PETERSEN MEDIA
– Outlaw wins seem to be in Shane Stewart’s grasp, but yet again, a little bad luck seems to knock him out of contention, as was the case Thursday night at the Brad Doty Classic.
“We had an awesome racecar on Thursday, but late in the race anything that could have went wrong, did go wrong,” he said.
Driving the Joe Gaerte owned No.3G, Stewart opened the night up by timing the Gaerte Engines/XYZ machine in fourth fastest, putting him in the second row of the fourth heat.
A second place finish in his heat gave him a berth in the Dash, where he started fourth, and won, putting him on the pole of the feature event.
During the feature, Stewart was simply gone during the first half of the feature event.
Dominating the first half of the race, Stewart worked up to nearly a three second lead, before things started to go south.
Running the top of the speedway with the cushion right on the wall, Stewart packed his right-rear tire full of mud, and the vibration allowed Donny Schatz to close in on him and eventually take the lead on lap 24, and as Stewart ran in the second spot, he came to a stop as the right-rear went flat, as also broke the jacobs ladder, and a radius rod.
Making repairs, Stewart returned to the race only to be knocked out after contact with Cody Darrah.
“This team seems to have the worst luck at these Outlaw races,” he said. “We have been in position three times or so and have some bad luck.”
Friday and Saturday, Stewart and the team were in action at the Eldora Speedway for King’s Royal weekend.
After timing in 16th fastest on Friday night, Stewart struggled in racing action, as a third place finish in his heat putting him 16th in the feature, where he finished.
On Saturday during the 30th Annual King’s Royal, Stewart timed in 25th fastest, and scored a sixth place finish in his heat, putting him in the LCQ.
Starting seventh in the LCQ, Stewart raced around the tip-top of the Eldora Speedway as he scored a third place finish, putting him in the feature, where he lined up in the 23rd spot.
In the feature, Stewart continued to utilize the high-side of the speedway, as he charged forward to score a 14th place finish.
“We had an average weekend at the King’s Royal,” he said. “We were not great, but we didn’t struggle he said. It was a very tough field of cars, and to charge from the B, and then the A, and pass some cars is a decent night.”
2013 BY THE NUMBERS- Starts-53, Wins-10, Top 5’s-29, Top 10’s-33.
ON TAP: Shane and the 3G Racing team will race together this weekend at the Attica Raceway Park in Attica, OH as well as the Fremont Speedway in Fremont, OH.
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/