Lewis Continues Mastery Of Road Courses With Pacific Raceway Victory
Gary Lewis picked up where he left off one year ago at Pacific Raceway with another dominating road course victory on the ASA Northwest Late Model Tour.
Courtesy: Scott Ellsworth, ASA NWLMT Media Relations
Marysville, WA (June 29, 2009): The
iRacing.com American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour was at
Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington for the 2nd annual NOS
Energy Drink ‘Road Course Challenge’ on Sunday June 28. For the second
year in a row Gary Lewis (Snohomish, WA) won. Also repeating in second
was Jason Fraser (Snohomish, WA). First ever road race for third place
Brent Harris went better than anticipated by that team.
The only thing different than last year’s
top two finish, was the weather. A bright warm sunny day compared to
the wet and darkness of a year ago. Lewis’ weekend matched the great
weather. Right out of the trailer they were the fastest there. Proving
it i
n Saturday evenings qualifying with a blistering 1:23.034 lap around
the 2.25-mile road course. Lewis started the 40-lap feature in the 9th
position and by lap 7 was in the lead for good.
There was a break at lap 25 where both Lewis
and Fraser made changes to their cars for what was a 10-lap shootout.
The race was ended five laps short due to a curfew at Pacific Raceways.
When they started the second portion Lewis was not the same speedy self
as in the first portion. Fraser kept the pressure on to no avail as
Lewis thwarted every attempt. The last turn as they headed to the
checkers Lewis made his only mistake of the weekend. Almost losing
control on the exit, Lewis had it sideways as Fraser made one last
effort but it fell short as Lewis straightened out and won by :0.364
seconds.
“We changed tires around during the break
because I blistered a rear tire and we moved it the other side. My car
was not good in the last laps and Fraser kept me busy”, said Lewis as
he emerged from his car. When asked why he was so much better on the
road courses than other drivers Lewis remarked, “I just love racing on
the road courses and I have learned to race the tracks, it is so much
fun to come here (Pacific Raceways).”
Fraser a bit dejected as he got out of his
car stated, “I congratulate Gary he is so tough on the road course. We
were penalized for not getting back out for the last segment on time.
We discovered a bent suspension piece and had to repair it, I had hit a
curbing in the first part of the race.” Continuing Fraser went on to
say, “We were getting stronger at the end but just ran out of time.”
Conversely Harris was elated with a podium
finish. When asked if they expected this high a finish he said, “No,
all we wanted to do was finish.”
Next up for the iRacing.com ASA Northwest
Late Model Tour is a trip to Monroe, Washington for the Washington 500
at Evergreen Speedway. On Saturday July 25 the best Super Late Model
Tour racers will take on the monster 5/8-mile oval for 175-laps.
Official Finish:
iRacing.com ASA Northwest Late Model Tour
NOS Energy Drink ‘Road Course Challenge’
Pacific Raceways (2.25-mile road course), Kent, WA
Gary Lewis (Snohomish, WA) 1:23.034 IPM (International Parking Management) ‘Quick Qualifier Award’
35-lap Feature:
Finish Pos – Laps Competed – Name - Hometown
1. 35 Gary Lewis Snohomish, WA
2. 35 Jason Fraser Snohomish, WA
3. 35 Brent Harris E. Wenatchee, WA
4. 35 Pete Harding Surrey, B.C.
5. 35 Kelly Mann Monroe, WA
6. 35 Jeff Holden Everett, WA
7. 35 Jason Fiorito Mercer Island, WA
8. 35 Alan Cress Albany, OR
9. 35 Joe McNeil Sumner, WA
10. 35 Ken Sleveland Spanaway, WA
11. 34 Joey Tanner Portland, OR
12. 33 Amanda MacDonald Ephrata, WA
13. 31 Brad Stanwood Portland, OR
14. 29 Mark Sundberg Seattle, WA
15. 15 Mike Longton Moxee, WA
16. 12 Harold Raczynski Duvall, WA
17. 7 Don Vickery Seattle, WA
18. 6 Ed Thomsen Pasco, WA
19. DNS Jody Tanner Portland, OR
20. DNS Shane Biles Woodinville, WA
