TRANS AM: Michael Lewis Takes Over Points Lead with a Second Place at Road America
14 July 1999
(July 13, 1999) - Elkhart Lake, WI - In the fifth race of the BFGoodrich Trans-Am Series, AmeriSuites #12 Ford Mustang driver, Michael Lewis finished in second place by less than one second (0.719) behind Paul Gentilozzi. Lewis started from the outside of row one in his eleventh appearance in the Fast Five Qualifying and his second front row start this season. His consistent finishes at the front and completion of every race lap to date has placed Lewis in first place in the championship battle with a seven point lead over second place Paul Gentilozzi."Road America is the type of track these Trans-Am cars were made for" stated Lewis "I wish that I had the last laps to do over again, I would have done a couple of things different and tried something to get by Paul." Lewis continued "Under braking, the car was great and I was able to make-up ground on Paul. I was close enough to attack a couple of times. Towards the end, Paul picked it up and I just couldn’t get by him."
"My crew and I tested just prior to arriving at Road America and we had to make very few adjustments to the car all weekend. This was my first outing on the BFGoodrich hard compound tires and I was surprised how much traction and endurance they provided."
"Michael did a fantastic job today. Team AmeriSuites second on the podium and now first in Championship points is a great place to be five races into the series" commented Jon Lewis, CEO, American Spirit Racing. "I can’t say enough about Michael and the crew, they did a great job!"
In the five series races completed to date, Michael Lewis has three podium finishes consisting of one second and two third place finishes; four Fast Five Qualifying appearances; and the only driver to finish each of the first five races. His achievements reflect the stepped up commitment to testing which has strengthened the performances of both the crew and driver. He recognizes the committed efforts of Team Manager, David Steele; Crew Chief, Joe Geldert; Lead Fabricator, Ted Stevenson and Race Engineer Buddy Fey.
Additionally, when not wearing his racing helmet, Michael Lewis wears hat of Team/Car owner of teammate, Tomy Drissi’s #15 Drissi Advertising Ford Mustang Cobra. Drissi, a rookie, is currently tenth in the overall standings and second in "Rookie of the Year" contention.
AmeriSuites, America's Affordable All-Suite Hotels, have 97 locations across 31 states providing comfortable accommodations with separate living and sleeping areas with a wide array of amenities. Each guest suite is appointed with a living room with 26" remote stereo TV, video cassette player and well-lighted work desk with two phones for the business traveler; kitchen/wet bar area with refrigerator and microwave oven. Complimentary breakfast buffets, fitness center, meeting space and heated indoor or outdoor pools round out the facilities. AmeriSuites toll-free reservation number is (800) 833-1516 or visit www.amerisuites.com for more information. The BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series resumes competition with Round Six at Road Atlanta on July 25.
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