PETERSEN MEDIA
– Making his first start aboard the Paul Silva No.57 over the weekend, Shane Stewart thrilled the Silver Dollar Speedway crowd as he charged from seventh to second on Friday night, and charged from the tail of the field to a fourth place finish Saturday night during the 22nd Annual Dave Bradway, Jr Memorial.
“It was a wild weekend for sure,” commented Stewart. “We had a great car every time we hit the track, I just wish we could have came away with at least one win.”
Friday night Stewart flexed his muscle early, as he set the pace during time trials as he stopped the clocks with an 11.5 second lap, earning quick time ahead of the 22 cars that were checked in.
During heat race action, Stewart wasted no time working up to second from his sixth starting spot, but on the third lap, he lost power, and had expired a power plant on his Probilt Construction/Palmero Properties/Finley Farms backed entry.
“I wasn’t sure what we had in the trailer and thought we might be done for the weekend, which was really a bummer,” explained the Bixby, OK turned Indianapolis, IN resident.
Forced to make a stop in the B, Stewart simply left the field, and picked up a dominant win, putting him in the A and in the seventh spot.
During the feature, Stewart worked the top of the track to perfection as he tracked down leader, Justin Sanders.
The duo thrilled the crowd as they exchanged slide jobs through traffic, however, traffic worked out in Sanders favor as he was able to get through the thick of things ahead of Stewart and pick up the win, as Stewart grabbed second.
“It was a pretty good race, and the 17 car got some breaks in traffic, and we got stuck behind some slower cars,” explained Stewart. “The car was awesome though and was fun to drive.”
Saturday night saw the Stewart/Silva duo check back into the Silver Dollar Speedway as they took on the Cancen Oil King of the West Series presented by Goodyear for the 22nd Annual Dave Bradway, Jr Memorial, an event they won in 2010.
With 33 cars in the pits, Stewart timed his Blackwell Consolidation/Lucas Oil Products/A.R.T. machine in fifth quick, putting him in the second row of the first heat race.
In the heat, Stewart ran into some trouble, as he got into the back on Andy Gregg, which led to Roger Crockett colliding with Stewart, sending him off the track, and forcing him to restart in the back of the field.
Starting at the tail, Stewart surged through traffic in a matter of two laps and found himself in the second spot behind Tim Kaeding, until Stewart simply lost the handle and spun in turn four, ending his heat, and putting him in the B for the second night in a row.
“I just messed up and made a mistake,” said Stewart. “The car was good, I just messed up and knocked us out of a dash spot and put us in a hole.”
Again dominating the B, Stewart was forced to start the A behind the dash cars, and lined up in the fifth row.
The start of the race was a little hairy, but Stewart had managed to work up to the seventh spot as the first caution flew on lap five.
Stewart moved up to the fifth spot after the restart, as Kyle Hirst and Mason Moore collided.
Back underway, Stewart stayed true to form, and worked through traffic again, where he got into the third spot as him, Tim Kaeding and Jonathan Allard were entering lapped traffic and beginning to put on an exciting battle.
On lap fifteen, Kaeding missed his line and got out of shape, and made contact with Stewart’s right rear, popping it, and forcing Stewart to the work area.
With 22-lpas remaining, Stewart tagged the rear of the field and simply wowed the crowd as he marched up to the front.
As the white flag waved, Stewart made an impressive move to get around Roger Crockett and take the fourth spot, the position in which he would finish.
“It was a crazy feature, and I’m just glad we are able to roll this thing into the trailer in one piece,” said Stewart. “We were really good and I think we could of contended for the win, we just got into some trouble with TK there, and put us to the back. I can’t wait to get back in this car later this summer.”
The Silva Motorsports team thanks Lucas Oil Products, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Pro Bilt Construction, Palmero Properties, Finley Farms, Car and Fleet, OMP Racing, Wesmar Racing Engines, , Shift Creative, Amerikote, XYZ, Hoosier Tire, Pro, Banshee Graphics, Dan Olson Products, K&N Filters, RE Technologies, Weld, Schoenfeld Headers, Butlerbuilt Seats, Vortex Wings, CP Pistons, Cometic Gaskets, Huggins Cams BR Ignitioneering, Blackwell Consolidation, and Petersen Media for their partnership in 2012.
ON TAP: Stewart will now climb in his fourth different car so far in 2012 and compete in a third different country as he will make his debut in the Scott McClaren No. 21 for a weekend stop in Grandby, Canada this weekend, May 11-12th.
STAY CONNECTED: For all of the latest news on Shane Stewart visit his website at www.shanestewart.com or become a fan of his on facebook at www.facebook.com/ShaneStewartRacing.