SNOHOMISH, Washington — The last time three-time late modeling touring champion Gary Lewis was on the famed Evergreen Speedway big track he captured the checkered flag. In fact winning races was the norm for the Snohomish, WA native in 2008 and something he’d like to continue as the
"We are going to start off the year running for the points championship on the Tour and then re-evaluate that down the road."— Gary Lewis
2009 season approaches with the ASA Northwest Late Model Tour set to hit the .675-mile Monroe, WA track this Saturday night.
“I love racing at my home track and on the 5/8th mile,” Lewis said. “It would mean everything to have another great run like we did last time at the Speedway (at July’s Washington 500 weekend). The car is currently set-up for the high speed tracks so it’s nice to start the year out at Evergreen.”
With the Tour set to run two ‘short’ tracks in May at Wenatchee Valley and Mission Valley Speedway in Ronan, MT this weekend will be one of the few times the Sign Factory USA/Nutter Racing Engines Chevrolet will be in high-speed trim, Lewis noted.
“After this race we will have to make some changes for the upcoming short tracks that’s for sure.”
Towards the end of the 2008 season Lewis and the Mike Leary Shock Shop pit crew were forced to repair their Impala after an incident at the South Sound 200 in August. Despite a pair of runner-up finishes and strong runs at several events, Lewis’ team discovered that the car was in need of attention in the off-season.
“We had some problems with the car that we missed after that incident in South Sound and tried some things at the Fall Classic that maybe we should have done in a test session so we’re going back to what we know has been successful.
“I have spent many hours with my shock guru, Mike Leary from Leary’s Shock Shop and have fine tuned our program ever since the Fall Classic. Missing a few problems with the car caused us to suffer a bit from August on but we’ve found them and hopefully we’ll be ready for the opener and back on track for a chance to win races.”
Winning over $40, 000 in prize money last year and races in three different states was no small feat, Lewis admitted. The challenge facing the team in 2009 is to continue competing at that high level, he added.
“The biggest challenge will be to just keep doing what we’ve been doing the last few years. We have been very fortunate to get the wins we’ve earned and with that it has set the bar very high for us to try and match or beat our recent success.”
Having won two consecutive touring championships Lewis took 2008 as an opportunity to focus on selected races and not chase points for another title. In 2009 that focus may change, he noted.
“We are going to start off the year running for the points championship on the Tour and then re-evaluate that down the road. If we have the car counts and the competition (on the Tour) then we’ll keep going (for the championship). What I mean by that is that we want to race with the best and that should be with this new Tour. If we have some bad wrecks and fall out of the points then we may change our focus.
“We have to keep that (2008’s momentum) going so what that means is that we need to work harder and focus more on what we need to do to even have a chance to have the same successes.”
The ASA Northwest Late Model Tour gets its 2009 season underway Saturday, March 28 at Monroe’s Evergreen Speedway. To learn more about Gary Lewis Racing go to the team’s website at www.garylewisracing.com
