Stewart Raceway III – Page 3

Friday Night Under The Lights: Tube Steak dinner and a boom from a new driver in the mix.

Sportsman driver, Dean Donaldson actually queued up a very tasty cut of delicious steak, but Joe Clarke brought some very tasty hot dogs to put on the grill before racing got underway. Kathy made a delicious pasta dish and salad to go with the excellent fixings.

Race 1: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modifieds” vs. MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites”

Our newest driver at Stewart Raceway, Joe Clarke, drove the wheels off a house IROC MG+ Modified car, securing a 2nd place podium finish in his first race in over 15 years. Home Cook’n and Dean Donaldson were driving “Lite” cars, which are slightly more challenging against the lighter and more nimble Modified version of the MG+ platform.

Joe is another “natural” at slot car racing, not only finishing second overall, but winning the final segment and bagging two 2nd place segment finishes in race 1.

Yes, Mrs. Stewart joined us for two races and managed to best Dean Donaldson in the first race. Dean struggled with the effects of over-hydration early in the race. Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	118	224	1046.802
2	Joe Clarke	107	196	1170.569
3	Kathy Stewart	107	180	1113.285
4	Dean Donaldson	99	152	1131.715

Race 2: Viper V-SPEC Lexan

This race was not completed and has one more segment to run before it goes in the books. Dean Donaldson recovered from his hydration problems and dominated this uncompleted race. Joe Clarke or Home Cook’n are not likely to prevent Dean from taking the top podium spot. We’ll see what happens when this group gets together again to complete the race, only one segment left. Details

Name	Seg Laps	Total Laps	Seg Points	Race Place
Dean Donaldson	30	88	32	1
Steve Stewart	29	87	26	2
Joe Clarke	23	80	22	3
Kathy Stewart	19	68	14	4

Friday Nights Under the Lights Points Standings

Dean Donaldson of Full Speed Racing leads the Sportsman points chase at the moment, but the season has a long way to go.

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	1785	1446	20566.204
2	Dean Donaldson	1713	1252	20969.770
3	Kathy Stewart	317	390	2418.990
4	Jeff Seltzer	613	217	12638.535
5	Joe Clarke	107	196	1170.569
6	Kevin Webster	495	165	3137.453
7	George Peters	311	129	1279.584
8	Joe Vargas	300	118	1280.737
9	Ron Williams	205	74	3324.955
10	Bev Seltzer	216	64	1288.127
11	Oxana Che	197	44	837.067

Green Font Color denotes Expert drivers

Okay, shut up and drive!

Inaugural Firecracker 200 Double-Points Race In the Books!

Scotts Valley Independence Day Parade Shots

Because of the holiday weekend, we didn’t have the usual attendance and photographers on hand. These are some pics I took volunteering at the Scotts Valley 4th of July Parade earlier in the day.

Back to the Racing…

Instead of a Firecracker 400 on the oval, we did a Viper warm-up race, then a Firecracker 200 on the Fast Esses road course. After a delicious BBQ/dinner, of course. Dean brought some pre-cooked and marinated steak that was incredibly tasty to go along with Kathy’s Mexican chicken casserole dish, which was also very tasty. Kathy didn’t receive the American Independence Day memo and opted for a Cinco de Mayo dish instead.

Short Story

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	317	476	4119.067
2	Dean Donaldson	313	452	4156.580
3	Kathy Stewart	105	176	973.283

Race 1: Viper Warm-up Race

Viper V-SPEC L4 Lexan cars to get things rolling. Full Speed Racing (formerly Donaldson Racing) was on a mission in this one, with a 4.762 lap in the second segment in the green lane. Dean was up by two laps and six points going into the final segment. Normally, this would be a sure win, providing he finished second in his final rotation. However, this was a double points race and a 50-lap final segment, meaning anything could happen. In the end, Dean, finishing in the Blue lane, would end up with the requisite points, but just one lap short of Home Cook’n. Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	117	232	882.380
2	Dean Donaldson	116	232	880.665
3	Kathy Stewart	105	176	973.283

Race 2: The Firecracker 200

It was getting late by the time we got around to the main event, so we shortened it up a bit after losing Stewart Racing’s number two driver to attrition. Full Speed Racing was still all in and looking for a victory in this critical double-points event. We chose the MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites” platform (F1/Indy Hardbody), which isn’t Dean’s favorite car to drive, but he had a good one in his box to race.

Sportsman driver Dean Donaldson fought hard through the first three segments, losing only one lap in each, and went into the final segment three laps down and only one second behind Home Cook’n in total runtime. However, he could not win the overall due to Home Cook’n winning three of the four segments.

