From Peterson Media
Shane Stewart had one of those weekends any racecar driver hates, having a very fast racecar, but nothing to show for it, as he lost an engine on Friday and had an incident on Saturday night, knocking him back to a fifth place finish.
“We have been struggling as of late, but the last couple weekends we have made some progress and found some speed,” he said. “Friday and Saturday we were awesome, but we don’t have any results to show for it.”
With low car counts over the weekend, the WSS kicked their Western swing off at the Manjimup Speedway. Stewart’s night started off with him timing his Monster Energy/Milwaukee Power Tools/GearWrench machine in eighth fastest.
Stewart went on to dominate his first heat race aboard his Prosser Toyota/KRE Engines/Lucas Oil backed entry before scoring a third place finish in his second heat.
A third place finish in the pole shootout, put his Factory Kahne/Kaeding Performance/Brown and Miller machine in the second row of the feature event.
When the feature event got underway, Stewart jumped into the second spot as he chased down local hero, Ryan Farrell. With Farrell out to a strong early lead, the American pilot, slowly closed the gap as his Monte Motorsports machine had plenty of speed.
As the laps wound down, Stewart seemed to close the gap even more, as fans grew excited for a close finish. Unfortunately disaster struck for the team, as Stewart slowed on the front stretch with just five laps to go with engine woes.
“It’s a shame that happened to us because I think we had something for the leader,” he explained. “This team needs a win in the worst way, but the positive is we had a great car.”
After changing engines, the team checked in to the Attwell Park Speedway to close their weekend double.
Stewart’s speed continued as he kicked the night off by timing in second quickest during qualifications.
With heat races very tough to pass in, Stewart’s sixth and eight place finishes were good enough to put his Miracle Recreation Equipemnt/Mahle Pistons/Cometic Gaskets entry into the pole shootout, where he would finish fourth, thus putting him in the second row for the A.
When the feature went green, Stewart quickly jumped into the third spot, as he shadowed fellow American, Tim Kaeding.
On the very slick track, Stewart tiptoed around the speedway, maneuvering through traffic as he hounded Kaeding for the second spot.
With just four laps to go, and marred in heavy traffic, Stewart worked the bottom and looked to get under Kaeding for second, however Kaeding came down the track to get passed a slower car, and contact ensued sending Shane spinning through the infield.
Stewart kept his car under fire, but slipped back to the eighth spot. Obviously frusturated from the incident, Stewart powered from the eighth spot up to fifth, at the checkers.
“It was a frusturating deal beteween “TK” and myself, but that happens at times when you are racing through traffic and fighting for position,” he explained. “We had a great car again, but aren’t on the podium like this car should be.”
Shane and his Monte Motorsports team thank Monster Energy, Milwaukee, GearWrench, Prosser Toyota, KRE Engines, Lucas Oil Products, Factory Kahne Shocks, Kaeding Performance, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Miracle Recreation Equipment, Mahle Pistons, Cometic Gaskets, OGIO, GoPro, and DC Shoes.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS- Starts-13, Wins-0, Top 5’s-5, Top 10’s-7.
ON TAP: As the WSS season winds down, Stewart and his team will be at the Bunbury Speedway on Friday and Saturday for another series double header.
Shane Stewart’s Down Under Tour Schedule-
February
15th WSS #13 Bunbury Speedway, Bunbury WA
16th WSS #14 Bunbury Speedway, Bunbury WA
22nd WSS #15 Perth Motorplex, Kwinana WA
23rd WSS #16 Perth Motorplex, Kwinana WA
March
2nd Krikke Boys Bunbury Speedway, Bunbury WA
3rd Krikke Boys Bunbury Speedway, Bunbruy WA
9th General 25 Perth Motorplex, Kwinana WA
15th Darley Challenge Sydney Speedway, Parramatta
16th Darley Challenge Sydney Speedway, Parramatta
23rd TBA
29th Easter Trail Maryborough Speedway, QLD
30th Easter Trail Archerfield Speedway, Brisbane
31st Easter Trail Charlton Raceway, Toowoomba
STAY CONNECTED: For all of the latest news on Shane Stewart visit his website at www.shanestewart.com,become a fan of his on facebook at www.facebook.com/