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Stewart Goes Back to Back at Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Following Friday Win

(Photo by Matt Hill)

Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 8, 2016) – Shane Stewart became the first back-to-back feature winner in Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown history on Friday at Cocopah Speedway.

Stewart passed defending event champion Danny Lasoski for the lead in turns three and four with five laps remaining to claim the $12,000 top prize as well as the lead in the championship standings heading into Saturday’s event finale, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (Mountain).

“I told myself to be patient getting into (turn) three because that was where I was going to pass him,” said Stewart, who has earned three straight top-two finishes at the marquee event. “He was a little bit better than I was in (turns) one and two. I just needed him to get bottled up behind a lapped car, which is kind of what happened. We were able to get a good run going into (turn) three and get by him coming off of (turn) four.”

The 30-lap feature began with a caution on the opening lap for D.J. Netto, who broke a front end and spun into the infield. Lasoski, who garnered the pole position after earning the most combined points during heat race and qualifier competition, rocketed into the lead on the complete restart and he built a sizeable advantage by the time he entered traffic on Lap 8.

Stewart powered into fourth place on that lap and into third on Lap 12. He drove into the runner-up position on Lap 13 and began to chase Lasoski, who owned nearly a straightaway advantage. While Lasoski and most of the drivers favored the bottom lane, Stewart hustled to the top groove and reeled in Lasoski, who struggled for several circuits to lap Tasker Phillips.

Lasoski and Stewart were nose to tail on Lap 19, but it took several laps for Stewart’s lane to propel him into the top spot. With five laps remaining Stewart made the race-winning pass by driving around Lasoski in turns three and four.

“We plain and simple got beat,” Lasoski said. “That No. 2 car has been rolling all week and they just caught me in lapped traffic. I couldn’t get by a lapped car and he did what he had to do. He drove by me.”

The final caution came with four laps remaining as Bud Kaeding, who was running 10th, stopped in turn three. Stewart got a clean restart and cruised to his second triumph in the past three nights.

“We have a great race car,” he said. “We’ve got a great team. It’s just a pleasure to drive this thing. You just can’t ever count us out. For us to pass the teams that we did and the drivers that we did and pick up another win is really special for me, special for my guys and makes all their hard work worth all the effort.”

Dale Blaney, who ranks second in the event standings – 18 points behind Stewart – rounded out the podium after maneuvering from fifth to third place on the frontstretch with 10 laps remaining.

“You could move around a little bit,” he said. “I looked up and there set Shane and there set Danny right in front of me. We were pretty good. We weren’t balanced the best. To come out of here with a third is awesome.”

Brian Brown posted a fourth-place result with Greg Hodnett ending fifth.

Chirstopher Bell, Daryn Pittman, Ryan Smith, Joey Saldana and Paul McMahan rounded out the top 10, respectively.

Danny Wood, Bell, Smith, Pittman and Lasoski each won a heat race with Saldana, Terry McCarl, Tanner Thorson, Kaeding and Logan Schuchart each capturing a qualifier. Aaron Reutzel and Rico Abreu claimed the B Mains.

NOTES: Shane Stewart was awarded a $250 gift card from SpeedMart and a $75 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the Hard Charger Award winner. … Parker Price-Miller received $150 from Ron’s Lawn Service in Sharpsville, Pa., for being the first non-qualifier in the first B Main. … Craig Dollansky and Logan Forler captured $100 each from Carlile Transportation Heavy Haul Division in Anchorage, Alaska, for placing sixth in a B Main. … Henry Van Dam earned a $50 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the first non-qualifier in the second B Main.

JAN. 8 RESULTS –

Heat Race 1 (8 laps): 1. 81w-Danny Wood (2); 2. 7t-Tasker Phillips (1); 3. 7-Paul McMahan (5); 4. 18-Jason Solwold (6); 5. 49-Tanner Thorson (3); 6. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (8); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (9); 9. 4-Kasey Kahne (DQ).

Heat Race 2 (8 laps): 1. 1g-Christopher Bell (3); 2. 33v-Henry Van Dam (4); 3. 1a-Jacob Allen (6); 4. 21-Robbie Price (2): 5. 55t-Trey Starks (7); 6. 26-Bud Kaeding (8); 7. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (5); 8. 68-Chase Johnson (9); 9. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1).

Heat Race 3 (8 laps): 1. 9-Ryan Smith (1); 2. 21b-Brian Brown (5); 3. 24-Rico Abreu (4); 4. 1b-Dale Blaney (9); 5. 11c-Roger Crockett (8); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (6); 7. 2c-Wayne Johnson (7); 8. 45x-Johnny Herrera (2); 9. 11-Steve Kinser (DNS).

Heat Race 4 (8 laps): 1. 9k-Daryn Pittman (2); 2. 121-Greg Hodnett (3); 3. 2-Shane Stewart (5); 4. 17b-Bill Balog (1); 5. 24-Terry McCarl (4); 6. 83-Joey Saldana (9); 7. 88n-D.J. Netto (7); 8. 4s-Michael Kofoid (6); 9. 41-Jason Johnson (8).

