CONCORD, N.C. -- With Tony Stewart’s Prelude to The Dream at Eldora Speedway less than a month away, Ray Evernham is preparing for another run at the famed half-mile oval in Ohio. In each of the past two seasons Evernham has competed in the huge charity race as one of the all-star racers vying for a prestigious win in the high-speed spectacle. The race, seen around the globe by an HBO pay-per-view audience, features a heavy-hitting lineup of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers battling with Evernham and several other celebrity racers in dirt late model racecars at the track that Stewart owns just northwest of Dayton. Making the field for the race is a challenge in itself and Evernham has accomplished that feat two years in a row, but the former standout modified racer from Hazlet, New Jersey hopes to enhance his performance with a strong run for this 2009 edition of the Prelude to the Dream on Wednesday June 3rd. The field will once again be filled with an all world lineup that makes the odds tougher for ‘outsiders’ like Evernham and the likes of Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon of NHRA fame. But always in search of a competitive advantage, Evernham has teamed up with Wolf-Pack Racing seeking the most innovative and best prepared racecar to ready himself for the challenge.

Working with all-star racers is nothing new or difficult for Wolf-Pack Racing as its staff of championship crew members is providing support for Evernham’s run at Eldora just as they are assisting racers across the nation plot their own path to winner’s circles. The Wolf-Pack Racing applied technology combined with the group’s affiliation with Rocket Chassis has helped guide race teams to victory lane again and again in 2008 and 2009 with increased frequency. Wolf-Pack Racing’s founding partner and lead team driver, Randle Chupp is himself a former two-time champion of the National 100 with numerous other major event wins to his credit over the years. Chupp and his associates are applying the same technological wizardry to Evernham’s ride for the Prelude to the Dream that their winning clients throughout the sport receive from Wolf-Pack Racing. The chassis setup and assembly specialty race shop is based in America’s hub of stock car racing just north of Charlotte in Troutman, North Carolina and stays busy with racecars coming and going weekly.

Evernham certainly knows that every little gain made in the shop will help shave precious tenths of seconds off the stop-watch once the race goes green and is using the talent as communicators that both he and Chupp possess in order to best prepare for the Prelude to the Dream. Evernham’s racecar will carry the number 98 with Ingersoll-Rand, East Lincoln Speedway and Wolf-Pack Racing the primary partners, in the effort provided by Kelly Boen and Troy Baird. The Wolf-Pack Racing prepared Rocket Chassis is also backed by Boen’s Colorado based Road Runner Fabrication and Baird’s primary businesses, Baird Transport and Elite Concrete for the special June 3rd event. Although the special Wednesday night race has grown to become a much anticipated and marquis annual event, it does actually serve as the preliminary race to the highest paying short track winner’s purse in racing, The Dream, which offers the winner One-Hundred Thousand Dollars. In five prior starts in the mega-event for the dirt late model racers, Chupp has posted three top-ten finishes. Chupp will serve as Evernham’s crew chief for the Wednesday night show, then on Friday and Saturday Chupp will put on the driver’s suit and climb aboard his entry to take aim at the $100,000 winner’s share in The Dream on Saturday night (June 6th) at Eldora Speedway.

On the track Chupp’s phenomenal SpeedWeeks win in February’s SuperBowl of Racing bested a field of the sport’s biggest stars and served notice to the dirt late model community that Wolf-Pack Racing’s impact in the ultra-competitive segment of the sport is fast becoming a key element for winning race teams. Kelly Boen is a former 4-time NCRA champion and his big runs early in 2009 SpeedWeeks action coupled with Chupp’s three top-two runs launched Rocket Chassis prepped by Wolf-Pack cars to the top of the charts. Fellow Wolf-Pack Racing customers Randy Korte, Steve Drake, Scott Autry, Tim Busha, Jamie Kuntz, Frank Wilson are all off to phenomenal starts in their new racing seasons all finding victory lane frequently in 2009 racing action. Chupp closed out the 2008 dirt late model season by winning the prestigious Blue-Gray 100 and is on track to possibly one of his strongest seasons yet in his fifteen- year driving career. Baird Transport and Elite Concrete have also teamed up with Chupp’s for the weekend finale in The Dream for team owner Troy Baird.

