SNOHOMISH, Washington — Gary Lewis returns to Montana Raceway Park on the heels of his fourth consecutive Coors Light Montana 200 victory but this weekend the driver of the SEFNCO Communications Chevrolet will have an added wrinkle to his activities-a ride in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Toyota/NAPA Bonus Challenge.
"It definitely will be much more of challenge to get that big old heavy beast around Montana Raceway Park that’s for sure."— Gary Lewis
Lewis will again get behind the wheel of the Midgley Motorsports Impala and look to back-up his third place run at All-American Speedway on March
27 as he made his initial foray into the NASCAR West Series. With two different cars the challenges facing Lewis are extreme.
“The West car is much heavier than our Mike Leary’s Shock Shop Impala late model. Midgley Motorsports has brought us a great car but it certainly won’t get off the corners as good because of it being heavier than our late model, the braking will be a little different. It definitely will be much more of challenge to get that big old heavy beast around Montana Raceway Park that’s for sure,” Lewis said.
“I will say my crew and I are looking forward to this challenge.”
When the night is wrapped up Saturday the team and Lewis will have logged nearly 600 laps on the high-banked oval of Montana Raceway Park. Lewis is ready to face down the hot temperatures and nuances of so many laps in a short amount of time, he noted.
“That night and probably the next day I’ll be a wreck for sure (after running so many laps). The cars are super loud and your ears will ring for a couple days like you’ve just gone to a concert. If it’s 95 outside then that means it’ll be about 130 to 140 degrees inside the car while we’re out on the track. I will be drinking a lot of fluids to stay hydrated. You have to be prepared for that and I feel that I am ready to take it all on this weekend. This is what I do; I have been racing for 24 years and I just have to buckle up to the challenge.”
While Lewis will have a seat to occupy for the weekend when he’s on the race track, the Sign Factory USA Pit Crew will have to work extra hard, he added.
“It’s going to be tough on them and my crew will have to work their tails off. My No. 73 AP Brakes team will be pitting the No. 09 Midgley Motorsports Chevrolet. We’ve got our pit stalls close together so that’ll cut down on all the running back and forth. Just with all the tires to manage you’re going to see them doing a lot of work so hopefully everything will work out for us.”
Picking up a win on either series will come with a solid race car behind him. Besting the top late model and NASCAR talent in two straight races is daunting. Lewis admitted.
“You have some great drivers in this Best of the West Tundra 125 Lucas Oil Super Late Model Series race with Alex Lessor, Bodie Morton, (Mark) Owens,
(Jason) Fraser and those guys in here to try and win and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West has some unbelievable talent as well. We know what we’re facing and come to the track as always looking to stay out of trouble and bring home a victory.”
Fans can follow Gary Lewis Racing by logging onto his website at www.garylewisracing.com or by searching for Gary Lewis Racing LLC on Facebook. RaciingWest.com will have near live coverage of the NASCAR Rumble in the Rockies weekend at Montana Raceway Park. Radio coverage of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Toyota/NAPA Bonus Challenge can be heard on Montana Country 106.3 The Bear with SPEED-TV proving coverage on August 12 at 6 p.m. Eastern.
