Shane Stewart update 2005-03-09

A Manzy Lock-In, Stewart Ready for Vegas Double

from Rudeen Racing powered by mIn Motorsports, OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 8, 2005) -- While Shane Stewart will have to wait eight months to learn the final outcome of his first Manzanita Speedway outing due to the intervention of Mother Nature, the World of Outlaws leading Rookie of the Year contender is ready for some familiar turf as the series takes to the half-mile clay oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Thursday and Friday night.

This past weekend, Shane bucked an early trend of qualifying deep in the field by putting the Rudeen Racing powered by mIn Motorsports No. 26 Maxim seventh on Friday night's speed charts as 34 entries timed in for the Cactus Classis preliminary at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix.

In his Manzanita Speedway debut, Shane then locked himself into the evening's Second Dash following a sharp heat race move aboard the HRP Wings/Schoenfeld Headers machine, before gridding the feature field sixth after chasing Danny Lasoski and nineteen-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser to the line in the Dash.

Shane wasted little time moving the Brodix/Banshee Graphics racer from the sixth starting slot into fourth in the main event, then held the position the rest of the way to lock himself into Saturday night's scheduled finale. Rains forced Saturday night's postponement however, then persisted throughout the day Sunday to force the finale of the Cactus Classic to be rescheduled for Tuesday night, October 11.

Shane will be locked into the October 11 event atop the Phoenix half-mile clay oval along with top three finishers Craig Dollansky, Danny Lasoski and Steve Kinser. None of the four will have to take part in qualifying or heat races. Starting positions for the $12,000-to-win main event will be determined by their finish in the Dash.

With Friday night's fourth place finish in the XYZ Machining/Car & Fleet Auto entry, Shane has now finished among the top ten in three of five World of Outlaws feature events contested this season. Shane is ranked tenth in early-season points, still comfortably ahead of fellow Rookie of the Year contenders Tim Kaeding and Brandon Wimmer despite not being awarded points for his 25th to 13th charge at Bakersfield when it was later deemed that series officials incorrectly awarded the team a provisional starting position.

Shane and company now move on to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the newly formed No. 26 Rudeen Development powered by mIn Motorsports team debuted in the 2004 World of Outlaws season finale. A former track record holder at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Shane fared well in the No. 26 debut, posting a runner-up finish in the preliminary event and a fourth pace finish in the '04 Vegas finale. Overall, Shane has finished among the top ten in five of his last seven World of Outlaws outings at Las Vegas.

"We've gone pretty well at Las Vegas the last few times we've been there," Shane commented, "so we ought to be in pretty good shape for this weekend, we've got a chance to do really well."

After this Thursday and Friday's Las Vegas double, Shane, along with co-crew chiefs Bob Curtis and Eric Manfrass as well as Team Manager Scott Chilcutt, make their way to Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, MS, on Friday night, March18, and Houston Raceway Park on Saturday night, March 19.

Additional information regarding Shane Stewart and the Rudeen Racing powered by mIn Motorsports No. 26 sprint car team, including schedule and up-to-date results, is available at www.rudeenracing.com.

-min-