Stewart races in Indiana UPDATE: Citing a chance to return to his midget car roots, NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Tony Stewart will race at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, WI on July 7th in the Showdown at the Prairie. Stewart, who was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame last year at Angell Park, will compete in the midgets portion of the showdown. He will drive the same Stealth midget car he drove to victory Jan. 12 at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, OK. UPDATE: Tony Stewart took home a souvenir Sunday from his visit to Angell Park Speedway. It was a T-shirt emblazoned with the name and car of a hometown driver who beat him. Sun Prairie’s Brandon Waelti won the 25-lap midgets feature at the Showdown at the Prairie, trading the lead with A.J. Fike and passing him for good on lap 19. He held a .54-second margin of victory over Fike. Stewart started 22nd in the 23-car field, passed six cars on the first lap and eventually finished ninth on the third-mile clay oval. Stewart and CTS regular Jason Leffler drove for car owner Keith Kunz of Columbus, IN. Leffler, who was only slated to run in the midgets feature, retired after flipping his car in turn one on the ninth lap. Stewart conducted an autograph session before practice, but declined interview requests. He won the first midget heat on the race program. Despite the fact that Stewart started on the outside front row for the sprints event, polesitter J.J. Yeley dominated the 24-car field. Stewart bolted to the lead on the first turn of the race, but Yeley took over on the fourth lap and never looked back. With several lapped cars between the two drivers, Yeley steered to a 5.67-second lead at one point and held on for a 3.28-second margin of victory. Attendance: Angell Park race organizer Les McBurney said approximately 5,000 spectators were in attendance. The track has a seating capacity of 6,000.(Capital Times)(7-9-2002) (7-8-2002)
