Gary Lewis to Race at Martinsville for Travis Sharpe
SNOHOMISH, WA :: Gary Lewis is the Philip Morris of the West Coast. The 45-year-old veteran has six championships to his name across various different series and dozens of wins to his name. Now, he’s coming out East for the first time to compete in the Martinsville DuPont Credit Union (MDCU) 300 at Martinsville Speedway in October.
Lewis, 45, scored 35 wins in the old NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division (34 of those in the Northwest), has won championships in ARCA West, ASA Northwest and NASCAR Northwest. He also scored four consecutive wins in the prestigious Montana 200 (2007-2010) and three consecutive wins in the Idaho 200 (2007-2009).
Lewis is excited about heading east and racing at a track he’s always dreamed of competing at.
“I’m totally pumped and excited,” Lewis said. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about Travis Sharpe and his cars and how he prepared and the work put in to it. I’ve always seen Martinsville watching NASCAR there. I’ve always dreamed of running that track. I’m excited about our chances. I wish there was a little more practice than two half hour sessions and a test day will help so there will be knowledge my team has coming in. Hopefully we’ll adapt quick and feel comfortable pretty soon.”
Lewis is excited about racing against names like Lee Pulliam, Philip Morris, Peyton Sellers and the rest of the stars from the Southeast region.
“I think it’s awesome,” Lewis said about racing those competitors. “I’m always up for the challenge. What we’ve been doing lately is running all the big races on the west coast with most competition, best talent, car counts and all that. I think we’re prepared and can give them a run for their money.”
Lewis will be racing for Travis Sharpe and Racing Dynamiks. Sharpe is already fielding another car which will be driven by West Coast standout Braeden Havens. Lewis expects to work well with Havens during the weekend.
“I’m sure we’ll bounce things off each other during the weekend. I’m sure we’ll do that. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. I usually help Braeden quite a bit on the west coast stuff so I think he might have a little more gain than us. He’s a great kid and it’s a pleasure to run with him.”
As for how confident he is, Lewis feels he should be able to contend.
“I don’t have any reason why we couldn’t contend,” Lewis remarked. “I’ve watched a lot races there and it’s a dream come true to make the race and I’m excited to put everything together with Travis and I’m looking forward to the race.”
