Stewart Leads Truck Field in Coliseum Grand Prix

Ivan Stewart, trying to become the first driver to win the series championships in stadium and desert off-road racing in the same year, will head the field of the sports truck class in the Mickey Thompson Off-Road Championship Gran Prix tonight at the Coliseum.

Stewart, 45, won stadium races in Anaheim, Seattle and Pasadena for 360 points. Chevrolet factory driver Danny Thompson is second with 315 points, and Jeep driver Walker Evans is third with 277.

Stewart finished second at the Coliseum last year and has not won on the 2,000-foot course since 1985. He is attempting to lead Toyota to its eighth consecutive manufacturers’ championship.

“Last year at the Coliseum, we had very good luck, which continued the remainder of the racing season,” Stewart said. “The Coliseum is always one of the most exciting races. The crowd goes wild when you come down the peristyle jumps.”

Stewart also leads the SCORE-High Desert Racing Assn., which stages races in the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. Stewart has 219 points, leading Tom DeNault, who has 195 points, and Steve Taylor, who has 163.

Thompson won a series race at Phoenix and was leading at the Rose Bowl when he retired with four laps remaining because of a broken fuel pump. Evans won races at Houston and San Diego.

Lloyd Castle, 49, will make his debut in the sports truck class after winning the UltraStock class last season. Castle will drive a Chevrolet and double with a Jeep Cherokee in the UltraStock class, in which his top competitor figures to be his son, Brad, in a Toyota.

Also scheduled are 1600cc dune buggy, four-wheel drive all-terrain vehicle, 250cc motorcycle and Oddessy races. Gates will open at 5 p.m., with a driver autograph session scheduled for 6.