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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lewis seeks 200 repeat

Doug Pace Correspondent

Stateline Speedway’s biggest event of the season, the Idaho 200, arrives this weekend with area stock car fans gearing up for new twists and old favorites.

Defending champion Gary Lewis will be out to make history as the only late model driver to sweep the Montana and Idaho 200s two straight years. The Snohomish, Wash., driver knows he’ll have his work cut out for him when he unloads Sunday morning for practice.

“This will be no easy task by any means,” Lewis said. “You will have the best drivers from many different racing series and several states that will be out to do their best. We plan to come to the (Idaho) 200 with our Sunbelt Rentals Chevrolet well prepared. The Northwest has some great drivers and we’re hoping to represent ourselves very well this weekend.”

Unlike drivers taking part in Friday’s INSSA race or Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Challenge Series main event, Lewis will have little practice time to dial his race car in for Sunday afternoon’s 200-lap event.

“We plan to only run the 200 on Sunday and so far it’s been hard to find out how much practice we’re really going to get to prepare,” Lewis said. “If we don’t get that much it could create some challenges for getting our car set up, but that’s why we’re coming. I want to race against the best with the biggest challenge, because that’s what makes our team and me as a driver stronger.”

Lewis is on a tremendous hot streak in Northwest late model racing over the last two full seasons. Since 2006 his race team has 19 victories, including five straight wins in 2008. Most drivers know the level of competition rises with Lewis in the field.

INSSA points leader David Garber is one of those drivers who will be watching for Lewis.

“The big one I worry about at any race he’s there is Gary Lewis,” said the driver of the Pend Oreille Mechanical Chevrolet. “He finds a way to pull something out of the hat and gets a victory.”

Garber has raced Lewis on two occasions this season with top-10 finishes both times, including two weeks ago in the Montana 200. This weekend the Spokane native plans to be the one holding the winner’s trophy at his home track.

“That’s our hope, at least,” Garber said. “Our car has been real good at Stateline this year and I think that will help us. The biggest thing we need to do Sunday, that we haven’t done the last two times we’ve raced against (Lewis), is earn a better starting position. We can do that (today) with a good run in the INSSA race as we try to be one of the top-six finishers locked into Sunday’s race.”

Should Garber earn a strong starting position, he hopes Lewis’ plan of running just Sunday comes back to haunt him. If Lewis qualifies off the pace, it could be a benefit to Garber and others, he said.

“Having Lewis behind me is important, but it is 200 laps so it will be a long race,” he said.

The Rocky Mountain Challenge Series has a unique racing format.

The entire starting field is inverted with the fastest qualifier starting last. Penalties in points and payout are in place to insure that a team does not hold back in its qualifying run.

“I know our format and style of racing will be different for fans and the competitors (at Stateline), but I do know they will enjoy our show,” said Mike Minegar, Rocky Mountain Challenge Series president.

The series places a premium on passing and giving the fans an entertaining race.

Weekend coverage of the Idaho 200 can be found in Monday’s sports section of The Spokesman-Review and results will be posted for today and Saturday at www.raceidaho.com For tickets and other information, call (208) 773-5019.