Heat Race 5 (8 laps): 1. 33-Danny Lasoski (3); 2. 5h-Willie Croft (2); 3. 55-Aaron Reutzel (4); 4. 17w-Bryan Clauson (5); 5. 97-Parker Price-Miller (1); 6. 1s-Logan Schuchart (8); 7. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 8. 6g-Bryan Gossel (6).

Qualifier 1 (10 laps): 1. 83-Joey Saldana (2); 2. 7-Paul McMahan (4); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (5); 4. 17b-Bill Balog (1); 5. 55-Aaron Reutzel (3); 6. 1g-Christopher Bell (6); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 8. 68-Chase Johnson (8); 9. 45x-Johnny Herrera (DNS).

Qualifier 2 (10 laps): 1. 24-Terry McCarl (1); 2. 2-Shane Stewart (4); 3. 33-Danny Lasoski (6); 4. 21-Robbie Price (2); 5. 2c-Wayne Johnson (7); 6. 4-Kasey Kahne (9); 7. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (8); 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam (5); 9. 18-Jason Solwold (3).

Qualifier 3 (10 laps): 1. 49-Tanner Thorson (1); 2. 11c-Roger Crockett (3); 3. 21b-Brian Brown (6); 4. 5h-Willie Croft (4); 5. 88n-D.J. Netto (7); 6. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8); 7. 1a-Jacob Allen (5); 8. 11-Steve Kinser (9); 9. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (2).

Qualifier 4 (10 laps): 1. 26-Bud Kaeding (2); 2. 9-Ryan Smith (5); 3. 97-Parker Price-Miller (1); 4. 17w-Bryan Clauson (3); 5. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 6. 7t-Tasker Phillips (4); 7. 6g-Bryan Gossel (8); 8. 81w-Danny Wood (DNS). 9. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (DNS).

Qualifier 5 (10 laps): 1. 1s-Logan Schuchart (2); 2. 121-Greg Hodnett (5); 3. 2l-Logan Forler (1); 4. 55t-Trey Starks (3); 5. 9k-Daryn Pittman (6); 6. 24r-Rico Abreu (4); 7. 41-Jason Johnson (8); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (7).

B Main 1 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 55-Aaron Reutzel (1); 2. 7t-Tasker Phillips (3); 3. 55t-Trey Starks (2); 4. 21-Robbie Price (4); 5. 97-Parker Price-Miller (5); 6. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 7. 2c-Wayne Johnson (6); 8. 41-Jason Johnson (12); 9. 68-Chase Johnson (9); 10. 4-Kasey Kahne (10); 11. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (11); 12. 11-Steve Kinser (13); 13. 18-Jason Solwold (DNS).

B Main 2 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 24r-Rico Abreu (3); 2. 1a-Jacob Allen (2); 3. 17w-Bryan Clauson (1); 4. 88n-D.J. Netto (6); 5. 33v-Henry Van Dam (4); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (5); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 8. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8); 9. 99-Skylar Gee (11); 10. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (9); 11. 17b-Bill Balog (DNS); 12. 6g-Bryan Gossel (DNS); 13. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (DNS).

A Main (30 laps): 1. 2-Shane Stewart (7); 2. 33-Danny Lasoski (1); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (5); 4. 21b-Brian Brown (2); 5. 121-Greg Hodnett (4); 6. 1g-Christopher Bell (8); 7. 9k-Daryn Pittman (11); 8. 9-Ryan Smith (3); 9. 83-Joey Saldana (9); 10. 7-Paul McMahan (6); 11. 49-Tanner Thorson (16); 12. 24-Terry McCarl (15); 13. 11c-Roger Crockett (10); 14. 1s-Logan Schuchart (11); 15. 5h-Willie Croft (14); 16. 17w-Bryan Clauson (22); 17. 24r-Rico Abreu (18); 18. 55t-Trey Starks (21); 19. 7t-Tasker Phillips (19); 20. 21-Robbie Price (23); 21. 55-Aaron Reutzel (17); 22. 26-Bud Kaeding (12); 23. 1a-Jacob Allen (20); 24. 88n-D.J. Netto (24).

(Top 30 in passing and finishing points in the heat races were inverted in the qualifiers. The top 16 in passing and finishing points following the qualifiers locked into the A Main.)

