Smoke Earns Top-Five Finish At Hendry Co. To Open 2019 Sprint Car Season

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Despite the weekend being cut short due to Mother Nature, Tony Stewart successfully kicked off his 2019 winged sprint car campaign in the Sunshine State, joining the United Sprint Car Series (USCS) Outlaw Thunder Tour for the Snow Free Winter Nationals at Hendry (Fla.) Motorsports Park.

Smoke, a three-time winner with the national-level 360 sprint car series in 2018, finished third to kick off his 2019 season, advancing three positions after starting sixth on the feature grid.

“It definitely feels good to be back in a sprint car,” Tony Stewart explained, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Rush Truck Centers/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/Absolute Automation & Security/No. 14 sprint car. “We have a lot of racing left this month. We were happy to make the trip to Hendry County to get some laps before we join the All Stars at Bubba Raceway Park next weekend.”

Wasting little time advancing his way through the feature field, Stewart climbed two positions at Hendry County before the completion of lap one. By lap 11, Smoke was in a heated battle for third, actually making accidental contact with Mark Smith during his battle for the podium spot. As a result, Smith was forced to go to the tail of the field after spinning to a stop; Smoke inherited the position.

Although forced to work on a narrow racing surface, the battle for the top two spots continued on, actually molding into a three-way, nose-to-tail chase for the lead during the final circuits. Despite his efforts, Smoke would settle for third behind Davie Franek and eventual winner, Danny Smith.

Up next on the schedule, Tony Stewart and Tony Stewart Racing will continue their Florida venture with a visit to Bubba Raceway Park, joining the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 for the annual Winter Nationals. The three-day, All Star segment of the Winter Nationals will begin on Thursday, January 31.