ROCKLIN, California -- Andrew Lewis, piloting the #18 Teen Arrive Alive Chevrolet made his first appearance in the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series at the Copper World Classic at the Phoenix International Raceway.
Lewis teamed up with veteran crew chief/West Series driver Kevin Richards for his debut effort. The #18 Teen Arrive Alive Chevrolet made a strong showing in practice and was 10th quick of 34 competitors before an on track incident. The went to work to fix the car but the practice was cut short by rain and hail on the track
Qualifying was held on Sunday morning and Lewis put the #18 Teen Arrive Alive Chevrolet on the grid starting in 9th.
“We had some trouble in practice,” said Lewis. “The team did a great job putting the car back together. I really want to thank them especially Kevin Richards, our crew chief. We made some adjustments but it was sort of a guess going into qualifying and into the race because of the shortened practice. We ended up with a pretty bad push during the race. We did what we could without making a pit stop. We didn’t take advantage of the early yellow.”
“I knew I had to run it hard and do my best not to go a lap down just in case a caution would come out. We ran with the leader, Kevin Harvick, as hard as we could for three or four laps. We were really hoping for a caution but it didn’t happen.”
Lewis and the #18 teen Arrive Alive team finished the race in 16th and one lap down.
“I am definitely excited to see if we can come out stronger in the next race and show a little more of what we did this time”, continued Lewis. “I know we have a lot more.”
The next race for the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series will be at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, California on April 9th, 2005.
