Rolex 24 at Daytona

SHANE SHOTS- NOTES ON SHANE LEWIS

43 rd Annual Rolex 24 At Daytona - Daytona International Speedway
No.3 OZEXE/ PAP-PARTS Cegwa Sport-Southard Motorsports Lexus-FABCAR Daytona Prototype

born: August 8; Lancaster , Calif.
current residence: Jupiter, Fla.
height/ weight: 6' / 160 lbs.
wife: Crystal
other interests: scuba diving, boating and riding motorcycles.
web site: www.shanelewis.com
helmet: blue and white with a large, red 'S' outlined in black on each side

major accomplishments:
championships: double Formula Ford and Formula Ford Festival titles

grand-am success: 1 Rolex Series class win, 3 Rolex Series podiums, two Grand-Am Cup wins

endurance races: Rolex 24 of Daytona ('98 - '02, '04), 24 Hours of Le Mans ('99-'00, '03), 12 Hours of Sebring ('97-'98, '00-'03),  Petit Le Mans ('98-'01, '03), 24 Hours of Nürburgring ('04)

honors: 1998 Professional Sports Car Racing Rising Star Award winner, test driver for author Don Alexander's book Performance Handling for the 90's

20-24
Shane Lewis reaches a career milestone at this weekend's Rolex 24 At Daytona. Saturday's start in the No. 3 OZEXE/ PAP-PARTS Cegwa Sport-Southard Motorsports Lexus-FABCAR Daytona Prototype will be Lewis' 20 th career 24 Hour event. In that time Lewis has three class wins and two overall victories in 24 hour races. Saturday will be Lewis' eighth Rolex 24, his second in a Daytona Prototype as the lead driver for Southard Motorsports. His most recent 24 hour event was his debut at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring where he raced a Porsche 911 to third in class (N-GT) and 19 th overall. Over 200 cars were entered in that class German event. He has three starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans leading the GT class in 2003 and piloting a prototype for the Riley European factory team in his rookie season there in 1999.

the point
The primary focus of the weekend for Lewis and Southard Motorsports is the generation of points, both driver and team, towards the season championship. While Lewis and the team will work hard for the best results, they are aware that the current package is not completely competitive with the frontrunners. However, with the newly delivered Riley chassis being outfitted with the BMW powerplant in the Southard shop in Powell , Ohio , Lewis's hopes are high for the season starting with Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) in March. In a full team effort, new team driver Darius Grala entered his FABCAR chassis with a Lexus engine for the Rolex 24 to help the team earn markers at the season-opening event. Through the partnership with Southard Lewis was named as lead driver for the Cegwa-Sport team this weekend- a role that he will hold for Southard the remainder of the season. The points generated at this weekend's Rolex 24 will assist the No. 3 BMW-powered Riley in the Rolex at the end of the season.

a set-up
Shane Lewis is recognized as one of the sports' best development drivers. His reputation is not lost on his competition this weekend. Since late last season Lewis h as been the lead testing driver for the Ranch 74 Lexus-Riley of Robinson Racing. Lewis tested multiple times for Robinson at Homestead-Miami and at the Daytona Rolex Series Test Days in early January. Before the 74 car and his own Southard mount, he successfully raced and developed cars for Riley & Scott Europe, Pilbeam Racing America, Mosler Automotive, Saleen, BMW, MCR, MINI and in Team Cascadia's LMP Lola. He has also been the lead development driver for teams racing Ferraris, Callaways, Corvettes and more. As an instructor, Lewis has used his skills to train the United States Secret Service, military, political and religious leaders.

PR Contact:
Contact: Tom Moore, Shane Lewis Public Relations
Tom@DarkhorseCom.com