LEWIS EARNS FIRST ROAD COURSE WIN

Source: NASCAR Media Relations
Date: 06/24/2001

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 23, 2001) – Gary Lewis won his first career road course event on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring by capturing the George Morlan Plumbing 100 at Portland International Raceway. Bud Pole Award winner, Steve Hodge, was second followed by Joe Benedetti in third. Chris Hart and Jeff Jefferson rounded out the top-5.

Hodge took the lead from John Zaretzke on lap two, and then set out on a blistering pace over the next 15 laps. On lap 16, John Bender made contact with Hodge in the chicane, causing a cut left front tire on Hodge’s Con Met Chevrolet.

Lewis steered The Sign Factory USA Pontiac to the lead passed the ill-handling Hodge on lap 18. Hodge was forced to pit on lap 19 for repairs. After a tire change, he exited pit road at the tail end of the lead lap.

Current Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader, Kevin Hamlin, climbed as high as third place in the running order on lap 12. By lap 23, Hamlin had fallen back to 13th place with transmission problems. Hamlin nursed the American Dream Motorsports Chevrolet through the remaining 27 laps and came home with a 13th place finish.

Lewis became only the second Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series driver to win an event on the 1.969-mile road course at Portland International Raceway. In 2000, John Zaretzke won the June PIR race. Prior to that, only drivers from other divisions of NASCAR had found victory lane at the famed Portland, Ore. road course.

Lewis led 22-laps around the nearly two-mile road course to earn his second consecutive Gatorade Front Runner Award. It was not easy for the Bothell, Wash. native. Prior to Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, Lewis lost the power steering in his Pontiac.

The Sign Factory USA crew worked throughout Saturday to make repairs to the unit, but early in the event, Lewis lost the power steering again. He showed no signs of trouble to his competitors in route to his 21st career victory on the series.

Hodge worked his way back to ninth place by lap 23, and then took second place by lap 32. He would get no closer than seven seconds on Lewis in the closing laps while holding back a hard-charging Joe Benedetti. The third place finish was Benedetti’s third consecutive top-3 run, moving him to second place in the 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points standings. The Auburn, Wash. native sits 50 points behind Hamlin as the series approaches the halfway point of the season.

Lewis joined Hamlin and Ron Eaton as the only race winners of the 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series season. Each driver has two wins through the first six events.

“This is the biggest race I’ve wanted to win in so long,” Lewis said. “We’ve come close, but we’ve also had a lot of bad luck here as well.”

“I did a lot of praying there at the end. The Sign Factory team did an awesome job. It was a real handful without the power steering,” Lewis said. “If we had gone green flag the whole race I’m sure it would have been a big handful.”

“I got together with the 18 car in turn No. 9 as I was trying to put him a lap down,” Hodge said.

“I went a couple of laps after that and I noticed that the car was getting tight, we got a yellow and while I was scrubbing the tires, I knew we had a tire going down. I was 50-seconds behind Lewis when I got back on the track so I knew we were going to need a break to get back up there,” Hodge added.

Benedetti captured his second straight podium finish at Portland International Raceway. The RaceCals Pontiac team took the accomplishment in stride after struggling to find the proper set-up according to Benedetti.

“There were some things messed up with the car in practice and qualifying. We made some changes and I went slower, so I just had to learn to drive it again. Anytime you can finish third to Steve Hodge and Gary Lewis on a road course is a good deal,” Benedetti said.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

Jeff Jefferson drove a Chevrolet owned by Rick Allison and sponsored by D&G Bodyworks of Yakima, Wash. It was the Naches, Wash. residents first run ever on the Portland International Raceway facility. Jefferson qualified sixth, fell back to 10th place on lap 23, then charged forward over the final 17-laps to earn the top-5 finish.

Rick Suran and the Eastside Paving Pontiac team earned a career best 10th place finish at PIR. The Estacada, Ore. native was running fourth on the final lap before contact with a lapped car in the chicane sent him back six positions. The finish moved Suran to 13th place in the season points standings.

Greg Bennett and his Toyz Digital Graphics Chevrolet team grabbed a seventh place finish at the George Morlan Plumbing 100. The top-10 run was Bennett’s career best finish on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series. The Monroe, Wash. resident is 16th in the season points standings at the halfway mark of the 2001 campaign.

Wes Rhodes used a provisional to make the field after breaking a rear-end assembly during practice for the George Morlan Plumbing 100 at Portland International Raceway. Rhodes guided the Lumberman’s/Knight Fire Protection Chevrolet through the field from his 26th starting position to as high as eighth place on lap 23 before settling for 12th place, the last car on the lead lap.

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