That didn’t seem to deter Dean. He was determined to get a victory, even if it wasn’t the overall win. With just a few laps to go in the final segment, Dean worked his way back onto the same lap as Home Cook’n. With one lap to go, Dean closed the gap and overtook Home Cook’n for the segment win in the final corner. A spectacular segment victory! (I hate when I fail to record stuff like that.) Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	200	244	3236.687
2	Dean Donaldson	197	220	3275.915

So, there you have it: a small turnout, but a hugely competitive night of racing. I last posted 2025 season points standings on June 8. Dean certainly racked up a bunch more points in this special double-points event. I’ll post updated season points ASAP.

Stay tuned for details on a possible “All Kids” race day before they head back to school.

Okay, shut up and drive!

June 14, 2025 Race Day Video Posted on Rumble

Yet again, I didn’t get both cameras working, but at least I captured the action from SR3’s Turn 2 camera. Mildly edited, so just fast forward through the uninteresting stuff.

Enjoy!

I’m available if you want some track time or to race next Saturday. Just shoot me a text or email.

Race Day Report: June 14, 2025: New Faces, All Six Lanes, and New Lap Records

Team Maddox brings a new racing team into the fold and bags the last two podium spots in Race 1 with superb driving in their last three rotations.

A big welcome goes out to our latest team to appear at Stewart Raceway, Feinstein Racing. The team’s youngest driver, August Feinstein, has made one previous appearance at Stewart Raceway back during the Memorial Day Double-Header event. This recent visit brought a full squad of drivers and some impressive results. Team leader, Casey Feinstein, won a segment, Forrest Feinstein won a segment, and August Feinstein bagged two 2nd place segment finishes.

Short Story

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	412	183	4590.526
2	George Peters	400	169	4571.940
3	Dean Donaldson	384	148	4760.271
4	Jeff Seltzer	353	122	4626.331
5	Abe Maddox	105	65	932.654
6	Shaylin Maddox	104	65	915.015
7	Forrest Feinstein	94	52	931.406
8	Casey Feinstein	92	48	927.825
9	August Feinstein	94	46	960.045

Race 1: MegaG+ 1.7 Modified (IROC)

Team Maddox won four of the nine segments and took 2nd place in another, edging out Jeff Seltzer for the last two podium spots. Jeff had a few more total laps, but both Team Maddox drivers had 65 points in the end, three more than Jeff, who won two of his segments. Team Maddox is definitely on a roll. Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	117	75	936.918
2	Abe Maddox	105	65	932.654
3	Shaylin Maddox	104	65	915.015
4	Jeff Seltzer	107	62	957.109
5	George Peters	104	56	949.656
6	Dean Donaldson	107	53	922.464
7	Forrest Feinstein	94	52	931.406
8	Casey Feinstein	92	48	927.825
9	August Feinstein	94	46	960.045

Race 2: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan

We lost Team Maddox and Fienstien Racing shortly after Race 1 concluded. While short on marshals, we forged ahead with the honor system and the verbal track call to deal with crashes. Team Donaldson Racing’s Sportsman driver, Dean Donaldson, had a stellar run with his Viper, besting Expert pilot, George Peters, by just four points to take the second podium spot in this way-fast 30-lap segments fuel race. George and Dean both had one segment win each, but Dean managed to bag two 2nd place segment finishes to come out ahead in total points. Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	119	58	1253.853
2	Dean Donaldson	114	53	1245.052
3	George Peters	116	49	1249.218
4	Jeff Seltzer	96	28	1262.005

New Lap Records

Home Cook’n set a new lap record in the Blue lane with a 4.381 lap. The fastest lap record for this class is held by Aaron Castro in the Orange lane back in March of 2024. Aaron also holds the lap records for the White lane (4.291) and the Green lane (4.274).

Race 3: MegaG+ 1.7 Lites (Support Class)

George Peters came out swinging in the day’s final (extended laps) fuel race, winning all four segments and setting a few lap records. Sportsman drivers, Dean Donaldson and Jeff Seltzer, drove the wheels off their cars but could not keep up with the pace of the two Expert drivers fighting for the overall win. Dean managed to best Home Cook’n, with a 2nd place finish to George in the final segment and a spot on the podium, but nobody was able to put any pressure on the determined GP Designs driver, George Peters. Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	George Peters	180	64	2373.066
2	Steve Stewart	176	50	2399.755
3	Dean Donaldson	163	42	2592.755
4	Jeff Seltzer	150	32	2407.217

New Lap Records

New lap records were set in all four lanes in this race. George was the fastest with a 5.276 lap in the Green Lane in the first segment. Home Cook’n clicked off a new record of 5.309 in the Blue lane in the same segment.

It sucks getting old. Your favorite Race Director failed to get any podium shots, sorry! He did manage to get all the race action on video, but with only one camera view. Stay tuned for those videos to be posted on our Rumble channel soon.

Okay, shut up and drive!