LEWIS EXCITED TO COMPETE IN HIS FIRST COORS LIGHT MONTANA 200

Source: Lewis Racing/Doug Pace
Date: 07/18/2007

With only the Touring-type chassis in their inventory, Lewis felt that he might not have been as competitive as he would have liked and maintained the commitment to win championships on the now defunct NASCAR series.

Now that the team has added a chassis legal for the ARCA West Late Model Challenge Series and more akin to the rules of the 200, the Bothell, WA native has entered the event for the first time in his career.

Winning the Montana 200 would be a big accomplishment to add to an already stellar career, Lewis said.

“We have wanted to race this event for so long but the problem was that we only had the tour type cars,” he confirmed. “This year it’s finally a different story with the addition of our new Victory Circle late model chassis and we’re very excited to be able to compete in this event for the first time. To win it would be huge for our Longacre Racing Products race team.”

Lewis rides into Montana with two consecutive victories and three overall on the Late Model Challenge Series including the Firecracker 125 held June 30 in Kalispell. The momentum is an edge to running for a Montana 200 crown, he noted.

“Heck ya winning the (Firecracker) 125 should help us for this event. We are going to be using a Hoosier tire we’ve never used before but our set-ups should be close right out of the box.”

The key to having a good run in the 200 is two-laps of qualifying on Friday evening, Lewis added.

“Qualifying is very important at any race; just times that by 10 for the 200 and that’s how big it is for this weekend. Starting in a good spot is a big thing for this team and our run in Montana coming up.”

Taking a break from the season-long chase of an LMCS championship to venture back to Montana would seem to create the potential for a relaxing weekend of racing.

Not so, Lewis indicated.

“We race every event we enter the Leary Shock Shop Chevrolet to win. That takes hard work, determination and dedication to that goal. We may take some time while we’re over there to relax, I really enjoy the area, but, we are going out there to win.”

At the completion of this weekend’s race, the Eibach Springs crew will have long three long-haul weekends in four weeks, something that Lewis appreciates heading into the Montana 200.

“We have had our ups and downs in the pits this year. It’s been tough at times with only two or three people able to work on the ARP Bodies Monte Carlo at the track at times. We have some hard working veterans of racing and then we have a couple in training that have been working just as hard for this team in recent weeks.

“It’s so tough to gather our crew together sometimes since everyone volunteers their time and has a day job on top of that to pay the bills for their families. Because of that not all of our guys have been able to make it to these long distance races from their homes but we have made it work for two straight wins and we’re looking forward to adding a third straight victory and our first ever 200.”

Practice for the 17th Annual Coors Light Montana 200 gets underway on Thursday with qualifying Friday and the 200-lap showdown on Saturday, July 21. To learn more about the Montana 200 log onto www.montanaracewaypark.com or visit www.garylewisracing.com

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