Sprint car racing standout Michael Lewis will drive a third Richard Childress Racing (RCR) entry in the Oct. 18 Sams Town 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park. The 24-year-old Indianapolis native will drive the #29 America Online 9.0 Optimized/Special Operations Warrior Foundation Chevrolet Monte Carlo for RCR. He tested with RCR in September at Carroway (N.C.) Speedway and again earlier this month at Memphis Motorsports Park, his first laps in a stock car. Michael is a good young talent in open-wheel racing and, from what I was told about his tests at Memphis and Carroway, he should do a great job for us, said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. I just want him to go out there, relax and have some fun. Thats the only way hes going to perform at his best so theres no reason to put any extra pressure on him or for him to put any extra on himself. Lewis has built a solid career in USAC Midget and Sprint Car competition. He is a six-time USAC National Midget Series feature race winner, a five-time USAC Western States Sprint Car Series feature race winner and a three-time USAC National Sprint Car Series feature race winner. He is a three-time USAC Quarter Midget champion, the 1996 USAC Midget Series Rookie of the Year and the 1998 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year.
It is a huge opportunity for me, coming out of open-wheel racing, to run for a team like Richard Childress Racing, said Lewis. We had a good test at Memphis Motorsports Park so, hopefully, well go back and do all right come race day. I have been running in USAC Midgets and Sprint cars in the Silver Crown divisions since 1996 so this will be my first stock car race. I want to thank everyone at RCR and AOL for giving me this opportunity and well see what happens next.
The No. 29 AOL 9.0 Optimized/SOWF car will have the same paint scheme, though with a different number, that the fourth [#90] RCR NASCAR Winston Cup entry driven by John Andretti (he finished 15th) had at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the Sept. 28 EA Sports 500.
We appreciate the chance to again team up with RCR, this time to give a promising young driver like Michael Lewis a great opportunity as well as to continue to help raise awareness for the SOWF, said Richard Taylor, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing, America Online. It also provides a great opportunity to promote AOL in both the NASCAR Winston Cup and NASCAR Busch Series races this weekend.
The SOWF began in 1980 as the Col. Arthur D. Bull Simons Scholarship Fund and was created after the Iranian hostage rescue attempt to provide college educations for the 17 children that survived the nine men killed or incapacitated at Desert One. A tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, SOWF is dedicated to providing college scholarships and educational counseling to the children surviving Special Operations personnel killed as a result of an operational mission or training accident. These services are provided throughout the United States, or overseas, depending upon where the surviving children reside. To date, 455 children of fallen Special Operations personnel are involved in the program, of which 65 are currently attending college.(RCR PR)(10-15-2003)
