Lewis Captures Elusive Road Course Win at PIR

Portland, OR (RFN) - Having the opportunity to sit down and talk racing with Gary Lewis- 3-time NASCAR champion- is both an honor, and based on his hectic schedule, quite an achievement.  After leaving the winner’s circle champagne-spraying celebration, I followed Gary and his crew back to his trailer to get his comments while the excitement was still fresh in mind.  After diverting to the back gate to tend to a throng of “Gary! Gary!“ chanting cub-scouts for an impromptu autograph session, I managed to gather some interesting technical details during our discussion, as well his very obvious passion for the sport we call NASCAR- and more specifically, his love for road course racing.

above: Gary Lewis in victory circle, celebrating his first career road course win at Portland International Raceway

Portland International Raceway, a 2 mile, 10-turn track located in Portland, Oregon is the host of this weekends’ one and only stop on the NASCAR Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series schedule that involves a road course- and has proven in the past to be a tough-luck track for the Gary Lewis Racing Enterprises team.  Exhibiting speeds in excess of 150 mph Saturday afternoon, Gary Lewis proved perseverance was the key as he collected his 21st career win on the series, landing him 3rd on the all-time career wins list, bettered only by series veterans Garrett Evans and Ron Eaton.

above: Gary waits for the European style road course qualifying session

RFN:   You won this event by a significant margin (over 8 seconds)- did you expect to dominate on such a difficult track?

GL:     I expected to run up front- we’ve been really strong at PIR in the past- but I didn’t expect to dominate for a number of reasons.  The Sign Factory Whoop-Ass Energy Drink Pontiac weight percentages were not ideal... for example you are allowed to be as low as 52% on the left side and we could only get her down to 53.3%.  In addition, we were running 50 pounds heavy, which is quite a bit of weight.  We arrived at the track weighing 2900 lbs. with 53.8% on the left side.  By adding the 50 lbs. to the right we were able to get the left-side percentages down to 53.3%, which still really had us at a deficit.  Because we were already crippled with the high left-side percentages, the extra right-side weight robbed us of precious horsepower we desperately needed on the straights... but we felt that getting the weight percentages closer to what we wanted would make the #73 handle better through the turns and was well worth the sacrifice.  [RFN note: 50 lbs. is a substantial amount of weight relative to the performance of a race car.  So much so, that it is commonly used as the standard amount NASCAR assess to penalize racers who may have some sort of other advantage over other competitors, for example; a car that is not in compliance with other technical guidelines- i.e. not fitting the template].

RFN:   You said you have run strongly in the past at PIR- tell me about your previous experiences with road course racing.

GL:     Well, we have run PIR several times before, but I have only had one podium finish until now.  Winning PIR or any road course for that matter, has always been one of my major goals in racing.  To me, being successful on the road course really proves your capability as a versatile driver.  I’ve chased this win for several years but been met with challenges along the way.  We’ve had circumstances as dire as being run over under yellow and several engine failures/fires as well as the mundane- like a simple spark plug wire popping off mid-race.  In each situation I was in contention for the win, which made it all the more frustrating for me and my team.  We’ve been able to taste the victory so many times and therefore we have wanted it all the more.  Going into this weekends’ event I was determined to make this race mine.

RFN:   It certainly sounds as if you placed a lot of importance on this event- so in terms of your other accomplishments, where does the PIR victory rank?

GL:     You know- the wins that really mean a lot to you are the ones where you are really tearing it up, passing each other back and forth... when things get really dicey and a little crazy and it’s anyone’s guess there for awhile.  When you have great competition and you really have to work hard and make that last lap move to take it- that is the BEST kind of race for the fans, and definitely the sweetest victory for a racer- at least it is for me.  I like to have to really haul the mail and work hard for it.  PIR is unique because racing on a road course at all is an accomplishment in itself.  I shift 13 times per lap at PIR so for this 40-lap event I had to shift 520 times!  I really had a lot of room to breathe towards the end on this one, although besides being at a weight disadvantage, I also drove the entire race with zero power steering- which was brutal.  We had no power steering for qualifying either- and I told the team I couldn’t drive 40 laps without it.  They changed the pump out- but since we only had 12 laps of practice I didn’t know until I pulled out for the parade laps that I was in trouble- and would have to muscle the entire race.  During an oval race it is tough work to drive without power steering, but on the road course it is insane.  Every muscle in my body was sore afterwards from trying to use my bodyweight to negotiate the turns!

RFN:     Practice for the NASCAR Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series race was really cut short by some yellow flags- how did that impact your team and your race program?

GL:     12 laps of practice is all we had, and unfortunately that really didn’t do us much good.  We did manage to start to establish a rhythm- sort of- but other than that we just didn‘t have time to make any changes during practice.  Luckily, we were able to fall back on our notes from previous years.  Most of us have converted our oval car to a road course car for the weekend and practice is desperately needed to shake the cars down- if for no other reason than safety- so with that in mind it definitely would be great to have more practice time in the future. 

RFN:   That sounds like you really had to earn this one the hard way.  Amazing that you had such an impressive margin of victory over 2nd place.  We saw a lot of attrition during this event- any speculation as to why?

GL:     For me, I love driving a road course.  I love banging through the gears, turning, shifting, constantly thinking and timing... everything has to be perfect, the timing is so critical- it really is an absolute mental challenge- and I love every minute of it.  Some drivers cannot stand the road course all the way around... but I look so forward to it- I have the time of my life out there.  I wish we could just drive road courses every week!  I drove Sears Point in ‘99 during a NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series event and was having a great run until another driver missed the caution flag and ended our chances.  I’d love to go back and have another shot at the win, it was a whole lot of fun!  You do have to be careful, though- there are so many things to be thinking about, remembering and doing at the same time.  You can go into it with the best equipment in the world- but that doesn’t do you any good at all if you aren’t timing your shifts correctly.  Your shifter is so very important- if there is any slop in it, during the process of shifting from one gear to another you can actually suck another gear and get locked up to where you have to pit and have it dislodged.  I think that is why winning this race really means so much to me- I think it is a great asset to anyone’s driving resume- it really shows versatility as a driver.  You absolutely cannot win a road course race unless you’ve got the entire package.

above: The Lewis Racing crew enters victory circle

RFN:   That brings to mind another question- this conversion you are talking about.  What kind of changes does it require to transform a car that only turns left to a car that can do both- and what kind of effort does that entail?

GL:     Well, it’s pretty involved.  You have to change all of the front suspension; control arms, A arms, bump steer, caster, camber... virtually every piece of front-end suspension is impacted because it must be adjusted or relocated.  The #73 team makes this all possible... we have to  really communicate well and coordinate our efforts quickly and completely the week before, during and the week after the race.  My team works so hard it is unreal.  This win is theirs.  My team in particular is just incredible... we really don’t have a lot to work with in terms of newer equipment, shop resources, etc.- but when that big name steps up to take advantage of the great publicity this teams’ record of wins and continuing success will bring them- we will be ready.  I especially have to thank my parents for all of their support while we try and bring some new advertisers into the picture.  It would be great to update things and have some back-up equipment on board.  I haven’t needed a very large crew, because each member adds so much to our team effort... and I know each of them has their own family and priorities- so their hard work and commitment to The Sign Factory Whoop-Ass Energy Drink Pontiac is greatly appreciated.  We also have a lot of ongoing support from fans, friends, family and other members of the racing community and it means so much to our team and our continued success.  Thank you all... and thank you Race-Fans.net for the great coverage of our sport.