Local drivers Ronnie Combs, Jason Setser and a few other hands have been working on Tony Stewart’s new three-quarter midget car for about a year now, and it’s about a month away from being finished.
Combs has a connection at the Indy Performance Composites in Brownsburg that is putting together the carbon fiber body. Carbon fiber is a strong lightweight plastic that also is used on Indy cars. It’s the body that Stewart preferred to have.
The building process started with Setser building the frame that took about three months last summer. Bue Binder from Keith Kunz Motorsports also has been helping put the car together, while Acro Engineering has dealt with the drive line and all the rear-end components.
Busy schedules between everybody involved held up the car from being finished in time for Stewart to compete in the Midwest TQ Association three-quarter midget race at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds last July, but they are in the homestretch of the process now.
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Getting the body finished and putting all the parts back in the car once it comes back is the final step to getting Stewart back on the road for the TQ midget races.
“There are so many people doing different things trying to get the car ready for Tony,” Combs said. “We have a lot of stuff going on right now.”
Combs and his team also have built him a new car and gave his old car to Stewart’s 80-year-old father, Nelson. Nelson Stewart, Combs and Callie Wolsiffer all will be racing when Tony Stewart competes for the first time in his brand new car on June 28 at the Rush County Fairgrounds in Rushville. The event starts at 6 p.m., and the race is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be a big night with Tony coming back to Rushville,” Combs said. “He hasn’t raced there in about 20 years, probably. I know that was one of the races he was wanting to do first.”
Tony Stewart’s second race will be July 10 at the fairgrounds in Columbus.