‘We’re glad that Ray chose Wolf-Pack Racing to help his efforts for the Prelude and we have things moving in a positive direction. It’s just a real pleasure to work with Ray,’ noted Chupp at a Tuesday afternoon practice session at an area dirt track near Charlotte, ‘Not only does Ray have that special knack to communicate what the car needs, he’s got some talent behind the wheel. It just makes everyone involved with Wolf-Pack proud and work even harder knowing that someone of the racing caliber of Ray Evernham sees the benefit in what we are offering to race teams,’ Chupp stated.
Evernham is best known for his successes as a multi-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship crew chief for Jeff Gordon and in subsequent years as the owner of teams that have chalked up wins for the likes of Bill Elliot, Kasey Kahne and others. Evernham’s early years in the sport saw him excel as both a racer and car builder in modified racing action in his home state of New Jersey from 1979 through 1983. Although the impressive statistics Evernham posted in leading Jeff Gordon to 47 of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Wins and three NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships, many people don’t realize that he Ray Evernham was one of the key factors of bringing the IROC Series tow worldwide acclaim while working with the greatest racers that the sport has seen. Much like Evernham, the members of Wolf-Pack Racing have also worked with championship drivers and teams throughout their careers and the pairing should enable Evernham to ratchet up his racing results in the upcoming Prelude to the Dream. Evernham is looking forward to returning to action behind the wheel in the special event and test his talents against the best the competition the sport has to offer.

Preparation & Performance Sparks Increased Membership of Wolf-Pack Racing Teams

Chupp founded the Wolf-Pack Racing organization along long-time stock car associates Harold Holly and Karl Gollnast and the company has since brought aboard several other former champion crew chiefs and leaders as in Danny Myers, who himself has scored three World 100 championships at Eldora Speedway as a crew chief. The company’s support staff also includes other former members of top dirt late model and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams. From one end of the experience spectrum to the other, the winning results being produced by Wolf-Pack Racing is turning a lot of heads in racing circles. The reason for the increased number of race teams choosing to use Wolf-Pack Racing as their key ingredient for racecar preparation is far less complicated than the ever-changing chassis tweaks and setups needed to win at the highest levels of today’s short track racing. The success, experience and knowledge gained by the principals at Wolf-Pack Racing are helping teams better understand and apply the physics, energy transfer and other critical aspects of setting up winning racecars. Holly and Chupp set new standards when the pair helped propel NASCAR Nationwide Series efforts to numerous wins and a championship with both Jeff Green and Scott Riggs as driver of the NesQuick Ford. Chalking up, what was then, a NASCAR Nationwide Series record number of wins in a season, Holly and Chupp took a team to the top. Holly led the charge as Crew Chief on the road while Chupp kept the fires stoked during the week as the Car Chief and Shop Foreman of the PPC team, while also racing and winning major dirt late model events on the weekend.

The entire Wolf-Pack Racing staff of employees has each earned national acclaim as champions on the American stock car racing scene over the past two decades both on and off of the track as racers, crew chiefs, engineers, car chiefs and crew members from the highest levels of motorsports. The engineering prowess of Karl Gollnast greatly enhances the overall efforts and further explains why the group is in high demand in the dirt late model industry. Chupp, an all-star racer in his own right, is the son of legendary racer Gene Chupp, and originally from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Holly grew up in Pell City, Alabama where he and Chupp became lifetime friends. Growing up together in the sport, they have parlayed their knowledge and experience into winning on the track while steadfastly working to advance technological input behind the scenes through data acquisition and chassis geometry. Gollnast’s racing roots date back to his automotive and engineering experiences in Detroit and his home state of Michigan which led to his long-time involvement with ARCA and NASCAR teams over the years.

‘All of the teams on our program face a diverse type of track conditions week in and week out, ‘notes Chupp, ‘The challenges of varying race tracks, surfaces and other relative factors literally span from one far end of the spectrum to the other, and these guys are winning races using our applications. We’re on track for a very strong season for all of our Wolf-Pack customers and doing at places that are just so different,’ Chupp continued, ‘With guys like Tim Busha winning like he has done at Talladega and then you look at a guy like Randy Korte or Scott Autry winning on completely different types of tracks and dirt, that says a lot about what our group has come up with. It’s a never ending study and you’ve got to stay ahead of the pack to put yourself in position to win races.’

