Shane Lewis Knocked-Out of Phoenix Top-Three

Shane Lewis Knocked-Out of Phoenix Top-Three
 
AVONDALE, Ariz., April 10, 2004 - Shane Lewis worked his No. 7
PAP-Parts/Southard Motorsports' BMW-FABCAR from tenth to third in the
early going of tonight's Grand American Rolex Series' Food City 250. The
one-time Phoenix-resident, now living in Jupiter, Fla., piloted his
Daytona Prototype around the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) road
course with precision. Through aggressive but calculated moves, Lewis
cut through the competition to the delight of the Phoenix crowd.
However, on a lap 47 re-start, while running third at the time, the
white BMW-powered entry was struck from the side by a competitor,
damaging the steering of the Steve Southard-owned FABCAR chassis beyond
immediate repair. The team retired in 36th position.
 
Shane Lewis: "I can't even tell you how disappointing this is. We
struggled this weekend but the PAP Parts guys just never gave up. We
really found it out there in the race. The car was running great. We
were cruising and we were still taking positions. We fought up to third
and then the 6 car just tried a move that was, I'll just say
'aggressive'. He hit us pretty hard and damaged the steering. That was
it. I'm just disappointed for the Southard Motorsports' crew. They've
been busting their tails and I had a good chance to repay them with a
top finish tonight and then to have someone else take us out like that
is pretty hard to take right now."
 
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.