DaytonDailyNews.com

ROSSBURG — Dave Blaney lived up to his nickname during Prelude to the Dream qualifying Wednesday, June 4.

The Buckeye Bullet fired off a one-lap record with his time of 15.436 seconds. That translates to 116.611 mph around the half-mile, high-banked oval at Eldora Speedway.

Track owner Tony Stewart — second quickest at 15.595 on Wednesday — previously held the qualifying record with a 15.457 in 2006.

"You just go to have a good time. It's tough when you jump in these things once a year," Blaney said prior to the Prelude. "You can't expect much other than to have fun."

While Blaney was fastest, Kasey Kahne pulled up the rear. Kahne experienced car trouble and completed the fastest of his two laps in 18.557.

Black flagged

Just how close did the Prelude come to being postponed? HBO's announcers said the decision deadline was 1 p.m. At 12:55 p.m. the race was off. Stewart then decided to push through with it.

Wise choice.

Take a bow

Stewart climbed the catch fence in 2006. Carl Edwards did a back flip in 2007. What would drivers do had they won this year's Prelude?

"Definitely not a back flip," said Jimmie Johnson. "I'll bust my butt on that one."

"You can't do any burnouts and get any smoke tossed up, so maybe you'll see a bow or two," suggested Kyle Busch.

Kahne said he couldn't do a back flip, but Bill Elliott said he's seen Kahne do one of a different variety.

"I've seen him do a front flip before on skis," Elliott said.

Eldora ink

So, just who covers the Prelude to the Dream? Reporters from ESPN.com, NASCAR.com, ESPN, Rolling Stone, Sirius, XM Radio, Men's Journal, Yahoo!Sports, FOXSports.com and The Sporting News were represented.

Hot laps

• Edwards, the 2007 Prelude champ, tried to convince ESPN reporter Jamie Little to take a shot at the Ms. Eldora pageant, which took place today in the Ballroom. She declined.

• Johnson and Busch tied for boos during driver introductions, and Jeff Gordon wasn't far behind.

• Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon all collected heat wins.

• Jeff Babcock, defending points champ at Eldora, won the Eldora stock car feature. Jon Henry, currently second in Eldora points, grabbed the UMP modified feature.

Quote

"For those of you who bought your tickets on eBay, shame on you. This is for charity, not for cheating." — Larry Boos, director of operations at Eldora, scolding fans who bought scalped tickets off the Internet.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991,

or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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