Eldora GM Kemp keeps Stewart's dirt track tidy

Larry Kemp, general manager of Eldora Speedway, has promoted races and run tracks from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Montgomery, Ala., to Rossburg, Ohio, and even some points in between.

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Larry Kemp wants to remind people what's so special about watching the Prelude to the Dream at the half-mile dirt track -- whether it be live in person or on pay-per-view television

"I guess the thing that brings people to Eldora Speedway for this event is the chance to see their NASCAR drivers up close," Kemp said. "A lot of the people who come to this race maybe can't afford to go to a NASCAR race, and to see them up close and having fun is really special for the fans.

"The other thing I want to mention is the money we raise for charity. We've raised money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp and now we're raising money for the Fallen Heroes and Wounded Warriors. What an awesome thing. I just look forward so much to rewarding the guys and gals that we owe so much to.

"And for those who can't get to the track, obviously, for 25 bucks, get on and watch this thing [HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 7 p.m. ET]. Get some friends together and for four or five bucks a head, you can get a couple hours of really, really good entertainment -- and the proceeds go to such a great cause."

Tickets are available online at www.EldoraSpeedway.com or by calling the track office (937) 338-3815.

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But he's never had a boss like Tony Stewart. They'll team together to help put on the fifth annual Prelude to the Dream event at Eldora on Wednesday. Kemp took some time out Monday to talk about his boss and a variety of other subjects.

Q: What was it like getting a call from Stewart's people in 2004 when they asked you to come run Eldora Speedway, which he was in the process of purchasing?

Kemp: Initially, when they told me it was Eldora, I told them no. [Former owner] Earl Baltes was such a legend that I thought it would be career suicide to try to follow him into a place like Eldora.

Between Cary Agajanian [of Motorsports Management Inc.] and [Stewart associate] Brett Frood, they finally convinced me to come up here. So we came up here and jumped in with both feet, and it's hard to believe that now we're in our fifth year.

Q: What kind of boss is Tony?

Kemp: You know, Tony is very perceptive about things. Everybody thinks this is just some kind of a thing he just wanted to do. But he's a real good owner. He doesn't get here as much as he'd like, but he'll call and I'll be answering lots of questions. He does understand it obviously from the racer's standpoint, from being a racer. You can see from what's being done with their Cup team [at Stewart-Haas Racing] that he does have a little bit of business savvy.

He's a real idea man. He comes up with some things that I hadn't thought about. Now obviously, he'll come up with some things a little off the wall, too. But he'll throw spaghetti against the wall and some of it will stick and some of it won't. But he's real good. We've never had a cross word between us, or any kind of real issues.

Q: What is one of the most off-the-wall things he has suggested?

Kemp: The one we go 'round and 'round about, the one he brings up every year, is over these wooden beams under the main grandstand. The main grandstand is this old, traditional structure like a lot of the old fairgrounds had. And underneath are all these wooden rafters. And every year he says, 'I think we need to get these all cleaned up and stain 'em.'

Well, I mean, you don't understand how long [these beams are]. And so every year, we give him a price and it's just unreal. And he's always like, 'Well, I still think that would be nice.'

Q: Hey, he's got some money now he could throw at that project. He just won a million bucks by winning the Sprint All-Star Race, right?

Kemp: Well, I guess. But honestly, everything we do here is all funded by Eldora Speedway, which is good. We may do it yet -- but it's kind of a joke because every year he comes up in the spring. He gets on his four-wheeler and he'll ride the property and come back with a whole list of things that he would like us to do or look at or whatever. Every year, he brings it up. And I told him this year, I will promise you that I'll at least get a bid on it. Then at least we'll know exactly what the cost is going to be.

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.