PEORIA, ILL. (August 25, 2010) – Scott Powersports/DR.D/Pit Posse/Monster Energy’s Johnny Lewis went to the historic Peoria TT with a goal to improve on his two previous starts there. He earned a fifth place finish which is his best TT finish in the entire series and his only main event finish at Peoria in the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship (GNC) presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com. The Sunday, August 22 race at the Peoria Race Park in Peoria, Illinois was not without drama though.

Peoria is one of the season’s most attended AMA Pro GNC Flat Track races. The combination of a dirt track with flat turns and big jumps makes for some exciting action. Fans can watch on the grassy hillside as the competitors fly into the air on the hard packed jumps. Racers received points towards the AMA Pro GNC Singles Championship and the overall AMA Pro GNC series.

Lewis showed up in Peoria with his Scott Powersports’ Honda CRF450R where he ran three practices. He qualified in sixth. On the cool down lap, the motor suddenly blew up. Lewis had to push his bike into the pit area. He took his ONE Industries race gear off, throwing on his street clothes as now he figured he would stand on the sidelines watching his fellow AMA Pro GNC racers. Lewis had no backup race bike with him, so he figured his day was done.

Lewis’ luck changed as he shares, “AMA Pro national number 87 Michael Kirkness of Australia was walking by and asked why I was out of my race gear. I told him my bike was broke. Mick jokingly said that I could use his backup bike. I quickly took his offer. Mick and I are currently fighting for a top ten in the overall championship points so it was a shock for him to make the offer. Goes to show what a cool guy he is and how awesome our sport is when something happens.”
Lewis lined up for the heat race on Kirkness’ Suzuki RM-Z450 without riding it before. He quickly adapted and finished second in the heat, transferring directly to the main event. His one race sponsor, Kirkness finished third in his heat race, also transferring directly to the main.
In the Dash for Cash, where it pits the top two from each heat race to compete for cash and extra series points, Lewis finished sixth. Since Jake Johnson was disqualified, Lewis moved up to fifth to earn one extra, valuable point in the championship.

Lewis on the Suzuki was the fifth rider to pick his gate position. In the 25-lap main, he slingshot to second place on the start. On the long front straight, Lewis was passed which pushed him back to third. He ran in third place until around lap 15 when he began to battle with Johnson. Then both Lewis and Johnson got passed, pushing Lewis back to fifth where he would finish.

Lewis best AMA Pro GNC TT race finish was seventh at the Springfield TT. He added, “Without Mick loaning his backup bike and my crew stepping up, this would not be possible. I gained some points and amped to have my best Peoria finish! We’re back at the shop this week and getting the bikes ready for the next race, the Indy Mile.”

Lewis sits ninth overall with 82 points in the overall AMA Pro GNC series. In the AMA Pro GNC Singles Championship, he is in sixth with 68 points.

The next stop on the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com will be the Indy Mile this Saturday, August 28 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. This is a GNC Twins race where Lewis will be on his #10 white and red custom Scott Powersports’ Kawasaki 650 flat-tracker. Stop by his pit area to pick up a custom Johnny Lewis poster by Axis Designs. Keep posted to Lewis on Twitter at www.twitter.com/johnnylewis21 and visit his website at www.johnnylewis.org. You may also “friend” him on Facebook by searching under “Johnny Lewis.”

About Johnny Lewis

Professional athlete Johnny Lewis of Coatesville, Pennsylvania showed last year in his rookie season in the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship that he can develop to be a force in the series. Prior to flat track, he raced in the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship for three full seasons where he was the youngest to ever win in the Unlimited Class. In 2010, Lewis will race the number 10 Scott Powersports/DR.D/Pit Posse Honda CRF450F in AMA Pro Flat Track Singles Championship events and the number 10 custom Kawasaki Ninja 650 flat-tracker in select AMA Pro Flat Track Twins races. Lewis would like to thank his sponsors that make this season possible: Scott Powersports, Dubach Racing Development (DR.D), Pit Posse, Monster Energy, ONE Industries, Arai Helmets, Freestyle Watches, Smith Optics, Axis Designs, ActionSportsTV.com, Kicker Audio, Silkolene, Custom Axis Racing Shocks/Penske Racing Shocks, K&N Engineering, Pro Moto Billet/Fastway, Factory Box, Victory Circle Graphics, Faction MX, FLUIDYNE, Boyesen, Wiseco Pistons, TRX Fitness Anywhere, Motion Pro, and A&A Racing. Visit www.johnnylewis.org.

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