Tony Stewart On The Podium During MOWA Sprint Season Opener

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Nearly capturing his second victory of the 2018 season, Tony Stewart fell one position short during his visit to Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway on Friday night, April 20, ultimately finishing second after starting sixth during the Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA) season opener.

For Stewart, the trip to Jacksonville Speedway resulted in success from start to finish, never missing the podium during the entire MOWA program. The driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Rush Truck Centers/Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/No. 14 sprint car kicked-off the evening with a third place finish during heat race competition. Automatically qualifying for the MOWA A-main, the evening’s feature redraw placed Smoke on the outside of row three for the start of the 25-lap main event.

After a quick charge from sixth to first, Smoke maintained control of the feature field until the final circuit, giving up a last lap pass to eventual winner, Scott Thiel. Although short of the ultimate goal, the runner-up finish did bump Stewart’s season top-ten total to nine; over half of his 2018 starts resulting in top-ten finishes.

“We were close,” Stewart explained regarding his Jacksonville Speedway result. “Sometimes being the guy out front can be the hardest position to be in; you can’t see what is going on behind you. It’s tough to be disappointed about finishing second, but we wanted this one. We have a lot of racing left. We’ll try again next weekend.”