LEXINGTON, Ohio: ARCA Menards Series West championship points leader Landen Lewis will feel like he has the whole world on his shoulders this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Considered one of the stock car scene’s top-prospects, the teenager will be thrown into the limelight of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in Saturday afternoon’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 in a current one-race opportunity for Roper Racing.
Despite the pressure that awaits any driver in the inaugural start in one of NASCAR’s top national series, Lewis is leaning on realistic goals and coaching from the sidelines that would make the race successful.
“It’s just exciting,” Lewis said Friday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “Really cool for me to finally be able to make my first Truck start. It’s definitely a dream come true for me. I can’t wait to get on the track and learn the course and hopefully get a good finish this weekend.”
Lewis, a native of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. realizes that Saturday’s race will serve multiple purposes. From understanding and learning the dynamic of Truck Series to battling new competitors, but the 14th race of the season will also serve an audition.
It is no secret that many expect Lewis to make the climb into the premier ARCA Menards Series full-time or embrace a Truck Series schedule that aligns within his goals. Already, Lewis has captured the eye of Motorsports representatives at Chevrolet who played a role in making his debut possible.
“This is a kickstart of it,” added Lewis. “Like I mentioned earlier just get a good finish, finish all the laps, that’s just our main goal. I feel like opportunities after that will come. You just gotta keep the nose clean and just let everyone know that you race clean around these newer guys.
“There’s some guys in the field that I’ve raced against before, but there’s a lot of new ones that I’ve never raced against, so just learning the field and staying out of the way and learn as much as I can.”
While Friday is expected to be dry at the 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course, the threat of inclement weather has increased and has inched closer to race time on Saturday – which could throw a wrench in some of the team’s plans.
Lewis, however, has experience competing on the wet in the ARCA Menards Series West and believes he will be well prepared to tackle the course should Mother Nature invade the Mid-Ohio racing course.
“Not really,” offered Lewis when asked if he had any concern about rain. “I got a little bit of rain experience, so I’m not to concerned about it. Every time you race in the rain, it’s pretty fun, because it dices things up a bit.”
Should Mother Nature soak the course, Lewis believes the crew chief and engineer’s responsibilities are thrown out the window and the race transitions to the driver behind the wheel.
“I think the setup part of it goes away and it’s all in the driver’s hands,” Lewis mentioned. “I like that. It’s really fun to race in the rain for sure.”
Rain or shine on Saturday, Lewis has managed his expectations for a finishing position for Saturday. A position that many would consider a small victory.
“A top-20 – that would be a great day for I feel like for us at Roper Racing and CARQUEST and Team Chevy,” sounded Lewis. “Finish all the laps. That’s the biggest thing. Keep the nose clean, keep all four tires on it and I think that will be a win in our book.”
Aiding into his expectations for this weekend stem from his breakout season in the ARCA Menards Series West – where Lewis controls the championship with six races remaining.
In two road courses this season, Lewis has shown speed and finesse in both and withstood several challenges in his return to Portland International Raceway last month that earned him his second career ARCA West victory.
“I think our success is really good so far,” he said. “We’ve had really good finishes all year. Leading the points out west by 14 I think now. We finally got our first win at Portland a couple weeks ago. I think our year is going amazing, I can’t wish for anything better. Just gotta keep doing what we are doing, staying out front and learning as much as we can.”
In terms of support, Lewis doesn’t have to look far. NASCAR Hall of Famer and four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. is on-site and will coach his protégé throughout the weekend.
Hornaday, credits longtime friend and industry veteran Bruce Cook for putting the pieces together to make Lewis’s inaugural Truck Series debut come to life.
“It was all because of Bruce Cook,” said Hornaday. “He’s been helping the Ropers out and everything. Called Chevrolet and we got a nose and tail and they said they’d put Landen in the truck. That’s pretty awesome.
“I’m glad he’s feeling the way he’s feeling. He just needs to log laps, keep on the blacktop, and try to learn a little bit. It’s a tough series right now. Anybody in the top 30 can win this race.”
Watching Lewis race since the tender age of 12, the 51-time Truck Series winner believes that he showcases the potential to be the best of the best in years to come.
“Once he was 12 years old we put him in a dirt car,” explained Hornaday. “He’s scraping the fence in a modified, finishing second and the next race he wins. The kid has the want, he’s got the talent, he’s got the ability. He’s working on anything and everything so long as it has do to with the nuts and bolts of race cars.
“He just wants to race. He’s got the heart.
“I’ve never had to do it his way with sims and the handwork he’s doing and in car (cameras) and all the stuff he’s done. I was blind to some race tracks we went to but we had practice back then. They don’t have much practice. They have 20-minute sessions.”
When Carson Hocevar suffered a broken foot last year, it disrupted plans Hocevar had to run both the ARCA West and Truck races at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Cook turned to Hornaday about the possibility of Lewis driving his West entry in Hocevar’s place.
“It really opened my eyes when Carson Hocevar broke his foot and Bruce Cook calls up about Sonoma and asked if Landen wanted to drive his car. He got on the sim. Went out there and first two laps on the track, he’s second-fast. That kind of opened my eyes. It’s a track that I’ve always loved, especially with the Southwest Tour, I won a lot of races there. The kids these days are so young.”
Lewis doesn’t have any future Truck Series race cemented on his schedule, but he’s hoping his overall performance this weekend will pave the path for more during the 2023 season.
“As many as we possibly can,” added Lewis when asked how many Truck Series races, he’d like to compete in 2023. “We got one on the schedule right now. Just go race by race and I like mentioned, just finish all the laps this weekend and have a good finish.
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