UNOFFICIAL POINTS AFTER NIGHT 4 –

.1. 2-Shane Stewart 747; 2. 1b-Dale Blaney 729; 3. 9k-Daryn Pittman 695; 4. 83-Joey Saldana 688; 5. 121-Greg Hodnett 678; 6. 33-Danny Lasoski 667; 7. 24-Terry McCarl 643; 8. 88n-D.J. Netto 629; 9. 1g-Christopher Bell 615; 10. 3c-Craig Dollansky 611; 11. 7-Paul McMahan 594; 12. 9-Ryan Smith 588; 13. 21b-Brian Brown 584; 14. 11-Steve Kinser 573; 15. 24r-Rico Abreu 569; 16. 7t-Tasker Phillips 564; 17. 41-Jason Johnson 563; 18. 57-Kyle Larson 561; 19. 49-Tanner Thorson 545; 20. 18-Jason Solwold 540; 21. 2l-Logan Forler 534; 22. 17a-Austin McCarl 516; 23. 11c-Roger Crockett 501; 24. 21-Robbie Price 496; 25. 68-Chase Johnson 490; 26. 2c-Wayne Johnson 489; 27. 55-Aaron Reutzel 480; 28. 33v-Henry Van Dam 467; 29. 4s-Michael Kofoid 457; 30. 99-Skylar Gee 443; 31. 1a-Jacob Allen 435; 32. 5h-Willie Croft 422; 33. 23-Seth Bergman 420; 34. 17b-Bill Balog 411; 35. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 392; 36. 81w-Danny Wood 385; 37. 55t-Trey Starks 380; 38. 97-Parker Price-Miller 375; 39. 41s-Dominic Scelzi 370; 40. 45x-Johnny Herrera 346; 41. 6g-Bryan Gossel 345; 42. 26-Bud Kaeding 325; 43. 1s-Logan Schuchart 323; 44. 17w-Bryan Clauson 321; 45. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. 247; 46. 1-Justin Henderson 202; 47. 4-Kasey Kahne 112; 48. 9r-Reece Goetz 2.

2016 WINTER HEAT SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN –

Dates: Jan. 1-2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 8-9, 2016

Track: Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.

Prize: $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start each night (Jan. 1-2, 8-9); $5,000-to-win (Jan. 5); approximately $250,000 total prize money

Type: 410ci sprint cars

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.CocopahWinterHeat.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CocopahShowdown

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinterHeatSprintCarShowdown

TICKETS –

General admission tickets for the event are on sale by visiting http://www.CocopahWinterHeat.com. Kids 12 and under get in free. There is a discount for military members and senior citizens.

PAY-PER-VIEW –

Speed Shift TV will be broadcasting live Pay-Per-View video of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown for only $24.95 per night. Also, a 20-percent discount is available for those who purchase all five nights. Visit http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/WinterHeat for more information.

THE EVENT –

The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown will showcase the top sprint car drivers in the world in sunny Southwest Arizona during the first two weeks of January in 2016. The four weekend races pay $12,000 to the winner and at least $1,000 to every driver who advances to the main event with the midweek show paying $5,000 to win.

POINTS FUND –

The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown features a $10,000 points fund thanks to Cometic Gasket, JE Pistons and K1 Technologies. The driver who garners the most overall points throughout all five races receives $4,000 for winning the championship with drivers finishing second through fifth each recording a $1,500 bonus.

COCOPAH SPEEDWAY –

Cocopah Speedway is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt track located in Somerton, Ariz. It has a concrete wall perimeter, television-quality lighting and the pits are located outside turns three and four. There is also dry camping free of charge on the property. For more information, visit http://www.CocopahSpeedway.com.

COMETIC GASKET –

Cometic Gasket, Inc., is a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the Automotive Performance, Powersports, Original Equipment and Remanufactured Engine Industries. Housed in a 70,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing center in Concord, Ohio, Cometic Gasket has maintained its deep roots in the powersports industry while expanding to service the Automotive Performance, Domestic Automotive, Sport Compact, V-twin, Marine, Diesel, Agricultural, Industrial and Stationary Power markets. Today, Cometic Gasket offers over 85,000 SKUs, shipping gaskets and engine sealing solutions across the globe. All Cometic products are made in the United States with materials manufactured on American soil. For more information, visit http://www.Cometic.com.

JE PISTONS –

JE Pistons is the leader in high performance forged pistons. Based in Irvine, Calif., the company has more than 60 years of experience and has a history of manufacturing the highest quality pistons and components that professional engine builders, race teams and high-performance enthusiasts trust and rely on. For more information, visit http://www.JEPistons.com.

K1 TECHNOLOGIES –

K1 Technologies produces “RACEREADY” connecting rods and crankshafts at very affordable prices. K1’s connecting rods and crankshafts are made to our designs and are held to some of the tightest accepted tolerances in the racing industry. More attention is shown to finish work than comparable products. A wide variety of sizes and applications are available, from Sport Compact sizes through Small Block and Big Block Chevy and Mopar, including some custom and specialty sizes. Our unique design, which is original to the K1 Technologies line of connecting rods, saves weight without sacrificing strength. K1 Technologies strives to bring our customers a high-quality connecting rod at an affordable price, while providing world-class customer service. For more information, visit http://www.K1Technologies.com.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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