Stewart Skewers ASCS Midwest at McCool Junction

Lonnie Wheatley, McCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. (May 22, 2009) – Shane Stewart took full advantage of one last tune-up for this weekend's $10,000-to-win Steve King Memorial in Kansas by racing to victory lane in Friday night's 25-lap American Sprint Car Series Midwest Region feature at Junction Motor Speedway.

The current Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters points leader raced past Ryan Roberts on the sixth round and led the rest of the way aboard Paul Silva's Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction/Palmer Properties No. 57 A.R.T.

"I have to give it to Paul (Silva), he made the right call on the setup," Stewart commented in victory lane. "We figured it might get harder to pass later in the race so we had to get out front as quick as possible."

And, after gridding the field outside the second row, it didn't take the Oklahoma native long.

When pole starter Brian Brown bobbled at the drop of the green flag, outside front row starter Ryan Roberts gunned into the lead with Stewart battling into second soon after and setting his sights on the leader, who had fled to a six car-length lead.

Stewart closed in on Roberts by the fifth round and charged by for the lead exiting turn two on the sixth lap. After entering lapped traffic two rounds later, Stewart slipped away to nearly a straightaway advantage as Roberts, Brown and Don Droud, Jr., diced for position in his wake.

Jonathan Cornell soon joined the fray for runner-up honors, only to pop a right rear tire with 15 laps in the books after climbing to fourth. Four laps later, Brown surrendered a podium position after suffering a similar malady.

Roberts kept Stewart within striking distance on the final restarts, including a green-white-checkered dash to the strip after Jason Danley looped it in turn two, but was unable to mount a serious bid for the win.

Stewart flashed under the checkered flag with a four car-length advantage over Roberts, with Gregg Bakker taking the show position. Droud, Jr., crossed the stripe fourth, with Jack Dover rounding out the top five.

Lee Grosz was sixth, with Mike Chadd, Patrick Bourke, Eric Lutz and Johnn Cressman completing the top ten.

Droud, Roberts and Chad Humston topped heat race action for the 26-car field, with Cressman winning the "B" Main.

ASCS Midwest Results from Junction Motor Speedway:

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 2-Don Droud, Jr., 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 82-Jason Danley, 4. 14g-Gene Ackland, 5. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 6. 5-Eric Lutz, 7. 51-Mike Boston, 8. 8b-Bobby Becker, 9. 17-Gage Dorr.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 18-Ryan Roberts, 2. 24a-Jack Dover, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. 4J-Lee Grosz, 5. 27-Patrick Bourke, 6. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 7. 19s-Steven Cross, 8. 93-Bob Schaeffer, 9. 7-Roger Sundquist.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 1m-Chad Humston, 2. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 3. 4-Mike Chadd, 4. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 5. 71-Stuart Snyder, 6. 19-Joe McCarthy, 7. 15-Johnn Cressman, 8. 14-Jeff Heffner.

"B" Feature (8 Laps): 1. 15-Johnn Cressman, 2. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 3. 51-Mike Boston, 4. 14-Jeff Heffner, 5. 93-Bob Schaeffer, 6. 8b-Bobby Becker, 7. 19s-Steven Cross, 8. 17-Gage Dorr, 9. 7-Roger Sundquist. DNS: 19-Joe McCarthy.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 18-Ryan Roberts, 3. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 4. 2-Don Droud, Jr., 5. 24a-Jack Dover, 6. 4J-Lee Grosz, 7. 4-Mike Chadd, 8. 27-Patrick Bourke, 9. 5-Eric Lutz, 10. 15-Johnn Cressman, 11. 51-Mike Boston, 12. 21-Brian Brown, 13. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 14. 82-Jason Danley, 15. 14g-Gene Ackland, 16. 71-Stuart Snyder, 17. 1m-Chad Humston, 18. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 19. 14-Jeff Heffner, 20. 17b-Ryan Bickett.

ASCS Midwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian Brown 554, 2. Don Droud, Jr. 552, 3. Jonathan Cornell 542, 4. Mike Chadd 526, 5. Ryan Roberts 512, 6. Jason Danley 506, 7. Chad Humston 502, 8. Lee Grosz 499, 9. Mike Boston 467, 10. Ryan Anderson 451.