28 fastlane
racerprofile
KENNY STEWART
Age
51 years old
Hometown
Werribee
Occupation
Warehousing
Started Racing
1994
Classes competed
Modified
Best ET and Speed
7.28 seconds and 188 mph
Sponsors
Fuchs Lubricants, Gene
Cook Race Engines, Proshift
Automatics, R&J Batteries,
Total Fleet Imaging, Swarf
King Engineering and Gerry’s
Ski Shop
Favourite Race Vehicle
Current Spitzer Top Dragster
Favourite TV Show
Big Bang Theory, Two Broke
Girls, Seinfeld
Favourite Food
I love a mixed grill!
Favourite race track
South Coast Raceway
You recently took out two Summit Racing
Equipment Sportsman Series Modified wins in a
row, winning first at the Sunset Strip Nationals
and then at the South Coast Nationals. How did it
feel to go back to back, and did you expect to be
able to secure two in a row?
During the off season, I made a couple of changes
to the car and converter to help with consistency
and reaction times so we were unsure of what to
expect in Mildura. I never go to a meeting expecting
to win, but always hope to make it to the final, so
after some luck falling our way during eliminations
I was so happy to win at Mildura. In between the
Mildura and Portland meetings we went to the
Mallee Drag challenge at Swan Hill where I made the
final but was unable to start the Dragster due to fuel
pump issues. Thinking back, this was a blessing in
disguise as we would have turned up at Portland and
had the problem arise there. This would have been
very stressful to find and fix at the track. Winning
at Portland was so exciting and unbelievable. I love
racing at Portland and the changes made in the off
season have really paid off with consistency. Racing
in Modified is tough with a lot of experienced racers
attending both rounds. It is also great to see a lot of
new faces in Modified with the bracket continuing to
grow and be very well supported.
If you had to pick the top three highlights of your
drag racing career to date, what would they be
and why?
The three highlights that come to mind are: winning
the Fuchs Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway in
front of Fuchs Management; Winning the Modified
Championship; and being part of the Drag Racing
Demonstrations at numerous Australian Grand Prix
events – especially the time I got to perform burn
outs on the main straight!
How did you get into the sport of drag racing and
what keeps you coming back?
To quote the famous Ricky Bobby: “I just wanna go
fast!” But seriously, I have always loved drag racing
since I was a teenager and a good friend of mine, Ian
Cameron, who owned a front engine rail and raced
in Modified, helped get me involved in drag racing.
He helped me understand the costs of buying and
running a race car, gave me advice of how to look
after sponsors and when we decided to get into
racing he was there when I got my licence. I am now
in my 25th year of racing and what keeps me racing
is the challenge of keeping the dragster competitive
each meeting. There are lot of highs and lows but one
important part of racing is the good friends we have
made and the great time at the track and outside
racing we have. We have the amazing support of our
sponsors and are very proud and fortunate to have
had many of these businesses help us for the 25
years.
In 2018 we are celebrating our 25th year of
sponsorship with Fuchs Lubricants. We are fortunate
to have the support of Fuchs and they have given
us many experiences and opportunities on and off
the track. Along with our other sponsors, we are very
proud to represent them and do our best to raise
awareness of their great products and services.
Is there anyone you would like to shine the
spotlight on for their role in your racing career?
The one person I would like to shine the spotlight
is my number one supporter: Amanda Ruddle. In 25
years of racing, she has never missed a meeting,
she helps prepare and helps with the maintenance
of the dragster. I would also like to thank the many
people who have helped over the year with crewing.
Drag Racing is a lot of hard work, and you can’t do it
without the help of our friends.
Photo by Automotive Event Images