Ashton Lewis Jr.

Last updated
Ashton Lewis Jr.
Ashton Lewis 2005 (cropped).jpg
Lewis in 2005
Born (1972-01-22) January 22, 1972 (age 50)
Chesapeake, Virginia
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
226 races run over 11 years
Best finish8th (2004)
First race 1993 Fay's 150 (Watkins Glen)
Last race 2006 Ford 300 (Homestead)
WinsTop tens Poles
0371
Statistics current as of May 10, 2010.

Ashton Lewis Jr. (born January 22, 1972) [1] is an American former stock car racing driver who competed in 226 races over 11 seasons. Lewis earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. After his racing career, he earned his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. As of March 2013, he is chief operating officer for First Team Automotive Group in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Contents

Busch Series career

Lewis was a driver who was especially good on road courses. He started out in the Barber Saab Pro Series for the 1992 season. After success in that series, he was offered a scholarship to race in the British Formula Ford championship.

Lewis made his Busch debut in 1993, long before he became known to most Busch fans. Driving the No. 36 Parkway Pontiac at Watkins Glen, Lewis started the race in 29th place. The team had mechanical issues partway through the race, but Lewis got back on track and finished the race in 27th place.

Lewis returned once again to the series in 1994. This time, Lewis drove the No. 80 Commerce Bank Chevy at Milwaukee Mile. Lewis was able to top his debut with a 24th-place effort despite a 38th-place start.

Lewis again made a one-off start in 1995. He had his best weekend at that point in his career, this time back at Watkins Glen. He started the race solidly in the 22nd position and stayed on the lead lap with a 13th-place finishing result.

Lewis raced in eight races in 1996 and earned a 3rd-place finish at Watkins Glen. He led three laps during the race, the first laps led of his Busch Series career.

Lewis did not compete in 1999 but came back in 2000, with a new family owned No. 46 Chevy. He completed an 11-race schedule with a best finish of 17th at Michigan.

With a decent first year under their belt, Lewis Motorsports ran all but one race in 2001, leading to a 20th-place standing in points. Lewis earned three top-10s in 2001: A pair of fifths at Kentucky and Charlotte and a ninth at Memphis, an impressive feat without a full-time sponsor. Lewis earned his best start of 2001 at Las Vegas, with a 5th place starting position. However, Lewis struggled to finish races and had nine DNFs.

Yet, the team was optimistic. The team would run 2002 with new sponsor Civil Air Patrol. Lewis only had one top-5, but it was a solid one. Lewis started 24th at his home track of Richmond International Raceway but certainly ran well, moving to a 2nd-place finish. In addition, Lewis earned a triplet of 8th and another triplet of 9th. Lewis was also qualifying well, with 5 top-10 starts, the best being a 3rd at IRP. The only reason that Lewis finished a lowly 17th was simple: a series-high 12 DNFs.

Lewis set out to better his season in 2003 and did it well. Cutting down his DNFs to five led to a 12th-place finish in points. The highlight of his season came at Gateway. He won the pole and led forty-four laps and was running fifth when Randy Lajoie crashed in front of him and led to a 33rd-place finish. However, Ashton did have better overall finishes. He had two top-5s with a 3rd at Nashville and a 5th at Homestead-Miami. Lewis also tacked on eight other top-10 finishes, to have ten top-10 finishes in 2003.

The team lost CAP after 2003, however, and the team could not attract a sponsor for 2004. The team would end up running the whole season, but Lewis' family team had to shut down following the season. Yet, Lewis made one great swan song at the end of the season. A late-season surge put Lewis in position to win races. That was apparent at Darlington, where Lewis ran a specially painted tribute car to a second-place finish, barely losing to Jamie McMurray. Even though there was some sadness in the team's hearts, Lewis finished 8th place in points, his first career top-10

