On Wednesday night at Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway, Shane Stewart showed why he is one of the strongest racers in the country as he carved his way from his 16th starting position to a third place finish amongst a fierce field of competitors aboard his Silva Motorsports/ROCKSTAR/MAKITA/A.R.T. #57.
Heat race action went very quick, as the fast racing surface caused for quick lap times. Shane lined the Lucas Oil Products/Finley Farms/Cross Creek Trucking backed entry up in the fourth position of the first heat race and has the green fell Stewart held the fourth position and held it for the duration of the race.
Stewarts heat finish qualified the Probilt Construction/Palmero Properties/OMP #57 for the feature event where he would grid the star-studded field from the 16th position. When the feature got underway, Shane quickly hit the top of the racetrack and quickly got passed Brady Bacon and Zach Zimmerly.
After an early caution, the ROCKSTAR/MAKITA #57 then went to work on Andy Gregg and Willy Croft. As Stewart weaved through traffic, he then approached the 45x of Johnny Herrera to begin a fierce battle for the 10th running position.
A lap 8 caution lined the Lucas Oil Products/Finley Farms/Cross Creek Trucking car behind Herrera in the 11th position, and as the race resumed he quickly got around him and began battling Bud Kaeding. After disposing of B.Kaeding, Stewart quickly passed Tim Crawley and had his site set on Kyle Hirst to crack the top five.
A lap 15 restart saw Shane and Kyle Hirst battle for the fifth spot for several laps, as a charging Kyle Larson turned it into a three car battle. Shane was able to get Hirst, but Larson snuck was able to sneak by.
After getting around Gary Wright on the 20th lap, Stewart then continued to boldly carve his Paul Silva prepared #57 through heavy traffic. Stewart was able to slide past Larson entering the first set of turns on the 23rd lap to grab his strong third place finish to cap off his season opener.
“I can’t say enough about my guys tonite,” said Shane. “I know we have to get better results in our heat because it’s not too often you’re going to start 16th and run third. I have to thank ROCKSTAR, Makita, Lucas Oil and all our great sponsors for letting us do what we love.”
Silva Motorsports thanks ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK, Makita Industrial Power Tools, Lucas Oil Products, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Pro Bilt Construction, Palmero Properties, Cross Creek Trucking, Finley Farms, Car and Fleet, Race Gear X, OMP Racing, McColloch’s RV, Shift Creative, Amerikote, XYZ, Hoosier Tire, Pro, Banshee Graphics, Dan Olson Products, K&N Filters, RE Technologies, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Butlerbuilt Seats, and Seven Industries.
Shane and his Silva Motorsports team will be back in action Saturday night February, 12th at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif.
For more information on Shane Stewart and Silva Motorsports please visit www.shanestewart.com.
About Makita
Makita is a worldwide manufacturer of industrial quality power tools and offers a wide range of industrial accessories. Makita utilizes leading-edge technology and innovation to engineer tools that are more compact with less weight yet deliver industrial strength power and results. Makita's extensive line of cordless lithium-ion tools includes 18V LXT® Lithium-Ion, 18V Compact Lithium-Ion®, and 12V max Lithium-Ion®. Other best-in-class products include rotary and demolition hammers and saws equipped with Anti-Vibration Technology™ (AVT™), 4-Cycle outdoor power equipment, Super Joint System (SJS) grinders, miter saws engineered with Deep and Exact Cutting Technology (DXT), and more. Makita U.S.A., Inc. is located in La Mirada, California, and operates an extensive distribution network located throughout the U.S. For more information, please call 800/4-MAKITA (800/462-5482) or visit the website at makitatools.com. Follow Makita at facebook.com/makitatoolspage, twitter.com/makitatools, andyoutube.com/makitapowertools. The Makita Teal color is the trade dress of Makita Corporation and is protected under common law and registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Makita is Best in Class Engineering.
- Petersen Media on Feb 11, 2011
- Article Date: 2/11/2011