Sat, 13 Oct 2007, 09:48 AM I Live For Drag Racing

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Grant Lewis

Grant Lewis is one of the best drivers in the sportsman ranks. I know that's a pretty bold statement but I firmly believe it's true. Of course, if you're relatively new to this sport, like you just started following it in the past decade, you might be saying to yourself, Grant who?" That's because Grant hasn't been racing for a while and his win in Richmond this past weekend was his first in over a decade. "Winning here after not winning a national event since 1995 makes this one rank right up there with my first win in 1989," Grant said after the race. And while it may be his first win in twelve years, I can guarantee you that it won't be that long before he wins again. "We're going to get after this pretty seriously again. I'm going to Las Vegas and Pomona and then I'll run a lot of races next year." That's good news for the fans who love great sportsman action but I have to think that it's bad news for the other drivers in Super Stock and Comp, the two classes where Grant will compete.

Lewis and friends celebrate win in '89.

Grant Lewis began racing in the 1980's and he won his first national event at the Cajun Nationals in Baton Rouge back in 1989. At that race, like most of the ones in his career, Grant drove very well. In fact, after six rounds of racing were concluded in Baton Rouge, Grant had a remarkable .028 (.528 at that time) average reaction time. Average!! Not bad for a guy who hadn't won a race before. "I look at guys now like Anthony (Bertozzi), (Dan) Fletcher, Peter (Biondo) and guys like that and I'm amazed at what they do," Grant said. "They're so good and they make me want to be better." Grant knows how good Dan is because he lost to him earlier this year. "I thought I was pretty good on the line with my .036 light but he was better. I guess you could say that I got 'Fletched.' But he's one of the best so it's no shame losing to him." Having said that, Grant went on to point out that he doesn't like losing to anyone. "I live for drag racing and I always have. I take a lot of pride in how I drive and I always want to do better." It would have been hard for him to do better this past weekend because, in five rounds of racing (they were seven rounds but he had two byes after qualifying number one), his worst reaction time was a .029 and that came after his opponent, former U.S. Nationals' champ Herbie Null, fouled out. "The car was running well all day and I drove well and that's what you need to do these days if you want to win."

Grant Lewis

The car that Grant is driving is the same one that Jeff Taylor took to the Lucas Oil World Championship in Competition Eliminator two years ago. "Anytime Jeff gets out of a car you know it's a good one. My only job was to make sure I didn't mess up on the track." He didn't and he won for the ninth time on the national scene and that goes along with four runner-up spots at national events and ten wins and as many runner-up finishes on the divisional level. Over the course of his career Grant has finished in the top ten in points seven times and he has won the Division 2 championship three times. Those wins and titles came while racing in three different classes, Stock, Super Stock and Competition Eliminator. "I like them all but right now I like Super Stock. Even though I've raced this car in both Comp and Super Stock I tell people that I am a Super Stock guy who also runs Comp. I've never lost my passion for the sport and this win just gets me more pumped up." He's so pumped that he will make the trek west to race in Vegas and Pomona, although his California trip will be a little short and a little rushed. "I'll only get to make one time run in Pomona. I'm involved with the Chamber of Commerce in Wayne County (Georgia) and we've got a thing called 'Romp in the Swamp' coming up. That's where we invite all the legislators from Atlanta to come up and we take them hunting and fishing. The governor's even coming this year. We treat them well and they get to know us better. That way, if we need something in the future, they'll remember the good time they had in our county." Making one time run may seem like a real problem for some racers, but Grant has done it before and he's won before with only one practice run. "Back in '94 I had business commitments and I didn't get to Seattle until Saturday and we still ended up wining the race. It's a challenge but that's what makes it fun." Earlier in that same year Grant made a little history when he became the first driver to win national events in all three of sportsman's handicap classes, Stock, Super Stock and Comp.

Lewis and friends celebrate Richmond win.

Fun is the operative word for Grant when he races but it hasn't always been that way. "I got lost when I went to Pro Stock," he said. "And I lost a lot of money when I tried that Pro Stock Truck thing. I learned a lot and it cost me a lot, but I'm back and I'm enjoying it again." Grant raced in the highly competitive world of Pro Stock for a few years and he qualified for a handful of races, but the success that he had in the sportsman ranks never materialized in the pro class. "Harold Stout told me that it was the wrong thing to do, but I didn't listen. I wanted to go bigger. Larry Morgan was a big help to me there and I think if I had stayed with it I could have done well." After his stint in the car class Grant also tried the Pro Stock Truck class and that didn't work out well, either. "It cost me a lot and I'm still getting out from under that." The financial and emotional toll that the journey into the pro classes had on Grant forced him to sit out for a few years, but he always knew that he'd be back. "Like I said, I've been all over the country and met a lot of great people because of drag racing and it was only a matter of time before I'd come back and I'm glad I did," he told me while waiting his turn in the winner's circle in Richmond. "I don't care if it takes until midnight to get through these winner's circle pictures, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

Lewis celebrates Allstar win in '89.

Over the course of his career Grant has been blessed by working with and getting help from some of the best people in the sport. "Harold Stout gave me a great opportunity when I got to drive for him. Jeff and Charley Taylor are my very good friends and they've been great, too. Jeff still takes care of the engine in my car and that takes a load off my mind when I come to the track." And recently he has had the help of one of the great crew chiefs in the business, Willie Evans. "Willie's a legend. He's like the 'Grump.' When he's on the line you don't have to worry about the track because you know he'll put you in the best spot possible to make your run." With the help of Willie and Jeff, Grant will alternate between running the car in Comp and Super Stock next year. "I only have to make very minor changes to switch classes," he said. "This car runs very well in either class."

When Grant isn't racing or working on his Chamber of Commerce programs, he operates a logging and timber business in Georgia. "As you can imagine, the timber business is a little quiet right now," he said. "But I also have a wrecker business and my wife, Tammy, and I just started a roll-off trash container business. Hey, no matter what happens with the economy there will always be trash." Grant and Tammy have been married for twenty-five years and they have a daughter who is attending college and hopes to become a lawyer. And now that he's back, how long does Grant plan on racing. "Well, I'm fifty and I figure that if I can win one or two of these a year maybe I'll continue until I'm about sixty, or until I get to your age, Bob." One thing is for certain, no matter how long he races Grant will approach it with the same enthusiasm and determination that he always has, after all, win, lose or draw, he lives for drag racing.

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