Stewart finishes 4th at Hogs Breath Café International Sprintcar Race

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner/driver Tony Stewart finished fourth in the Hogs Breath Café International Sprintcar Race at Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday night.

Four-time World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz, who drives for Stewart in World of Outlaws, crossed the finish line in second place. Ian Madsen of Sydney took advantage of a restart to open a gap over Schatz in the final four laps to win the race.

Stewart was third fastest in qualifying. The recent wet weather continued to make the track a challenge for the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

“I’ve got a good car to drive and a great teacher with Donny here so I’m learning a little bit more each night and felt a lot more comfortable tonight compared to the first night I was here,” Stewart said.

“The track was definitely a little difficult tonight, the weather over the last couple of days has really made the track a little trickier than what I’m used to. I’m not used to them being quite as ‘ledgey’ as it was and cars kind of banging the right rear off the cushion, but it makes it fun. You have to work hard at getting into a rhythm and make consistent laps.

“I felt like over the last 15 laps of tonight’s main I got a lot better and my lap times didn’t fall off as much as the cars in front of me and I was making time."

Stewart finished seventh in the Valvoline Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix on Sunday night, where Schatz claimed the victory.

"For a guy who only runs three or four Sprintcar races a year I’ve been pretty pleased with the last couple of nights,” Stewart said.

The Hogs Breath Café International was the second of four Sprintcar races Stewart will run at Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway during the holidays.

Up next is the Scott Darley memorial race on Saturday night. The two-night event will end Sunday. Stewart, Schatz and All Star Series Champion Tim Schaffer will battle fellow American Jason Johnson and Australian stars Brooke Tatnell, Robbie Farr, Max Dumesny and Ryan Farrell for the $50,000 prize.

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