Steve Lewis | |
|---|---|
 Lewis in 2014 | |
| Born | |
| Education | Colton High School |
| Alma mater | San Jose State University |
| Occupation(s) | Owner, Nine Racing, Inc., magazine publisher, trade show producer |
| Children | Michael James Lewis |
| Website | Stevelewis.info |
Steve Lewis, born in Colton, California, is an owner of Nine Racing, founder of Performance Racing Industry, magazine publisher and trade show producer.
Steve Lewis grew up in Colton, California, where he followed auto racing from an early age. While in high school, his weekly ritual consisted of attending events at Southern California race tracks, including midget races at Orange Show Speedway; drag races at Fontana, Riverside Raceway, and Colton Drag Strip; and occasionally visiting Ascot Park.
After graduation from Colton High School, he enrolled at San Bernardino Valley College, and then went on to San Jose State University to complete a bachelor's degree and an MBA with an emphasis in marketing.
Lewis began his business career at United Airlines, and then spent 10 years in sales at the William Lawrence Corporation, which produced the Motorcycle and Accessory Trade Show, and published Motorcycle Dealer News Magazine.
In the fall of 1978, Lewis and business partner Jeff Wetmore developed the concepts for trade shows and trade magazines for the surf lifestyle with Action Sports Retailer and the backpacking and camping industries with Outdoor Retailer. [1] He then launched Performance Racing Industry Magazine and Trade Show in 1986, [2] which are devoted to the hardcore auto racing industry. [3] The trade show currently takes place annually in Indianapolis, Indiana, every December.
Race promotion is another aspect of Lewis's experience as he created and promoted the Twin 25 midget race events at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis [4] and Irwindale Speedway. [5] These events featured two 25-lap A-main races. A $50,000 bonus was available to the driver who could win both feature races, especially challenging since the winner of the first race had to start in last position in the second race. [6] Lewis also produced the Sprint & Midget Classic events in Orlando, Florida, featuring sprint cars and Midget cars. He produced and promoted eight midget race events, all of which were shown on national television. [7]
In 2012, Lewis sold Performance Racing Industry to the automotive aftermarket trade association SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). [8] [9]
Lewis began his Nine Racing team in 1978 with driver Stan Fox behind the wheel of the No. 9 midget race car. [10] Nine Racing earned over 130 feature race wins and claimed 10 USAC National Midget Series Championships with drivers Stevie Reeves, Tony Stewart, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne, Dave Darland, J. J. Yeley, and Bobby East. [11] [12]
Steve Lewis is the father of Michael James Lewis, a professional race car driver, who has competed in Pirelli World Challenge (2015-2016) driving a Porsche, IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, Formula 3 Euro, Formula 3 Italia, and Formula BMW Americas and Europe. [13]
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director.
Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most continents. There is a worldwide tour and national midget tours in the United States, Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.
Rodger Morris Ward was an American racing driver best known for his open-wheel career. He is generally regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation, and is best known for winning two National Championships, and two Indianapolis 500s, both in 1959 and 1962. He also won the AAA National Stock Car Championship in 1951.
Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver known primarily for his open-wheel career. He twice won the National Championship, doing so in 1951 and 1958. He also competed in stock cars, winning under AAA and USAC sanction.
William John "Bill" Vukovich was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500.
John Woodrow "Johnnie" Parsons was an American racing driver in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series. He was the 1949 AAA national champion, and won the 1950 Indianapolis 500.
Samuel Dwight Hanks was an American racing driver who won the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He was a barnstormer, and raced midget and Championship cars.
David Lee Darland is an American auto racing driver from Kokomo, Indiana. He was the 1997 USAC Silver Crown Champion, 1999 USAC National Sprint Car Champion, and 2001 and 2002 USAC National Midget Champion, making him the third driver to claim all three USAC National Championships. He is nicknamed "The People's Champ".
Doug Kalitta is an American auto racing driver from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and owner of airline Kalitta Charters. He started racing in open-wheel cars on an oval. Kalitta won the 1994 USAC Midget rookie of the year title and the 1994 USAC Sprint car championship. He moved to drag racing in 1998 and, as of 2023, has been NHRA Top Fuel Championship runner-up a total of six times. Kalitta won his first NHRA Top Fuel Championship on November 12, 2023 at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, CA. Doug threw the first pitch of the Tigers game on 6/12/24 and was “Just a bit outside!”
