Shane Lewis Returns To Familiar Surrounds at Homestead

Shane Lewis Returns To Familiar Surroundings at Homestead
 
HOMESTEAD, Fla., March 25, 2004 - Shane Lewis did double duty in the
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway
(HMS) last month driving both a top-level Daytona Prototype class BMW
and a GT class Porsche. This weekend, the popular driver from Jupiter,
Florida will again make the short trip to South Florida for his final
hometown race until September and he will do it in familiar
surroundings. Lewis, who is the lead driver for the No. 7 Daytona
Prototype in the Rolex Series and in the No. 20 Nuzzo
Motorsports-Habberstad Mini MINI Cooper S in Grand-Am Cup, returns to
the MINI and the 2.3-mile road course for Sunday's Grand-Am Cup 250.
This is the same car that Lewis, a two-time Grand-Am Cup winner, drove
to top practice times in 2003 at HMS. Lewis' familiarity with the MINI,
the track, and his co-driver, Tony Nuzzo, bodes well for the team's
first Grand-Am Cup Sport Touring (ST) class victory. 
 
Shane Lewis:
about racing again at Homestead-Miami: "This is my home track. I have
spent a lot of time lapping this place in different cars and, although
it's all new this year, Homestead is still awesome. I'm warmed-up from
the Rolex Series race and I am ready to go this weekend. This should be
a lot of fun."
 
about racing the MINI Cooper S: "We didn't have the success at Daytona
that we worked for. So, Tony took some big moves to make things right
coming here this weekend. In fact, he made so many changes that it's
almost like we are starting a new program. I do know that the program is
really going to benefit from Tony's courage on these decisions. The
opportunity for long-range success of this program just got a lot
better. I really have to salute Tony for that. The MINI Cooper should be
pretty good around this track. It was good last year. We'll be down on
horsepower to some of the big boys in the class so the banking won't be
the greatest for us but once we get to the infield, the MINI is just the
perfect car for this track. Homestead-Miami is a great facility. It
isn't all about horsepower or all about the car. It's a place where the
driver can make a difference. It's a driver's track and the MINI really
shines on a driver's track."
 
Shane Lewis has been racing since 1989 with multiple race wins in
Grand-Am sanctioned events, in the IMSA Supercar and SCCA Pro Series and
the Historic SportsCar Series. He has starts in ARCA stock car
competition, at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and is a former Daytona
Endurance Champion and Formula Ford Festival winner. He has driven in
seven Rolex 24s and three 24 Hours of Le Mans- leading the race in GT
class in 2003. He has two overall and one class-victory at the 24 Hours
of Nelson Ledges. Lewis was honored as the 1998 Professional Sports Car
Racing Rising Star award winner. Lewis also serves as a test driver and
private coach.
 
For more on Shane Lewis please see www.shanelewis.com. To learn more
about Nuzzo Motorsports, please visit www.nuzzomotorsports.com. For more
on the MINI Cooper S, see www.miniusa.com.