Shane Stewart Scores Podium Finish For Fourth Straight Year In Stockton

Story By: ANDREA LARSON / KYLE LARSON RACING – MOORESVILLE, NC – Despite the dreary forecast for the weekend, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series was fortunate to get one night of racing in at the Stockton (Calif.) Dirt Track. As expected, Friday’s FVP Platinum Battery Western Spring Shootout opener was cancelled as a result of rain, but the sun came out for Saturday’s finale and Shane Stewart was able to capture a solid podium finish.

Stewart earned the fourth fastest qualifying lap time in the opening flight of time trials Saturday night at the Stockton Dirt Track. He started and finished second in the second heat race and advanced one position in the Craftsman Club Dash to finish sixth.

“It’s good to be back in the dash,” said Stewart on the front stretch for the Craftsman Club Dash draw. “We’ve been struggling a little bit out here and normally the west coast swing has been pretty good to us. We’ve been on the podium a few times at the end of the night and hopefully we can do the same thing with this DC Solar car.”

At the drop of the green flag, Stewart immediately jumped into the top-five. In the first half of the race, he avoided four cautions and moved up to third by lap 13. In the second half of the 30-lap contest, the Bixby, Okla., native was challenged for his top-three spot, but he was able to hang on to finish in third-place.

“I don’t know if that was the prettiest third place finish I’ve ever had but I will definitely take it,” Stewart chuckled to World of Outlaw’s announcer, John Gibson. “I know Kyle [Larson] has been questioning us a little bit lately on our performances and we definitely need some good runs to get our momentum turned back around and our confidence back up. It’s no doubt our guys work hard enough and our equipment is good enough to run up front and that’s where we should be, so hopefully this podium finish is the start of getting us back on the right track.”

With the Brad Sweet Placerville Short Track Showdown presented by NAPA Auto Parts at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway postponed to September, the next time the Kyle Larson Racing team will be on track is Friday, March 23 for the Ocean Outlaw Showdown at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.