A SPECIAL NIGHT AT LAKESIDE: SHANE STEWART JUMPS IN THE MESILLA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION (MVT) #41 AND DRIVES IT TO VICTORY AS DAVID GRAVEL DRIVES TO A SIXTH PLACE FINISH IN THE DIETZ MOTORSPORTS #14

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS (October 16, 2020) – With the 2020 season of competition winding down, the traveling tour of 410 sprint car stars made their way back to the Midwestern part of the United States at Lakeside Speedway. The 4/10 mile, semi-banked oval is located to the Northeast of downtown Kansas City and always attracts fans with the NASCAR races being held at nearby Kansas Speedway. With the regular driver of the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) entry, David Gravel, racing his second race in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Clean Harbors 200 race, JJR welcomed Jason’s long-time friend and fellow competitor Shane Stewart to climb into the racing seat of the red Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/WELD Racing #41 Maxim for the weekend at Lakeside Speedway and Lake Ozark Speedway. After a schedule change, David became available and was piloting the Dietz Motorsports #14 on the eve of the truck race, so both talented drivers were ready to race on this beautiful autumn day. There were 36 sprint car teams nestled into the pit area ready to get rolling with the World of Outlaws.

Shane would be the first of the two drivers out on the track for his time trial laps where he would push off 25th with David going out 35th. The JJR crew tuned their Kistler Engines power plant and made the final air pressure adjustments in the Hoosier Racing Tires before rolling both cars into the staging lane. Stewart pushed off and mashed the accelerator to take the green flag aboard the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/KSE Racing Products #41. Lakeside is fast and racy and all of the drivers in time trials were attempting to lay down their best time as they chased Paul McMahan’s track record of 13.304 seconds set back on June 7, 2014. When his first lap was completed the stopwatch read 13.935 seconds. He kept digging to find a little more speed to lower the time the next time around. When he crossed the timing stripe this time his time was 13.727 seconds. The better of his two laps locked him in as the seventh quickest driver overall. When David pushed off he mashed the accelerator and was looking to lay two good laps down around the fast racing surface. His first lap came in at 13.886 and his next lap was scored at 13.980 seconds. The faster of his two times was 17th quick when time trial qualifying concluded at Lakeside Speedway.

Using each driver’s best time trial lap to arrange the Drydene heat race lineups, positioned Gravel in the fifth starting spot in the first heat race and Shane in the second starting position in the third heat race aboard the JJR #41.Both of the 8-lap heat races were stacked with talent. Gravel climbed aboard the Dietz Motorsports #14 and did a good job locking into a transfer position with a fifth place finish. Meanwhile, Shane climbed into the cockpit of the Weikert’s Livestock/Durst Inc. #41 Maxim and buckled into his seatbelts. He would start on the outside of the front row with fellow Oklahoman Daryn Pittman on the pole. Parker Price-Miller and Tyler Courtney were in row two, Jason Sides and Brian Brown in row three with Terry McCarl, Bill Rose and Wyatt Burks completing the starting order. When the rolled off turn two, Pittman powered into the lead with Stewart right behind in the forty-one. Pittman was able to build a one second lead through the middle stages of the race over Stewart, but the tenacious Bixby, Oklahoma driver was not giving up. Over the last three laps he was cutting into the gap between himself and the leader. Pittman would take the win in the Heffner #72 with Shane Stewart racing home second, as Tyler Courtney, Parker Price-Miller and Brian Brown secured the final 3 transfer positions.

Shane Stewart earned a spot in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash where he would draw for his starting position. The smiling Stewart reached his hand into the over-sized NOS Energy Drink can and with a smile on his face displayed the “1” pill. He would start on the pole of the dash beside Carson Macedo in the Kyle Larson Racing (KLR) #2. Tim Kaeding, driving Tony Stewart’s #14, and Daryn Pittman were makeup row two, with Jacob Allen and Kerry Madsen in row three and Christopher Bell and Sheldon Haudenschild in row four. The polesitter aboard the Waco Metal/Fuel Safe Racing Cells/Tiger Towing #41 Maxim drove into the lead as they field headed down the frontstretch. He was motoring at the front of the pack and leaving no room for guessing as he was in command. He would lead wire-to-wire to take the win over Pittman with Kaeding coming home third. Sheldon Haudenschild drove forward to finish fourth as Macedo, Allen, Madsen and Bell followed across the finish line.

The track was coming in as the low line through the turns made for a second passing lane which set up a great track for the 30-lap feature. Philip Dietz directed the final changes to both of the cars to position them to make their best runs forward in their respective entries. Shane Stewart would start from the pole in the red Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Team Jack Foundation #41 as David Gravel would get started from the 17th starting position in the Dietz Motorsports #14 entry. After they saluted the fans in the stands, World of Outlaw style, it was time to go racing at Lakeside Speedway! Shane Stewart used his inside starting position on the front row to drive into the lead at the start with Daryn Pittman close behind. Stewart was fast and making tracks using the high line and not looking back. He had a car that was working wherever he put it on the track. With each completed lap he was extending his lead. Meanwhile David Gravel was having a blast and driving the Weld Racing wheels off the Dietz Motorsports #14 as he moved into the top ten just 7 laps into the race. The race was green until the halfway point when Ayrton Gennetten slowed to a stop to bring out the yellow on lap 15. On the restart, Ian Madsen, driving the Sam McGhee #11, made contact with someone and slid to a stop with a broken front axle. Restarting in the single file format, Stewart led Pittman and 13th starting Brad Sweet who had made his way up to the show position back to the green flag. Stewart continued to be fast in the red forty-one as he rolled through each set of turns lap after lap. Brad Sweet was pressuring Pittman hard for the runner-up position and made the pass for position on lap 27. The competitive driver of the #49 was not just going to allow Stewart to take the win without letting him know he was there. He was able to close the gap, but Shane Stewart drove to the victory by 0.803 seconds over Sweet with Logan Schuchart coming home third after Daryn Pittman experienced mechanical issues on the last lap. A jubilant Shane Stewart climbed from the cockpit and was greeted with hugs and a confetti bath as he received all of the spoils of victory. Surrounded by friends and his beautiful family he was beaming with pride and explained, “This is special.” He continued, “I knew if someone was going to beat me tonight that they would have an exceptionally good car. You just don’t get cars like that very often. I know why this team is fast. I’ve chased this #41 car a lot. In many different cars I’ve chased this car. Hats off to this JJR group. You can see they work together so well. Man what an honor to win for Jason, Bobbi and Philip.” A great night for a wonderful person, driver and his family in the forty-one!

Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Weikert’s Livestock; J.R.C. Transportation, Inc.; Durst Inc.; Maxim Racing; The Boyd Family; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Waco Metal; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; Tiger Towing; All Pro Auto Reconditioning; AutoMeter; Bell Racing USA; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; Crow Enterprizes, Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne FK Shocks; Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; Kistler Racing Engines; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy Graphics; Max Papis Innovations (MPI); MSD Performance; RaceDiecast.com; Schoenfeld Headers; Shell Shock Paint; Simpson Race Products; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Weld Wheels; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.

To stay connected with Jason Johnson Racing (JJR), go to www.jasonjohnsonracing.com.

To stay up-to-date with David Gravel and his success and journey on and off the track, as well as to purchase his gear and merchandise, go to www.DavidGravel89.com.