Shane Lewis Makes Strong Debut for New Chassis

HOMESTEAD, Fla., March 5, 2005 - Shane Lewis came into today's Grand
American Rolex Sports Car Series' Grand Prix of Miami with a Riley
chassis that is new to the Southard Motorsports team. Not knowing the
particulars of the car in combination with the BMW V8 that powers it,
and no time to test, left many questions in the air for the Jupiter,
Fla. driver. However, by lap nine, Lewis was running in fifth-place
overall at the 2.3-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS). He kept the No.
3 PAP-Parts/ OZEXE Daytona Prototype (DP) in the top-five before handing
the driver's seat over to teammate Darius Grala (Poland). A pit stop and
driver change on lap 61 dropped the car to 11th, one lap down to the
leaders. Grala would take the checked flag on lap 109 in 12th position
overall. 

 

Lewis, known for his ability to develop racecars, showed his driving and
racing skill throughout the 250 mile event. He never fell off the lead
lap and was always challenging for position. Known for his quick starts,
Lewis swept passed several cars in dramatic fashion at the green flag.
By the end of lap three, the HMS Grand-Am Cup ST class track record
holder, had moved from his ninth-place qualifying spot to sixth. Never
falling below ninth- and then only due to his first pit stop for fuel
and tires- Lewis brought the red, white and blue sports car in for the
driver change in fifth place within sight of the leaders.

 

Lewis will have his next opportunity to give Southard Motorsports its
first Rolex Series podium at the Grand American 400 on the California
Speedway road course April 3rd. 

 

Shane Lewis: "Not only did I have a great race, I had fun. The best part
of the weekend for me was taking a car, fresh out of the box, paint
barely dry, to battling with the leaders. We had a strong performance, a
strong car and a team that was behind me the entire time. I'm really
looking forward to the rest of the season because I know we have a
package that we can develop and work with. Now our job is to bring this
car to the podium."