Ashton Lewis

Ashton Lewis Jr. (born January 22, 1972) is an American former stock car racing driver who competed in 226 races and 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.

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 third-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-tens 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 fifth 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-five, but it was a solid one. Lewis started 24th at his home track of Richmond International Raceway but certainly ran well, moving to a second-place finish. In addition, Lewis earned a triplet of eighth and another triplet of ninth. Lewis was also qualifying well, with five top-ten starts, the best being a third 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, Lewis did have better overall finishes. He had two top-fives with a third at Nashville and a fifth at Homestead-Miami. Lewis also tacked on eight other top-ten finishes, to have ten top-ten 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 eighth place in points, his first career top-ten.

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 Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 1993 36 Pontiac DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY ROU MAR NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN27 MLW TAL IRP MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV ROU CLT MAR CAR HCY ATL 97th 82 1994 Lewis Motorsports 80 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZHDNQ CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW24 SBODNQ TAL HCY IRPDNQ MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MARDNQ CAR 85th 91 1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN13 MLW TAL SBODNQ IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 84th 124 1998 Lewis Motorsports 9 Ford DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN3 MLW MYB CAL 53rd 609 NorthStar Motorsports 98 Ford SBODNQ IRP MCH39 BRI42 DAR23 RCH41 DOV25 CLTDNQ GTY28 CAR36 ATL HOM 2000 Lewis Motorsports 46 Chevy DAYDNQ CAR LVS ATL DAR38 BRI TEX NSVDNQ TAL CAL RCH29 NHADNQ CLTDNQ DOV42 SBO MYB GLN23 MLWDNQ NZH28 PPR29 GTY IRP23 MCH17 BRIDNQ DAR30 RCHDNQ DOV25 CLTDNQ CAR31 MEMDNQ PHODNQ HOMDNQ 51st 848 2001 DAY31 CAR33 LVS30 ATL39 DAR19 BRI27 TEX11 NSH42 TAL31 CAL22 RCH32 NHA29 NZH14 CLT13 DOV40 KEN5 MLW32 GLN37 CHI43 GTY PPR11 IRP16 MCH20 BRI19 DAR26 RCH37 DOV16 KAN20 CLT5 MEM9 PHO24 CAR27 HOM16 20th 2904 2002 DAY33 CAR8 LVS15 DAR25 BRI18 TEX39 NSH37 TAL23 CAL16 RCH2 NHA20 NZH8 CLT20 DOV19 NSH37 KEN11 MLW38 DAY19 CHI11 GTY40 PPR9 IRP37 MCH38 BRI39 DAR23 RCH35 DOV12 KAN19 CLT33 MEM32 ATL9 CAR25 PHO8 HOM9 17th 3279 2003 DAY25 CAR16 LVS27 DAR25 BRI18 TEX27 TAL20 NSH3 CAL12 RCH30 GTY33 NZH35 CLT8 DOV22 NSH6 KEN7 MLW12 DAY12 CHI42 NHA11 PPR9 IRP34 MCH36 BRI10 DAR20 RCH19 DOV7 KAN6 CLT16 MEM10 ATL11 PHO12 CAR12 HOM5 12th 3804 2004 DAY14 CAR15 LVS29 DAR20 BRI31 TEX33 NSH21 TAL17 CAL14 GTY15 RCH15 NZH23 CLT10 DOV25 NSH9 KEN8 MLW13 DAY14 CHI5 NHA17 PPR18 IRP14 MCH13 BRI26 CAL23 RCH20 DOV21 KAN4 CLT35 MEM9 ATL12 PHO9 DAR2 HOM14 8th 3892 2005 Team Rensi Motorsports 25 Ford DAY13 CAL11 MXC9 LVS22 ATL14 NSH19 BRI8 TEX32 PHO17 TAL4 DAR14 RCH16 CLT10 DOV14 NSH25 KEN25 MLW18 DAY26 CHI11 NHA28 PPR15 GTY36 IRP15 GLN31 MCH26 BRI31 CAL31 RCH30 DOV14 KAN28 CLT8 MEM31 TEX21 PHO21 HOM43 14th 3587 2006 DAY12 CAL29 MXC13 LVS13 ATL17 BRI30 TEX38 NSH11 PHO20 TAL33 RCH26 DAR20 CLT28 DOV42 NSH9 KEN5 MLW16 DAY17 CHI35 NHA24 MAR27 GTY16 IRP22 GLN33 MCH39 BRI18 CAL5 RCH31 DOV25 KAN14 CLT11 MEM37 TEX25 PHO24 HOM20 15th 3376