Steve Butler is an American former auto racing driver. He won six national driving championships in USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown open-wheel racing. Butler was highly regarded for his technical skills and performed chief mechanic duties on several of his winning race cars. He also communicated his view of racing to fans both as author and television commentator. Despite a relatively brief racing career (1981–1993), Butler is an inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the USAC Hall of Fame, and the Hoosier Auto Racing Fan's Hall of Fame. He retired at age 37 to pursue both an engineering career and more time with his growing family. Butler currently resides in Kokomo, IN.
Ascot Park, first named Los Angeles Speedway and later New Ascot Stadium, was a dirt racetrack located near Gardena, California. Ascot Park was open between 1957 and 1990. The track held numerous United States Auto Club (USAC) national tour races and three NASCAR Grand National races. The Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track for several decades.
Richard Frank Vogler was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989.
Cory Lee Kruseman is an American racing driver. A two-time Chili Bowl champion in midget car racing, he has also competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the Firestone Indy Racing League.
David MacFarland Steele was an American professional racing driver who won numerous sprint car racing championships and also competed in IndyCar and NASCAR races. Steele last drove a winged sprint car in the Southern Sprintcar Shootout Series, where he won the first 5 races in series history. Steele was killed in a crash at Desoto Speedway on March 25, 2017.
Bryan Timothy Clauson was an American professional auto racing driver, best known for his achievements in dirt track open-wheel racing, such as USAC Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint cars. Clauson was increasingly seen competing with the World of Outlaws (WoO) sprint cars in his last couple of years. Clauson also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Indy Lights, and IndyCar Series and was a development driver for Chip Ganassi Racing.
The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving night most years since 1934, where it was founded by Earl Gilmore at his Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles. It stayed at this location until 1950. Since that time it has been held at various southern California race tracks. Since 1955, the race has been promoted by J. C. Agajanian and later his descendants, currently by son Cary. Traditionally a dirt track event, it has sometimes been on asphalt during the turn of the 21st century, although it returned to dirt in 2012. The feature race was held over 98 laps in the modern era, the same number that Agajanian used for his racecars.
Angell Park Speedway is a 1/3 mile (0.54 km) dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The track has been run by the city's fire department since 1903. Racing occurs every Sunday approximately Memorial Day until Labor Day. Special racing events and the weather may alter the schedule. The races were sanctioned by the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA), the oldest midget organization in the world. Some events are co-sanctioned by the United States Automobile Club (USAC). BMARA sanctions several midget car events at other nearby tracks. The World of Outlaws held their first sprint car races at the track in August 2016.
Performance Racing Industry was started in 1986 by Steve Lewis, owner of Laguna Coast Publishing, based in Laguna Beach, California. Now based in Aliso Viejo, California, the company operates PRI magazine, a monthly business publication for entrepreneurs in the auto racing industry; the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, which launched in 1988 and showcases thousands of new racing products along with dozens of networking events and educational programs for motorsports professionals; and online properties including performanceracing.com.
Michael James Lewis is an American race car driver born on December 24, 1990, in Laguna Beach, California to parents Steve Lewis and Loretta Lewis. As a young, up-and-coming Race Car Driver, Michael has competed in a diverse number of racing vehicles including Formula 3, Formula BMW, Ford Focus Midgets, Touring Cars, Late Model Stock Cars, Quarter Midgets, & Go-Karts. Michael also officially tested a Formula One car for Scuderia Ferrari F1 in the F60 chassis on November 15, 2011. Michael's passion for racing is paramount and he enjoys every aspect of his racing career. The Laguna Beach, California native is known for his professionalism, work ethic, and he lives every day for motorsport.
Ndubisi "Bisi" Ezerioha is a Nigerian-American engineer, professional race car driver, entrepreneur and engine builder. He is the current CEO and Chief Engineer for Bisimoto Engineering. Ezerioha is involved in import drag racing, and pilots a 2006 Honda Insight in the pro stock ranks of IDRA, IDRC and CMI series. A chemical engineer by training, and entering university at the age of 15, he was a pharmaceutical researcher for years before he decided to branch off. His automotive creations have appeared in numerous films, television shows, toys and video games.