Shane Lewis Returns to Phoenix Optimistic For Daytona Prototype Success

Shane Lewis Returns to Phoenix Optimistic For Daytona Prototype Success 
 
JUPITER, Fla., April 6, 2004 - Jupiter, Florida's Shane Lewis will
return to Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) this Saturday for the
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series' third round of 2004. Increasing
Lewis' usual optimism this weekend is the amount of progress that the
Steve Southard-owned team has made to No. 7 PAP Parts BMW-FABCAR since
the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in February. The white
BMW-powered FABCAR made substantial headway with Lewis behind the wheel
at the most recent Rolex Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS)
breaking into the top-five of competition. With further refinements made
between the two events, Phoenix could be the meeting point of
preparation, hard work and luck for Lewis and the PAP Parts/ Southard
Motorsports team. 
 
Lewis, lead driver at Southard Motorsports, lived in Phoenix for several
years before moving to Florida. He considers the famous desert facility
one of his favorites on the circuit. He has two victories on the
1.5-mile, 11-turn track including an overall victory in the 2001
Grand-Am Cup event and has regularly shined there. 
 
Shane Lewis, 
about racing the BMW-FABCAR at Phoenix: "I've had a lot of success in
Phoenix. I have won a couple of races there. It's a driver's track but,
it takes more than just the driver. Because the track is so short and
lap times are so quick, pit stops are real important. The crew, the
setup and driver skill all have to be combined to make a winning package
everywhere we go, but at Phoenix it is all magnified. Every piece has to
be in place to be successful at PIR." 
 
about the anticipated high temperatures: "The heat is going to play a
factor even though it's a night race. It's going to be hot inside these
Daytona Prototypes. The crew keeps telling me it's a dry heat though. I
keep asking them; 'you mean like a sauna?'."
 
about the progress being made at Southard Motorsports: "I'm really
excited about the future here at Southard Motorsports. Steve has really
spearheaded this program and gotten the entire crew focused on making
the improvements that we need. The entire PAP Parts crew is excited and
we are all working in the same direction right now. I believe that Miami
was a turning-point for our program. We were fast there. We want to be
the team that puts FABCAR and BMW back into victory lane."
 
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
six 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 Southard Motorsports, please visit www.pap-parts.com or
www.autoassets.com. 
 
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Digital images and bio available upon request.
Editors, please do not publish any contact information other than web
sites.  Thank you.
 
Contact: Tom Moore, Shane Lewis Racing: 615-599-7034 (office),
404-229-3703 (cell), tom@darkhorsecom.com