Shane Stewart Hangs Tough at Granite City

Shane Stewart Hangs Tough at Granite City
Brad Sweet claims one-point lead after Donny Schatz has DNF

SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. – June 15, 2016 – Shane Stewart proved to be like a rock Wednesday night at Granite City Speedway as he battled past Kerry Madsen and held off Brad Sweet to win his fourth World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series feature of the season.

Kerry Madsen led the first third of the feature, which was rain postponed to Wednesday, with Stewart in hot pursuit. As Madsen encountered traffic, Stewart closed the gap in his No. 2 Eneos/GoPro car. On lap 10, Stewart dove low into turn three and got around Madsen. Madsen countered, taking the spot back, sliding Stewart through turns one and two. Stewart though made a similar move as the previous lap and took the position back through turns three and four. Through one restart, Stewart held the position and scored the win.

It was a triumphant trip to victory lane following a difficult weekend at Knoxville Raceway and the knowledge that last season, he was leading at Granite City with three laps to go and did not see a similar end.

“I was actually getting really nervous,” Stewart said. “The guys gave me a really great car. Obviously being out front, you’re kind of a sitting duck. I felt like I was getting through lapped traffic OK, but you never can tell with the guys behind you. I know Brad is really good in lapped traffic and so is Kerry. I just had to keep my nose clean and be as patient as possible.”

Second-place finisher Sweet claimed a narrow one-point lead in the championship points standings over Donny Schatz who had a did-not-finish result.