Shane Stewart (born May 24, 1976) is an American retired professional racing driver. Winner of the 2015 Kings Royal, he last competed in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the All Star Series of Champions.[1]

Shane Stewart
Stewart interviewed in 2013
Born (1976-05-24) May 24, 1976 (age 48)
Bixby, Oklahoma, US
Retired2020
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
Years active1995–2020
Starts790
Wins36
Best finish2nd in 2015
Championship titles
2009; 2011Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series
Awards
2009; 2011360 Sprint Car Driver of the Year

Racing career

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A native of Bixby, Oklahoma,[2] Stewart began racing quarter midgets at age seven;[3] he began racing sprint cars at age 16, tutored by Andy Hillenburg.[4] He began competing in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series in 1995; he went full-time in the series in 2005,[5] winning the series' Rookie of the Year title.[6] He ran the full season again in 2008 for Roth Motorsports.[7] Stewart also competed in 360ci sprint car competition; in 2007 he was champion of the Northwest Sprint Challenge Speedweek,[7] and he ran several seasons in the American Sprint Car Series, winning the ASCS national touring title in 2009,[8] and then again in 2011 by a single point over Johnny Herrera.[9] He won the Knoxville 360 Nationals five times;[10] won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals three times, tied for the most wins in the event with Steve Poirier.[11] Stewart was named 360 Sprint Car Driver of the Year in 2009,[12] and again in 2011,[13] by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.[14]

Stewart joined the newly-formed Larson Marks Racing, later known as Kyle Larson Racing, for the 2014 season.[15] He drove for the team through the end of 2018, winning 35 feature events over multiple series,[16] including the 2015 Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, one of sprint car racing's most prestigious events.[17][18] His best World of Outlaws points finish came that year, when he finished second in the standings to Donny Schatz.[19] In 2016 he won the off-season Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown championship at Cocopah Speedway.[20]

Stewart joined CJB Motorsports for the 2019 World of Outlaws season, replacing David Gravel;[21] he won the series's special event at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway,[22] but left the team at the end of the year due to a lack of chemistry.[23]

Stewart considered retiring following the 2019 season, having spent two seasons with growing frustration over a lack of stability and performance.[24] Choosing to return to competition instead, he signed to run ten races with Roth Motorsports;[25] after these events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stewart ran the majority of the 2020 World of Outlaws season with the No. 71 team owned by Bernie Stuebgen.[26] He won for the team at Williams Grove Speedway in the track's prestigious Summer Nationals,[27] and then at Lakeside Speedway in October,[28] in the first of two races in which he was substituting for David Gravel, who was competing in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series events, for Jason Johnson Racing.[29]

At the end of the 2020 season, Stewart announced his retirement from active competition, purchasing his home track, Port City Raceway, to promote races there.[30][31]

References

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  1. ^ Steven Cole Smith (February 1, 2019). "Tim Shaffer outruns Shane Stewart, Tony Stewart in All Star Circuit of Champions opener". AutoWeek.
  2. ^ Rittenoure, John (May 3, 2015). "Bixby's Shane Stewart wins World of Outlaws feature in front of hometown fans". Tulsa World. Tulsa, OK. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  3. ^ Cram, Joann (August 4, 2008). "Profile On: Shane Stewart!". Knoxville Raceway. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Elliott, Jeremy (July 7, 2014). "No. 22 Shane Stewart: PennLive's Top 25 Sprint Car Drivers in the Country". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Ward, Josh (October 15, 2004). "Stewart sprinting into the ranks of Outlaws". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, OK. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Kaminski, Steve (May 28, 2015). "NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have teams to beat when World of Outlaws return to I-96 Speedway". Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, MI. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Shane Stewart teams with Roth Motorsports". Motorsport.com. December 22, 2007. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Rittenoure, John (April 23, 2011). "Stewart comes full circle". Tulsa World. Tulsa, OK. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  9. ^ Kerchner, Mike (November 19, 2011). "Short-Track Roundup: Donny Schatz collects sprint-car title". Autoweek. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  10. ^ "Stewart Wins Fifth 360 Nationals". Speed Sport. August 4, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  11. ^ Veneziano, Tony (September 14, 2018). "Breaking Down The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals". FloRacing. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  12. ^ Dirks, Spencer (January 25, 2010). "Shane Stewart Is 360 Driver Of The Year". KNIA/KRLS. Knoxville, IA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  13. ^ "Stewart Tabbed 360 Driver of the Year". Speed Sport. January 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "Driver of the Year". Knoxville, IA: National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  15. ^ Gluck, Jeff (November 9, 2013). "Kyle Larson starts new sprint car team with Justin Marks". USA Today. Tysons Corner, VA. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "Shane Stewart & Kyle Larson Racing To Part Ways". Speed Sport. October 24, 2018. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "Shane Stewart crowned at 32nd annual Kings Royal". WDUN. Gainesville, GA. July 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  18. ^ Elliott, Jeremy (July 19, 2015). "Shane Stewart makes epic run to Kings Royal title as Donny Schatz runs dry". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  19. ^ Elliott, Jeremy (November 11, 2015). "World of Outlaws money list for the 2015 Sprint Car season". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  20. ^ "'The Dude' Takes Winter Heat Finale; Stewart is the Champ". Speed51.com. January 10, 2016. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  21. ^ Pope, Thomas (November 1, 2018). "Outlaws tours set to wrap up season at Charlotte this weekend". The Fayetteville Observer. Fayetteville, NC. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  22. ^ Organ, Mike (June 2, 2019). "Shane Stewart wins Fairgrounds Nashville race: Tony Stewart finishes 4th". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  23. ^ "Shane Stewart Departing CJB Motorsports". Speed Sport. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  24. ^ Graziano, Nick (June 3, 2020). "Stewart Feeling At Home In No. 71". Speed Sport. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  25. ^ "Shane Stewart Joins Roth Motorsports For California Races". Speed Sport. March 7, 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  26. ^ Heintzelman, Todd (July 25, 2020). "Stewart perseveres, it pays off". The Sentinel. Carlisle, PA. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  27. ^ "Stewart Wins Summer Nationals Opener". Motor Racing Network. July 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  28. ^ Graziano, Nick (October 17, 2020). "Emotional Stewart Wins For JJR". Speed Sport. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  29. ^ Graziano, Nick (October 13, 2020). "Shane Stewart To Sub For David Gravel At Lakeside, Lake Ozark". World of Outlaws. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  30. ^ Walters, Shane (December 29, 2020). "Shane Stewart retires from dirt racing; Buys Port City Raceway". RacingNews.co. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  31. ^ "Shane Stewart Retires, Acquires Port City Raceway". Speed Sport. December 29, 2020. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
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