Wolf-Pack Racing Drivers Strike Early and Often in 2009

Winning races and pole awards is becoming more and more frequent on the weekly list of who’s who in a Wolf-Pack Racing prepared car, including Chupp’s own winning efforts. The others making headlines include Steve Drake of San Luis Obispo, California who won the season opening event at Santa Maria Speedway taking his Wolf-Pack Racing prepared Rocket Chassis to victory in dominating fashion while besting a field of competitors in rival chassis at their own home proving grounds. Last month Alabama’s Tim Busha reeled off an unprecedented three straight wins at Talladega Short Track in his Wolf-Pack Racing prepared late model. Former UMP National champion racer Randy ‘King Kong’ Korte of Highland, Illinois has picked up a couple of wins so far in 2009 at Ken Schrader’s I-55 Speedway just south of St. Louis, Missouri. Just three weeks ago Fayetteville, North Carolina ace Scott Autry left the Wolf-Pack Racing shop with a brand new Rocket Chassis on a Thursday afternoon and drove it straight to the winner’s circle at his home track that Saturday night. Autry has gone on to score another win, while Wolf-Pack Racing driver Jamie Kuntz of Mooresville, North Carolina has reeled off three wins at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, North Carolina and the Ray Evernham owned East Lincoln Speedway near Charlotte. Kuntz, known as ‘Jamie the Jet’ continues to be a dominant force in Open-Wheel Modified action. In Phenix City, Alabama Dana Eiland is off to a winning start this year with a win at his hometown track of East Alabama Motor Speedway and Justin Labonte started the 2009 year with a bang as the Trinity, North Carolina speedster earned the pole award in the season-opening Carolina Clash Series event of the season. Frank Wilson has been the terror of the Florida panhandle so far in 2009 scoring three wins already with his Wolf-Pack Racing prepared cars. Combine these impressive results with the great start that Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colorado has had thus far while other championship racers like Davey Johnson of Latrobe, Pennsylvania and Larry Boutwell (Baker, Florida), Josh Richeson (Harrisburg, North Carolina) are on the brink of wheeling their way to victory lane in 2009. Other racers who are now on the winning programs offered by Wolf-Pack Racing program include Jeff Fortner of Vidalia, Georgia; Ted Lackey of Munford, Alabama; Jeff Leonard (Statesville, North Carolina); Macon, Georgia’s Gene Nasworthy and of Green Bay, Wisconsin racer Todd Frank. Drivers utilizing the resources provided by Wolf-Pack Racing carry a long list of distinguished racing credentials, but the even more impressive fact is the combined national championships, track titles and race wins by the guys inside the company shop preparing racecars to unload at the track in winning form.

Chupp, known in American short-track circles as ‘The ShowStoppa’ began this season with a resounding performance in the first three races of the 2009 season. Chupp won the pole award and finished second each the first two nights of the new racing year night going head-to-head with Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer, Steve Francis and the best of the best from the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil dirt late model sanctions. Then on the third and final night, Chupp fired the shot heard around the racing world as he rallied from starting at the rear of the 50-lap feature to rocket his way to a crowd thrilling $10,000 win in the SpeedWeeks action during February’s Super Bowl of Racing. The rousing win signified what was to come for Wolf-Pack Racing team members in 2009 and beyond with the company’s specialized race setups and race preparation.

‘I felt like I could win any event during that week if I just executed properly,” said Chupp. ‘Congratulations to everyone who have worked so hard to get us here. The way that we have gotten this season off to a start is really something special,' said Chupp on the success that both he and the drivers who choose to have their racecar chassis tuned and redefined by the crew of Wolf-Pack Racing. 'Later this year my Dad (the late Gene Chupp) will be inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, so this whole season for me and all of our Wolf-Pack team members has added meaning with extra inspiration to win races.

Clear video evidence of the type of success being experienced by Wolf-Pack Racing teams can be found with a look of Randy Korte taking a win with a last lap pass at I-55 Raceway in Missouri. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi7xvmvpsDA (Go to YouTube.com and search: slide job galore)

For race fans wanting to see the Prelude to the Dream (Wednesday June 3rd) or The Dream (Friday & Saturday June 5-6) in person, tickets are available online at www.EldoraSpeedway.com or by calling the track office (937) 338-3815. Act fast – the race has sold out in each of its four previous years. The HBO pay-per-view broadcast of the Prelude to the Dream is available through your satellite provider or your local cable company.

Tony Stewart Answers the ‘Call to Duty’ with New Mission for 5th Annual Prelude to The Dream…..The fifth annual event will feature such racing icons as Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and more. All will pilot 2,300-pound dirt Late Model stock cars capable of putting out over 800 horsepower. The live, commercial-free broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), with an immediate replay and subsequent replays throughout the week and the following weekend. HBO Pay-Per-View’s racing telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95 and is available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming in the pay-per-view industry. Ordering information and up-to-the minute racing information is available at www.hbo.com.

‘The Prelude to the Dream just keeps getting bigger every year,’ said Stewart, a multi-time racing champion and proud owner of Eldora Speedway. ‘Since HBO Pay-Per-View began televising the Prelude in 2007, we’ve been able to help a lot of deserving charities, specifically Victory Junction Gang Camp. But in light of what’s going on in our world today – with our troops engaged in combat in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places around the world – we felt it was time to do something for those who came back from serving their country with severe injuries, and for those families whose loved ones never made it back.’

The four charities: Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront, Fisher House all cater to severely injured military personnel or fallen heroes and their families. The four previous Prelude to the Dreams have collectively raised more than $2 million. With each year’s event gaining significant stature and mainstream interest, Stewart’s goal is to have the fifth annual Prelude to the Dream raise $1 million, with the proceeds impacting the four charities.

