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ENNIS, Texas - While Oklahoman drag racer Brandon Lewis can't exactly call a race in Texas his 'home race,' without alienating many of his fellow statesmen who bleed Sooner Red, this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol at the Texas Motorplex is the closest national event to home for the Broken Arrow, Okla., based team. After making the switch to NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster from Top Alcohol Funny Car at midseason, the 21 year old Lewis has had an up and down year including two national event finals. With former sponsor ATTA Tanks returning for a one race deal this weekend, Lewis and team hope to rebound for their first win close to home.
Lewis, who purchased the 2005 World Championship winning car from Tom Conway, who serves as the team's Tuning Consultant, has been plagued by a mysterious 'bug' the team has diligently tried to solve. It's the kind of problem that could give the 21 year old driver gray hair. Despite drawing the team into a short slump, Lewis and his team are confident they will get to the bottom of the problem and return to the top of the pack soon.
"We've tore the car down to a bare chassis and started over again," said Lewis. "We've replaced parts, checked parts and serviced parts. We're going to try a few new things to see if we can get it to respond. All the ignition has checked ok. If it doesn't respond on the first run in Dallas, we have another motor in the trailer that ran well for us earlier in the year we'll put back into the car to see if the car just likes that motor better. We will keep on changing things until we eliminate the problem. With as much as we've changed already, there isn't much more left, so hopefully it will be sooner than later."
Lewis also hopes to jump back to his early season form for this weekend's sponsor ATTA Tanks, who manufacture aluminum auxiliary fuel tanks for nearly any kind of truck or trailer application.
"ATTA sponsored us on our Funny Car last year," stated Lewis. "Gene Hackett and the guys over there have come back on board for a one race deal, and we'll see where it goes from there. We're very pleased to have them on board to join our associate sponsors Lucas Oil, Unifirst and A-1 Auto Body. ATTA is just down the road in Mansfield, Texas, so they'll have quite a few people on hand, and since this is the closest race to home for us, we'll have close to 20 of our own guests. We're really looking forward to it, and if we can pull off a win, they're will be one hell of a party!"
Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars, with two sessions followed by one final session Saturday afternoon. Eliminations begin with round one Saturday evening and conclude the event on Sunday.
For more information on Brandon "the Kid" Lewis, log on the team's site at Brandon The Kid - Intro
For more information on the team's marketing partner's fine products and services, visit the websites below:
Aluminum Tank & Truck Accessories Inc. - For all of your auxiliary aluminum tank needs!
Lucas Oil - Keep that engine alive with Lucas Oil Products!
UniFirst Corporation - Uniforms That Enhance Your Business Image - Uniforms that enhance your business image!
Photo courtesy Roger Richards, CompetitionPlus.com
Lewis hoping to rebound close to home in Texas
ENNIS, Texas - While Oklahoman drag racer Brandon Lewis can't exactly call a race in Texas his 'home race,' without alienating many of his fellow statesmen who bleed Sooner Red, this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol at the Texas Motorplex is the closest national event to home for the Broken Arrow, Okla., based team. After making the switch to NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster from Top Alcohol Funny Car at midseason, the 21 year old Lewis has had an up and down year including two national event finals. With former sponsor ATTA Tanks returning for a one race deal this weekend, Lewis and team hope to rebound for their first win close to home.
Lewis, who purchased the 2005 World Championship winning car from Tom Conway, who serves as the team's Tuning Consultant, has been plagued by a mysterious 'bug' the team has diligently tried to solve. It's the kind of problem that could give the 21 year old driver gray hair. Despite drawing the team into a short slump, Lewis and his team are confident they will get to the bottom of the problem and return to the top of the pack soon.
"We've tore the car down to a bare chassis and started over again," said Lewis. "We've replaced parts, checked parts and serviced parts. We're going to try a few new things to see if we can get it to respond. All the ignition has checked ok. If it doesn't respond on the first run in Dallas, we have another motor in the trailer that ran well for us earlier in the year we'll put back into the car to see if the car just likes that motor better. We will keep on changing things until we eliminate the problem. With as much as we've changed already, there isn't much more left, so hopefully it will be sooner than later."
Lewis also hopes to jump back to his early season form for this weekend's sponsor ATTA Tanks, who manufacture aluminum auxiliary fuel tanks for nearly any kind of truck or trailer application.
"ATTA sponsored us on our Funny Car last year," stated Lewis. "Gene Hackett and the guys over there have come back on board for a one race deal, and we'll see where it goes from there. We're very pleased to have them on board to join our associate sponsors Lucas Oil, Unifirst and A-1 Auto Body. ATTA is just down the road in Mansfield, Texas, so they'll have quite a few people on hand, and since this is the closest race to home for us, we'll have close to 20 of our own guests. We're really looking forward to it, and if we can pull off a win, they're will be one hell of a party!"
Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars, with two sessions followed by one final session Saturday afternoon. Eliminations begin with round one Saturday evening and conclude the event on Sunday.
For more information on Brandon "the Kid" Lewis, log on the team's site at Brandon The Kid - Intro
For more information on the team's marketing partner's fine products and services, visit the websites below:
Aluminum Tank & Truck Accessories Inc. - For all of your auxiliary aluminum tank needs!
Lucas Oil - Keep that engine alive with Lucas Oil Products!
UniFirst Corporation - Uniforms That Enhance Your Business Image - Uniforms that enhance your business image!
Photo courtesy Roger Richards, CompetitionPlus.com
