PETERSEN MEDIA
– Returning to action with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series for the first time since his dominating 360 Nationals win, Shane Stewart continued to hang tough with the series he conquered in 2011 as he scored a second and fourth place finish at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.
Pulling the number one pill, Stewart lined his 3G Motorsports/Red Line Oil/Media Tile machine up on the pole of the first heat race on the night and proceeded to pick up the win, earning himself an automatic birth in the feature.
Unfortunately, no passing points were earned, so the reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour champion found himself starting in the 11th spot on the very rough and tumble surface.
Continuing his strong runs aboard the 3G, Stewart had picked his way up to the fifth spot by the 12th lap as he began battling with Brian Brown and Wayne Johnson in heavy lapped traffic.
In clean air, the trio was more spread out with Stewart still in fifth, until the 22nd lap, when he was able to get around Wayne Johnson to secure the fourth and final lock-in spot for the Saturday night feature event.
Saturday night saw Stewart pull the three pill for the feature event, starting behind a strong front row of Brian Brown and Jason Johnson. As Johnson shot out to the early lead, Stewart stalked Brown as they raced nose to tail on a very slick and abrasive surface.
Hitting lapped traffic on the 10th lap, Stewart and Brown were able to close in on Johnson, and pressure for the lead. On the 15th lap, Stewart was able to overtake the second spot from Brown, and began making up serious ground on Johnson as the race remained under green.
With the white flag in the air, the crowd rose to their feet as Stewart was all over Johnson with smoke billowing off of his burnt up right-rear tire, and Johnson was able to hold off his late surge, only to be greeted by the yellow instead of the checkered.
With a green-white-checkered finish, Johnson was able to cruise away for the win, as Stewart settled for second.
“We had a great car all weekend,” he said. “Tim Norman and Joe Gaerte did a great job, and I thought we had a shot for the win late in Saturday’s race. Jason did a great job up front, and earned that one.”
Shane and the 3G Motorsports team would like to thank Red Line Oil, Media Tile, DDNi, XYZ Machine, Gaerte Engines, All Star Performance, KPC Chassis, and SST Shocks for their continued support.
ON TAP: Stewart will now look to defend his LoneStar Nationals title in two weeks as the 3G Motorsports team heads to Texas.
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. You can also follow him on twitter @ShaneStewart57.