Scott Powersports’ Johnny Lewis earns career-best GNC
Twins finish with second place at Hagerstown Half-Mile
Athlete becomes the
first Kawasaki rider to ever make the
podium at an AMA Pro Flat Track Half-Mile race
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (July 12, 2011) –
It takes significant effort to put a professional racing program
together, let alone build a brand-new custom race bike. Last
season, Johnny
Lewis and Mike
Scott of Scott Powersports set out to develop a competitive AMA
Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship GNC Twins
race program using a Kawasaki Ninja 650 as a base. The ingenuity
and work paid off this past Saturday night, July 9, when Lewis
battled in the Hagerstown Half-Mile main, earning second place
on his Scott Powersports/Triple J Racing/DR.D Kawasaki.
The Hagerstown Half-Mile finish recorded two firsts in the
series’ history. While this marked the third podium for Lewis
this season, it was
his first GNC Twins podium. His previous best GNC Twins finish
was fifth last month in Michigan. The podium finish was a
victory of sorts after the extensive development work on the
Scott Powersports’ Kawasaki 650. Second, this is the first
podium for any Kawasaki rider – factory supported or privateer –
in an AMA Pro Flat Track Half-Mile race.
Fans packed the stands at the Hagerstown Half-Mile on Saturday
to watch America’s elite racers on the dirt oval. This was the
largest and loudest crowd since the opening round in Daytona.
Lewis reflected, “I have never heard that many fans cheer for me
as I walked my number 10 Kawasaki to the starting grid for the
main. It pumped me up for the race!”
Scott Powersports/Triple J Racing/DR.D’s Lewis went into the
first practice at the Hagerstown Half-Mile with his back-up bike
in order to look at various set-up options. He notched a top ten
lap time. In the second practice he went to his primary bike and
ran a similar time. After changing a few items, Lewis stayed
with his primary Pit Posse-sponsored race bike for the final
timed qualifying practice. He qualified in second and was
fourth-tenths of a second faster than the previous outing.
In front of the enthusiastic Hagerstown Half-Mile crowd, Lewis
was in the second heat race during the night program. He led for
a few laps on his Penske Racing-suspended Scott Powersports’
Kawasaki before Bryan Smith passed him off turn two. Due to the
different power band, Lewis’ bike was spinning harder than the
traditional H-D flat trackers; however that would be an
advantage later. At the checkers, he crossed in second earning a
direct transfer to the main and a spot in the six-rider Dash for
Cash.
More
adjustments were made to his Scott Powersports’ 650 flat tracker
when Lewis got to the line in his black custom AXO leathers for
the Dash for Cash. He noticed a solid difference. At the finish,
Lewis came across the line in third place.
Prior to the 25-lap main event, one more change was made to the
bike. Off the line, Lewis got a great start on his TRX-sponsored
Kawasaki and was running second behind the leader Kenny Coolbeth,
Jr. He remained in second fending off any challengers during the
first 18 laps. Then a crash by another rider red-flagged the
main event. On the restart, Lewis spun the tire due to an
overheating issue with his bike, moving back to fourth place. He
was determined more than ever to take advantage of his riding
style and the DR.D-sponsored Kawasaki 650 twin motor by battling
for a podium spot. In the final seven laps, Lewis moved past the
two riders and at the finish earned a hard-fought and
well-deserved second place.
“On the warm-up lap before the main I tested a spot on the track
I never rode,” said Lewis. “I realized it could be something to
try during the main. Possibly a faster line. With only eight
laps after the red flag restart in the main, I had to get by
Jake Johnson and Jared Mees quickly to have anything for
Coolbeth. So I tried my new line and it worked! It took me four
laps to completely get in the clear of Jake and Jared to go back
to my normal line. Once I did, Coolbeth had ten bike lengths on
me. I had nothing for him. But man, I was super-pumped
for the second place finish!”
Lewis continued, “This second place is like a win for us. The
fans were so pumped up too. Many of them hung out at our pit
area after the main checking out the bike and talking about the
race. I invited fans to take photos with my second place trophy.
This podium meant a lot to me, my wife Alysha, Mike and everyone
involved in our program – to see the fans be into our result
that much made it even sweeter!”
The Hagerstown Half-Mile finish moved Lewis up to sixth
in the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Championship standings with 116,
only three points from the top five.
Race fans head to the I-96 Half-Mile on Saturday, July 23 at
I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, round 11 of the AMA Pro
Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship. Stop by the
Scott Powersports pit to meet Lewis, watch flat track racing
videos from this season courtesy of TheFastandDirty.com, and
enter his JL10 Sponsor Giveaway drawing and get an autographed
poster. Then, watch him at the Michigan track on his Scott
Powersports/Triple J Racing/DR.D #10 Kawasaki 650 flat tracker
in his custom AXO leathers. Keep up with Lewis on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lewis10 and
his new website at www.lewis10.com.
About Johnny Lewis
Professional athlete Johnny Lewis of Coatesville, Pennsylvania
has been competing in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National
Championship (GNC) for the past two seasons, earning tenth
during the 2010 season. The 2010 season was his first full year
racing in both the Singles (short track and TT) and Twins
(half-mile and mile) events. Prior to flat track, Lewis raced in
the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship for three full seasons where
he was the youngest to ever win in the Unlimited Class. He won
many championships and races as an amateur dirt track
competitor. In 2011, the 21 year-old Lewis will race the number
10 Scott Powersports/DR.D/Pit Posse/Monster Energy Honda CRF450F
in AMA Pro Flat Track Singles events and the number 10 custom
Kawasaki Ninja 650 flat tracker in AMA Pro Flat Track Twins
races. Lewis would like to thank his sponsors that make the 2011
season possible: Scott Powersports, Dubach Racing Development
(DR.D), Saddleman, Triple J Racing, Pit Posse, Monster Energy.
AXO, Arai, Kicker Audio, K&N Filters, Matrix Concepts, Axis
Designs, Silkolene, Penske Racing Shocks, Pro Moto Billet,
Factory Box, Engine Ice, ALL Balls, Boyesen, TRX Fitness
Anywhere, Myers Trucking, Metro Racing, FLUIDYNE, Violation
Goggles, Victory Circle Graphics, Spider Grips,
ActionSportsTV.com, and MotoPR. Visit www.lewis10.com to
follow Johnny Lewis' season.
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