Stuart Smith Junior reigns victorious in Stockcar comeback

Stuart Smith Junior of Rochdale has won the UK Open Stockcar Championship at Skegness Speedway

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Stuart Smith Junior of Rochdale has won the UK Open Stockcar Championship at Skegness Speedway.

Stuart, son of F1 Stockcar legend Stuart Smith Senior, raced to victory on Sunday (11 May) after a two year spell away from the sport to focus on the family’s local business, Rochdale Van Centre.

The stockcar champion was forced to take some time out after the sudden death of his father in 2010. Stuart Smith Senior was a six times world champion and became a household name in the early to mid 80s. Mr Smith Senior left behind his racing legacy to his dedicated family including his stockcar racing sons Andrew and Stuart.

The day was a fairytale return to the sport despite Stuart having to run down his fellow star grade driver Matt Newson over 10 laps of a 25 lap final.

When asked about the weekend, Stuart said: “I used to race all the time. We spent ages working up to the weekend but didn’t expect much really.”

He went on: “We were straight on the pace. It was unbelievable.”

Stuart made his final pass in the penultimate lap and sped on to be claim victory in a championship he has never won before. It adds to an impressive list including the World Championship in 2007, British Champion in 2008 and National Points Champion in 2009.

Racing certainly runs in the blood of this Rochdale family, the borough itself being somewhat of a hub for stockcar drivers over the past few years. Stuart currently carries on the trend.

He concluded: “I’d like to thank the sponsors and everyone on the team, and my wife for putting up with me.”