Lewis would drive the No. 25 Marines Ford in 2005 and 2006 for Ed Rensi. Lewis finished the 2005 campaign 14th in points. The 2006 season yielded a disappointing 15th-place finish in points. Lewis ended his NASCAR career after the 2006 season having competed in 226 Busch Series races over 11 different seasons.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
YearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435NBSCPtsRef
1993 36 Pontiac DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY ROU MAR NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN
27		 MLW TAL IRP MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV ROU CLT MAR CAR HCY ATL 97th82 [2]
1994 Lewis Motorsports 80 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZH
DNQ		 CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW
24		 SBO
DNQ		 TAL HCY IRP
DNQ		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR
DNQ		 CAR 85th91 [3]
1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN
13		 MLW TAL SBO
DNQ		 IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 84th124 [4]
1998 Lewis Motorsports 9 Ford DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN
3		 MLW MYB CAL 53rd609 [5]
NorthStar Motorsports 98 Ford SBO
DNQ		 IRP MCH
39		 BRI
42		 DAR
23		 RCH
41		 DOV
25		 CLT
DNQ		 GTY
28		 CAR
36		 ATL HOM
2000 Lewis Motorsports 46 Chevy DAY
DNQ		 CAR LVS ATL DAR
38		 BRI TEX NSV
DNQ		 TAL CAL RCH
29		 NHA
DNQ		 CLT
DNQ		 DOV
42		 SBO MYB GLN
23		 MLW
DNQ		 NZH
28		 PPR
29		 GTY IRP
23		 MCH
17		 BRI
DNQ		 DAR
30		 RCH
DNQ		 DOV
25		 CLT
DNQ		 CAR
31		 MEM
DNQ		 PHO
DNQ		 HOM
DNQ		51st848 [6]
2001 DAY
31		 CAR
33		 LVS
30		 ATL
39		 DAR
19		 BRI
27		 TEX
11		 NSH
42		 TAL
31		 CAL
22		 RCH
32		 NHA
29		 NZH
14		 CLT
13		 DOV
40		 KEN
5		 MLW
32		 GLN
37		 CHI
43		 GTY PPR
11		 IRP
16		 MCH
20		 BRI
19		 DAR
26		 RCH
37		 DOV
16		 KAN
20		 CLT
5		 MEM
9		 PHO
24		 CAR
27		 HOM
16		20th2904 [7]
2002 DAY
33		 CAR
8		 LVS
15		 DAR
25		 BRI
18		 TEX
39		 NSH
37		 TAL
23		 CAL
16		 RCH
2		 NHA
20		 NZH
8		 CLT
20		 DOV
19		 NSH
37		 KEN
11		 MLW
38		 DAY
19		 CHI
11		 GTY
40		 PPR
9		 IRP
37		 MCH
38		 BRI
39		 DAR
23		 RCH
35		 DOV
12		 KAN
19		 CLT
33		 MEM
32		 ATL
9		 CAR
25		 PHO
8		 HOM
9		17th3279 [8]
2003 DAY
25		 CAR
16		 LVS
27		 DAR
25		 BRI
18		 TEX
27		 TAL
20		 NSH
3		 CAL
12		 RCH
30		 GTY
33		 NZH
35		 CLT
8		 DOV
22		 NSH
6		 KEN
7		 MLW
12		 DAY
12		 CHI
42		 NHA
11		 PPR
9		 IRP
34		 MCH
36		 BRI
10		 DAR
20		 RCH
19		 DOV
7		 KAN
6		 CLT
16		 MEM
10		 ATL
11		 PHO
12		 CAR
12		 HOM
5		12th3804 [9]
2004 DAY
14		 CAR
15		 LVS
29		 DAR
20		 BRI
31		 TEX
33		 NSH
21		 TAL
17		 CAL
14		 GTY
15		 RCH
15		 NZH
23		 CLT
10		 DOV
25		 NSH
9		 KEN
8		 MLW
13		 DAY
14		 CHI
5		 NHA
17		 PPR
18		 IRP
14		 MCH
13		 BRI
26		 CAL
23		 RCH
20		 DOV
21		 KAN
4		 CLT
35		 MEM
9		 ATL
12		 PHO
9		 DAR
2		 HOM
14		8th3892 [10]
2005 Team Rensi Motorsports 25 Ford DAY
13		 CAL
11		 MXC
9		 LVS
22		 ATL
14		 NSH
19		 BRI
8		 TEX
32		 PHO
17		 TAL
4		 DAR
14		 RCH
16		 CLT
10		 DOV
14		 NSH
25		 KEN
25		 MLW
18		 DAY
26		 CHI
11		 NHA
28		 PPR
15		 GTY
36		 IRP
15		 GLN
31		 MCH
26		 BRI
31		 CAL
31		 RCH
30		 DOV
14		 KAN
28		 CLT
8		 MEM
31		 TEX
21		 PHO
21		 HOM
43		14th3587 [11]
2006 DAY
12		 CAL
29		 MXC
13		 LVS
13		 ATL
17		 BRI
30		 TEX
38		 NSH
11		 PHO
20		 TAL
33		 RCH
26		 DAR
20		 CLT
28		 DOV
42		 NSH
9		 KEN
5		 MLW
16		 DAY
17		 CHI
35		 NHA
24		 MAR
27		 GTY
16		 IRP
22		 GLN
33		 MCH
39		 BRI
18		 CAL
5		 RCH
31		 DOV
25		 KAN
14		 CLT
11		 MEM
37		 TEX
25		 PHO
24		 HOM
20		15th3376 [12]

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References

  1. ↑ Ashton Lewis Career Statistics
  2. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 1998 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2001 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2002 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2003 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2004 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2005 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Ashton Lewis – 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
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