Gary Lewis, former NASCAR Northwest Tour champion and reigning ASA NW Tour champion, took some time out from his very busy schedule to share some of his thoughts on the inaugural ASA Transcontinental race in South Africa.
RacingWest: Heard you are going to Africa for the inaugural ASA Transcontintental race. First off congratulations! What in the world did you think when you first received the invitation to go?
Gary Lewis: Thank you, I was very excited when I received the invite. The first thing I thought of was my trip to the Middle East and how that was a trip of a lifetime and that this could be the same.
RW: Whose car will you be driving? Have you had any hands on as far as the car goes?
GL: I will be driving a used Hendricks car for Midgley Motorsports that he had just purchased for this race. Unfortunately I have no hands on experience with the car. I would have loved to help prepare the car for this event but with us living about 3 hours apart and in 2 different countries the schedules could not line up. I’m used to working and setting up the cars I race so this will be new to me.
RW: Of all the crew that is going with you, who was the most excited to learn they were going to be a part of this event?
GL:Oh man everybody was blown away when I asked as they thought this was just for the driver. Jeremiah Moore was probably the most excited about the trip.
RW: How much practice do you think the drivers will be given before they actually roll onto the starting grid for the race?
GL: I’m sure they will have a bunch of practice for us. This is new territory for most all of the drivers going so I would bet we would get many hours. I believe that we hit the track on Thursday and race on Sunday so that should be plenty.
RW: How difficult will it be for you to transition from a Tour type car to a NASCAR Nationwide/West car?
GL: I have tested a Camping World Truck and a Nationwide Wide car in the past and have found them to be easier to drive so I think it will be fine.
RW: Have you watched the videos on this track and if so what was your opinion?
GL: Yes we have been checking out the videos as they come out. Looks like a nice facility and it also looks very hot outside. I can’t wait to get on the track as I have been dying to get on some bigger tracks.
RW: Being that there are live pitstops for this race, have you and the team been doing anything special in preparation as far as pistop practice, things like that?
GL:We have not been doing any practice at all yet but plan on starting here real quick. Currently Midgley and I are working on the details of who is doing what.
RW: Have heard Hoosier will be doing a special build for a tire for this race that will have liners. Any thoughts on the tires?
GL: Hoosier makes a great short track tire but we have no clue how this tire will be. As we all know the tires are so very important so I hope they did their homework on this tire.
RW: A lot of times you remind me of a Terry Labonte type, just passing time in the field until it is time to make your move.
GL: I wouldn’t say that I just wait and then make my run late. I just take a cautiously aggressive approach and make sure that I don’t wear my tires out until I need them later on when it counts.
RW: What do you think of the field of drivers so far?
GL:Personally I have been so busy these days I haven’t really paid too much attention to who all is going. I have heard many names that I have never heard before so we will just run are program and see where it goes. We are going to do the best we can with what we have.
RW: Which driver listed so far do you see as being your toughtest competition?
GL: I know Steve Carlson is going and he is a very good driver plus I have heard of some teams that have some great winning Nation Wide cars so that will be tough to keep up with that kind of money.
RW: Long ride to Africa! What will you be doing on the plane for those 19+ hours?
GL: Oh man, not looking forward to that flight. My back can barely make it across the country let alone to Africa.
RW: Do you plan on doing anything in Africa besides racing? What do you have planned?
GL: Yes for sure, after the race stuff and the Safari provided by ASA we will be flying to Cape Town for 3 days. Really looking forward to that, it should be a great time with my parents and friends.
RW: How do you think this race will benefit racing as a whole?
GL: Whenever you can introduce racing into a new community and or a new country its good for everybody involved. Racing is such a great sport that brings friends and people together. I see nothing but positive stuff here with ASA making this new transition into new territory.
RW: How can fans follow you? Will you be doing any updates on Twitter or Facebook? Do you have a website you can share with the fans?
GL: I hope so! We are planning on updating my Facebook racing page so check it out for the latest updates at Gary Lewis Racing LLC
RW: Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions. We look forward to watching you race the Phakisa oval.
GL:Thank You!
