A View From Above: Stewart's Raceworks

Aesthetically-pleasing, precisely welded tubing isn’t reserved for prerunners and race trucks. This bansai tree display was designed and crafted for the San Diego Safari Park.

Aesthetically-pleasing, precisely welded tubing isn’t reserved for prerunners and race tru

Even though Craig is connected with racing’s past, he’s an indelible part of the here and now. Stewart’s Raceworks produces some of the most technologically advanced and most meticulously crafted prerunners and race vehicles ever to set knobby on dirt. “You have to keep up with the times,” Stewart states. “I was using AutoCad to design trucks, and when Solidworks came along I started using that. But still, these computers do the same things we used to do with tape measures and chalk on the floor. You still have to know what you’re doing.” Another high-tech tool at Stewart’s Raceworks is a camera that digitally models surfaces as it takes pictures, something that enables Raceworks to quickly and accurately build fiberglass parts and to position rollcage tubing correctly.

Craig credits Sherrie for his transition from an employee at Unique Metal Products to the owner of Stewart’s Raceworks. Craig nods while Sherrie explains, “I told him that if we’re going to go to the desert, we need to get to where we can be comfortable and do it right. We needed to be able to make enough money at this.”

“I know the fabrication side, and I know how to go testing and racing,” Craig states. “Sherrie understands the business side and writes well. She’s the reason we’re where we are today.” To this Sherrie replies, “He’s more talented than he gives himself credit for.”

The quad in the foreground uses a Raceworks rear suspension that allows the solid rear axle to articulate and follow the terrain much better than a conventional setup. Craig informs: “We did some testing, and riders on this quad were able to go through our test course three minutes faster than they could with a stock rear suspension. The ride quality is incredible.”

The quad in the foreground uses a Raceworks rear suspension that allows the solid rear axle to articulate and follow the terrain much better than a conventional setup. Craig informs: “We did some testing, and riders on this quad were able to go through our test course three minutes faster than they could with a stock rear suspension. The ride quality is incredible.”

After he’s done at the shop, Craig takes his brainstorms home to his garage where another Solidworks-equipped computer awaits. Stewart’s Raceworks recently purchased an interest in Chenowth Racing Products, a company famous for race-winning buggies.

After he’s done at the shop, Craig takes his brainstorms home to his garage where another

Although they’ve worked hard to get where they are, there’s an added reason the Stewarts are grateful for their lives. They almost lost them. At the 1999 Baja 500, they were in the crowd that Jason Baldwin rolled his Trophy Truck into. Sherrie sustained minor injuries, but Craig took a hit to the head that cracked his skull. “He doesn’t remember what happened,” Sherrie says. “Things are so different down in Mexico. They didn’t stop the race, and they didn’t tell other people what had happened. I was sitting there holding Craig and his dad (Ivan) drove by. Ivan actually finished the race and got all the way home before he learned about the accident.”

SCORE president Sal Fish arranged for Craig to be life-flighted back to the States where he could receive the medical care he needed. “To this day, I still get headaches from that accident,” says Craig. “It took about five years for my vision to return to normal. I couldn’t drive cars during testing because my eyes couldn’t focus fast enough. There’s a good side to this, though. I don’t want to get hit in the head again, but it would be nice if everyone could go through something like this every few years. Something that makes you appreciate things that much more. Something that makes you just want to go home and hug your kids.”

Raceworks is involved in limited-class racing, too. Craig stands next to a Trophy Lite chassis under construction.

Raceworks is involved in limited-class racing, too. Craig stands next to a Trophy Lite cha

Even with the success he’s had, Craig still has the hunger to develop new products and off-road vehicles with innovative designs. Some of those products have nothing to do with off-road racing. For instance, Stewart’s Raceworks has produced some custom display fixtures for the San Diego Safari Park, and has modified vehicles for the U.S. Border Patrol. “I try to diversify every chance I get,” he informs. Innovative race vehicle designs include a revolutionary patent-pending rear suspension for quads, which we saw both in the computer and in living, breathing metal at the Raceworks shop.

When you own your own business, quiet moments like this one are few and far between. Craig and Sherrie Stewart wouldn’t have it any other way.

When you own your own business, quiet moments like this one are few and far between. Craig

Of course, work from a top-tier fabrication shop like Stewart’s Raceworks doesn’t come cheap, and a quote from the Raceworks website says, “Others might be able to do it cheaper, but never better.” A look around the Raceworks shop reveals not what is commonplace, but what is possible.

It may be a bit crowded at the top, but each top-tier fab shop has a unique story of how it came to be. For Craig Stewart and Stewart’s Raceworks, that story includes the good old days, cutting edge technology, and one very close call. It’s a view from above.