ASA NorthWest Late Model Tour

SNOHOMISH, Wash. (February 10, 2010)–Four-time late model touring champion, Gary Lewis, has been a part of many great events on and off the race track. From a trip to support our troops in the Middle East to inaugural victories in the Pacific Northwest, the defending ASA Northwest Late Model Tour champion cherishes every moment.

When the opportunity presented itself for the 39-year old Snohomish, Wash. native to travel to South Africa for the inaugural ASA Transcontinental Series Free State 500 Lewis seized the moment, found a car owner in Dick Midgley who provided an outstanding Chevrolet Monte Carlo and set out to make history.

The outcome was more then words could describe, Lewis said.

‘There were way too many cool things to list as a single favorite moment. We met many new friends, I got to get onto a 1.5-mile track, which I’ve been dying to do and we were racing in a (NASCAR Sprint) Cup-style race car.

“We had a great time working with the Midgley Motorsports team and look forward to racing with them in the future. It was really cool being able to bring my family, my race team which are some of my best friends and have the opportunity to share our South Africa experiences together.”

Lewis has had an unbelievable ability to adapt to new racing facilities but the Free State 1.5-mile oval was a test more demanding then any faced in the past, he explained.

“It doesn’t really compare to anything that I have done in the past but I will tell you that it fit my driving style very well. We had one of the fastest cars (including several of the fastest laps turned in practice sessions) and feel that we could have easily won that race if our motor had not laid down for a few laps there at the end.”

PORTLAND, Ore. (February 3, 2010)-Joey Tanner brought a brand new Port City chassis to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown Super Late Model event last weekend and despite some damage suffered during a mid-race restart, the former dirt late model front runner was able to learn valuable information in preparation for a potential 2010 ASA Northwest Late Model Tour championship.

Tanner’s team, led by crew chief BJ Tidrick, had the International Parking Management Chevrolet Impala dialed in from the start of last Thursday’s practice sessions and continued to make improvements throughout the two-day event.

“(We posted a top-5 qualifying effort on the new car which) says a lot about my guys,” Tanner said. “To have a car just come out of the box fast like ours is tough to accomplish but my guys and BJ made it happen.”

While some chassis work is ahead for the Tidrick’s Quality Transmissions crew to get the car right for the March NWLMT opener, Tanner is confident that everything will be just fine when it rolls out at Evergreen Speedway.

“We made several changes to the car while we were in Irwindale to fit the NASCAR rules because we brought (the car) set for ASA. It’s going to take a bit of work to get it back plus the damage from our wreck will need to
be addressed,” the Oregon native said. “I have total confidence that the team will have this Impala ready to rock and we’ll be fast out of the trailer once again.”

Having the chance to debut a new race car and get settled back into a racing groove was one of many highlights of the Irwindale weekend, Tanner added.

“One very important thing we were able to take away from Irwindale was being on the track and getting comfortable with how this car drives. I have been able to adapt pretty quick to our new Jody’s Chevrolet so we didn’t make any aggressive changes. One thing’s for sure; I definitely got adjusted to our new car which may not be good news for the Northwest drivers this season.”

1/31/2010 -  It was a historical day at Phakisa Freeway Circuit in Welkom, Free State South Africa as John Mickel from the United Kingdom won the first ever ASA Transcontinental Series Free State 500 in front of an appreciative crowd.  
 

Geoff Bodine had a four-second lead with three laps to go as it appears he ran out of fuel handing the lead over to Toni McCray.  With two laps to go, Mickel would get past McCray for the lead and go on to win the race.

More details to come!!!!

Pos    No.    Name   
1    09    John Mickel    207   
2    90    Toni McCray    207  
3    96    Marc Davis    207   
4    08    Rick McCray    207   
5    900    Johan Spies    207   
6    73    Gary Lewis    207   
7    19    Tiffany Daniels    207   
8    55    Greg Barnhart    206   
9    8    Geoff Bodine    206  
10    68    Danie Correia    204   
11    20    Gugu Zulu    202   
12    97    Mark Ebert    202  
13    41    Ron Norman    198  
14    98    Shaun Richardson    176   
15    22    Johan Cronje    155   
16    F22    Russ Blakeley    128  
17    61    Tim Olson    115  
18    00    Johan Coetzer    88   
19    F66    Steve Carlson    54   
20    52    Chris Wimmer    38   
21    11    Jaco Correia    28   
22    80    Mark Shaffer    28  
23    85    Lance Fenton    12   
24    88    Don Uhlir 1