Stewart wins charity race at Eldora

The two-time Sprint Cup champion had a number of his colleagues racing with him on Wednesday night in the unique event, aimed at raising a million dollars for Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp, to build a new facility for his charity in Kansas.

Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch was in attendance, as well as four-time champion Jeff Gordon and reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who was taking part in the event for the first time.

They all competed in 2,300lb, 800 horsepower late-model cars, running sideways on the slippery surface that got even more difficult for the drivers due to heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kevin Harvick had started the main event from pole position but Stewart overtook him on the first lap and never surrendered the lead from then on, fending off the attacks of Robby Gordon, who came second after completing the scheduled 30 laps.

"I wished I could have gotten the track better for all the guys," said Stewart about the conditions. "It was pretty rough for late models."

"Last year I was getting my butt kicked so bad, I was embarrassed to be the owner of the race track. This year, it didn't really take skill on my part, because the car was so good."

Stewart's victory is his second in four years the event has taken place.