The problem is you've got all these NASCAR drivers sitting down in Charlotte, waiting to get on planes to come up here. So hopefully, this year we won't have to deal with that. ...

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.