[okienonwingfan]

I found out today that my chassis is a Stewart chassis. I got the number for the company in Arizona but I would like to hear what every one else thought of the car.

[JstAbvVMC]

Stewart was/is based out of Phoenix. Rick Stewart passed away not that long ago, a year or two ago. Had a lot of health problems. I owned a combo Stewart midget and ran it on the west coast for a year. Not a bad car but it was out dated by the time I got it.

Not sure if the company is still in operation or not. Last time I was there (2003) the shop was out back of his house on the south side of Phoenix.

"Big Al" Scroggins over at Bryan Clauson Inc. MIGHT have some specific information for you. Big Al came out that area around the time Stewart's car were racing and were competitive.

Best I can do for you.

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by okienonwingfan i found out today that my chassis is a stewart chassis. I got the number for the company in arizona but i would like to hear what every one else thought of the car.

call arizona race mart and ask for jimmy blanton 800-966-7001

[Go Fast]

I think that Steve Phillips (71 car owner) would be a really good resource for info on Stewart cars. I thought I heard that he worked there.

[MTS]

i have an older 98-99 stewart chassis .. the car won Sod championship in 2001 sod rookie of the year i think 2003 also i won i-96 track championship in 06.. car still seems to be a good car was built great.. from what i heard most of the newer 2000's cars were based on a maxim chassis with stewarts add ons.
the way i can tell chassis is a stewart is an X cross the back of the cage.. not sure if he did that with the newer cars or not..

[kevin05]

Rick was a very close friend of mine. He passed away last November. The shop is still open and you want to talk to Jeff. He is the guy that was Rick's right hand man. I worked with Stewart on the Rick Ferkel car that went to Syracuse and was the record holder for a while. In fact before he died we were working on a plan to put his stuff here in Michigan and bring his presents to the midwest ( we were going to warehouse) They are very easy cars to work on. Rick is best known for his midgets but his NW sprints were some of the fastest on the West coast for a long time. They are a very small shop and are very willing to help.
The Wizard

Shop # 602-268-6296

[grumpy racer]

I worked for Rick for 19 years till I moved to Indy. I ran my Stewart car back here till 2007. Casey Shuman won a race at Danville in 2007. I sold the 2nd car to Spiker racing parts in 2008. I tried to get it back last year but the guy who had it liked it so much he would not let go. Jeff Slinkard has the shop now and works daily. If you need any help I will try to head you in right direction. Rick was my best freind and every time we win a race I look up and think of him I still miss him a lot. Steve Phillips

[kevin05]

Steve I'm with you 100% My car now carries a small sliver #33 right next to me, as well as teh Stewart fabrication decals, and they will from here on out. Rick was a friend and one of my hero's. I was able to spend the weekend of the lasy Manzy race with him and we painted the town for 5 days remembering the old time and thinking able all the great times we thought we still had. If I had only known he would be gone that fast, I would have stayed a lot longer. I'm sure you remember the great Friday buffett.

[MickeyMeyer]

Jeff and I built this 33 car at Stewart's shop right before he passed. I definitly miss that man and his brotherly love.

-Rick Stewart-

The Dream
Born into a racing family Rick Stewart’s destiny was paved long before he ever turned a wrench. Rick’s father Paul had raced as long as anyone can remember, and so the inheritance began. The Stewart family was part of the great Arizona racing scene of the 1950's, and were friends with such notables as Clint Brawner, Roger McCluskey, Joe Pittman, and Jimmy Bryan. In fact, Jimmy was Rick's God Father. Any wonder Rick loved racing. Like so many of the sports greats Rick began his career in building cars early in life. He began by building a dune buggy while still a freshman in high school, then rapidly followed that effort with a Super Modified. The Super proved to be a successful venture for himself and his good friend Jerry Miller. As expected, Jerry ended up driving it after Rick discovered he had a hard time figuring out which side was suppose to be up. This left Rick with one option, to work on the very cars he built. In 1973 Rick opened his own shop "Stewart Fabricating" and for the next 35 years his legacy began to grow through master his craftsmanship and innovative ideas.

The Man
Rick is well known for his 35 years of race chassis and street rod building prowess. Even with that said his greatest contribution to motor sports was simply Rick being the person he was. His shop was open to any racer in need of repairs, and was used by many out of town racers as their home base while in Phoenix. He was always willing to help anyone with set-ups regardless of what brand of car you had. Rick enjoyed showing others the skills of the trade more than anything else, many other fabricators learned a great deal from Rick. Examples of this continuously poured from the doors of Stewart Fabrication such as; Steve Phillips, Ron Krepple, Danny Drinan, or Jerry Miller (Who is the current fabrication supervisor at Red Bull's NASCAR operation) or Jeff Slinkard, Rick's long time employee/partner. On the lighter side, Rick’s shop was always filled with laughter and the New Years parties are well renowned. Rick always had time for everyone, and loved showing off his vast collection of racing memorabilia to anyone interested.

The Cars
Based out of Phoenix, Az, Stewart chassis won several championship titles in various regions and ranks throughout the United States. Rick built his first race car in the spring of 1973, it was a Chevy 2 powered midget pretty much like the others of that era except that it had all of the running gear from a Drake Powered Kurtis, which belonged to Billy Vukovich. Many commented on his new midget noting how exceptional it worked. Quickly the orders for cars started to come in. Soon the shop was building Midgets, Quarter Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown cars. In addition, they completed repairs and/or component fabrication on everything from Airplanes to Indy Cars.
His drivers read like the who's who of the world of racing with such notables as Stan Fox, Tony Stewart, Aaron Fike, Leland McSpadden, Gary Schroder, Ronnie Shuman, and Richard Griffin (who won 26 main events in 1987) as well as scores of others.
Rick's Midgets have won most every major race at one time or another, Including; The Belleville Nationals, The Chili Bowl, Turkey Night, only to be validated by Sprint Car wins at The Western World Championships, and Knoxville Nationals, just to name a few. If you ever had the privilege to own a Stewart Fabricating race car you immediately realized that it was more than just a race car,……it was an extension of Rick.

[kevin05]

Mickey,, you are so right.. I learned so much from that man in the 25 years I knew him. I don't think there will ever be another one like him. Like you said the shop was open to all, no matter what, or who you were. Hewitt,Schrader,Ferkel and the list goes on. Jerry was also out at manzy the last week and he, Rick, Julie, and I ran around town most of the day taking in life. He was/is one great man. That 33 car was his love, much like the Twister. I hope Jeff is able to continue with the shop for a long time. We were working on a body upgrade for Beast car (just so they all don't look the same) and hoped to market it by the end of last year,, but Late November changed all of that, and part of my life forever. The talk of a new dirt track in the area would have made him smile, and if it happen out there, I'm sure he will be smiling down on opening day, whenever that is.
It was he and ferkel that gave me the nickname "The Wizard of Air " And that is something that I have carried on with for almost 20 years. Long live all our memerories of Rick Stewart.