From Spire Sports + Entertainment
WORLD OF OUTLAWS WINNER: Larson Marks Racing can already add the title World of Outlaws STP Series winner to their resume. In their first-career outing with sprint car racing’s elite series, Larson Marks Racing and driver Shane Stewart led all 30 laps at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio to claim the win.
PENNSYLVANIA EXPERIENCE: Half of Larson Marks Racing’s four starts have occurred on Pennsylvania Posse turf. The team’s first career outing at Port Royal Speedway on April 26 resulted in a fourth-place finish. Last Friday, Stewart led the first 14 laps at Williams Grove Speedway before brake issues and a brush with the wall resulted in a seventh-place finish.
WORLD OF OUTLAWS WINNER: Stewart is now a four-time World of Outlaws STP Series race winner. He scored his first World of Outlaws win at Thunder Valley Speedway in Glenmore, La., in 2004. He’s also visited victory lane at Gray’s Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., and at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway in addition to his win at Eldora this year.
LITTLE 600: Stewart will compete in the Little 600 event at oarson Marks Racing co-owner Justin Marks’s GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, N.C. on May 20. The free fan event features a 15-lap main event around the 0.7-mile, asphalt sprint karting track. Stewart will compete with NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier and more.
OWNERS: Larson Marks Racing is co-owned by Kyle Larson and entrepreneur Marks. Larson, 21, is now competing for rookie-of-the-year honors on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour this season. He’s posted four top-10 finishes, including a runner-up result at California Speedway. Marks, 33, is the owner of the successful aforementioned GoPro Motorplex. He has also competed in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series and in the Grand Am Series, winning the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT Series.
DRIVER: Stewart, 37, has been racing for more than 30 years, starting in quarter midgets at the age of 6. He advanced to winged sprint cars at the age of 16 and made sprint car racing his full-time profession in 2000. He’s since raced with the World of Outlaws, the All-Star Circuit of Champions, the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) and the World of Outlaws Gumout Tour. Stewart is a five-time winner of the Knoxville 360 Nationals and a two-time ASCS champion.
CREW CHIEF: Veteran crew chief Steve Suchy oversees the No. 2 Larson Marks Racing team. Suchy, 39, has previously worked with notable drivers Larson, Cody Darrah, Stevie Smith and Greg Hodnett. A Pennsylvania native, Suchy relocated to North Carolina over the off-season to lead the formation of the new Larson Marks Racing team.
LARSON MARKS IN 2014: Larson Marks Racing will compete in approximately 50 races across the United States in 2014. The 410-winged sprint car team will compete in local events, as well as All-Star Circuit of Champions and World of Outlaws events. Prominent races on the team’s schedule include Knoxville Nationals, the King’s Royal, the Williams Grove National Open, Gold Cup and the World Finals. The team plans to compete full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2015.
NEXT RACE: Following this week’s races in Pennsylvania, Stewart and the Larson Marks Racing team will travel south to Charlotte, N.C., to compete with the World of Outlaws STP Series at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23.
GET SOCIAL: More information about Larson Marks Racing can be found on the team’s twitter account @LarsonMarks and on its Facebook page www.facebook.com/LarsonMarksRacing. Larson Marks Racing and GoPro team apparel can be found at www.shanestewart.com.
TEAM INFO:
CREW CHIEF: Steve Suchy CREW MEMBERS: Bob Curtis and Andrew Seaman
CHASSIS: GF1 Chassis ENGINES: Cappetta Engines and Speedway Motors
QUOTES:
Shane Stewart, Driver, No. 2 LMR Sprint Car: “Racing at Williams Grove last Friday was a big help for this race team. We had a lot of speed and that’s obviously a good thing to know going into the World of Outlaws weekend there. We did have an issue late in the race with our brakes locking up, and if we get that issue figured out, I think we’ll be good.
“We haven’t been to Lincoln Speedway as a team yet, but Steve (Suchy, crew chief) has a lot of experience there and has it pretty well figured out. I’ll lean on him and his knowledge there quite a bit Wednesday night.
“Going into Pennsylvania when the World of Outlaws guys are there is a whole new ball game. The posse guys are tough enough during a weekly show. Now you’re adding about 15 more guys into the mix that can solidly contend to win. It’s going to be a tough three nights for sure. But the fans will get a great show and hopefully it’s the Larson Marks 2 that’s up front.”