“It’s an ambitious goal, especially in this economy” admits Stewart. “But if we don’t shoot for a number that is a true difference-maker, we’re not ever going to reach it. That’s our goal, and me and everybody else associated with this event is going to do everything we can to meet that goal. Now, we just need everyone out there to purchase the event, enjoy all the action going on at Eldora, and support our heroes who are protecting our freedom.”

In addition to the aforementioned drivers joining Stewart in this year’s Prelude to the Dream, Brian Vickers, Robby Gordon, David Reutimann, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, Aric Almirola, Kenny Wallace, Ken Schrader, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Joey Logano, and David Stremme have also committed. Drivers from all types of disciplines, some with lots of dirt track experience and others with hardly any, will participate in hot laps, qualifying, heat races and the 30-lap feature on the half-mile clay oval, all of which will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

About Wolf-Pack Racing
www.wolf-packracing.com/home

What makes the Wolf-Pack different is the team they have assembled of which each member brings an individual area of expertise and tremendous hands on experience that together makes them stronger then what any one man is doing, kind of like what you see in a real wolf pack. Wolf-Pack Racing has a very respectable track record thus far with the services that they have provided with technical support, chassis engineering, suspension and racecar set-up services and consultation. The Wolf-Pack Racing organization was originally started by Randle Chupp and long-time racing engineer Karl Gollnast, along with former NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series crew chief Harold Holly during the summer of 2007.

In addition to Chupp’s long list of major event wins as a championship dirt late model driver and his vast knowledge and experience with NASCAR teams, he has played a key role in 5 Dirt Track World Championships working with Freddy Smith, Ronnie Johnson and the late Jack Boggs at different intervals as a head wrench man when each won the coveted titles in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Holly continues to mentor talented drivers and upcoming crew members via his role at Wolf-Pack Racing as well as his lead duties as crew chief with talented young ARCA driver Joey Coulter.

Gollnast is most noted for his engineering successes with several leading stock car teams in NASCAR, ARCA and ASA over the years, while also providing services to government and industry via his Wyoming based company, Universal Solutions, Inc. Gollnast, a native of Michigan has provided his mechanical engineering expertise to other leaders in the American automotive and manufacturing industries winning recognition and awards as a leading engineer and innovator.

The rest of the key members of the Wolf-Pack Racing organization bring tremendous experience and working knowledge to the company and the customers served in a wide variety of chassis and suspension dimensions. Danny Myers is a former two-time National Crew Chief of the Year on the Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing series and has won countless races with championship drivers such as Scott Bloomquist, Randle Chupp and others.
‘This business throws a lot of curveballs at you at the most critical moments,’ says Myers, ‘You have got to know what changes are needed and we’ve got quite a few years worth of laps to look back on and know what the racecar is going to need. There are a lot of nuances and little tricks that can always give you a needed advantage.’

Joey Walsh has a long-list of credentials with winning stock car teams, including years working closely with long-time mentor Ken Schrader. George Eisenhower is a multi-time championship car owner and also provides critical organizational skills that he has honed over the years in roles with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and other winning race teams. Anyone interested in learning more about the winning technology and services provided by Wolf-Pack Racing should call (704) 500-2499 or send an e-mail via the company web site at www.wolf-packracing.com

ABOUT THE PRELUDE TO THE DREAM / HBO
www.hbo.com/events/prelude/
Tony Stewart’s massive annual charity race at Eldora Speedway
On a New Mission – One Epic Race for the Front Lines
www.eldoraspeedway.com

ABOUT ROCKET CHASSIS
‘Building Champions’
(304) 592 - 3200
Visit www.rocketchassis.com

ABOUT ROADRUNNER FABRICATION
The Denver, Colorado company provides all types of metal fabrication, rolling and powder coating.
280 E. 64th Avenue – Denver, Colorado 80221 (303) 367 – 1233 Fax: (303) 367-1281
Visit www.roadrunnerfabrication.com

ABOUT RAY EVERNHAM
Check out the Latest News on Ray Evernham in the May 19, 2009 edition of USA TODAY
www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-05-19-ray-evernham_N.htm

ABOUT EAST LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
East Lincoln Speedway Holdings, LLC is a partnership between legendary NASCAR crew chief and team owner Ray Evernham and local businessman Bob Mack. The company acquired the East Lincoln Speedway from its former owners and track founders / builders Ralph and Joanne Nantz in November 2008. Mission: To provide racing and entertainment at level above all other similar size short tracks in the United States and be recognized as the premier, large entertainment venue in the Lake Norman region. East Lincoln Speedway is located about 16 miles northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina at 1873 Mariposa Road, Stanley NC 28164. The speedway phone is (704) 263-5347.
www.elspeedway.com