Paul Lewis
Born (1932-09-28) September 28, 1932
Johnson City, Tennessee, United States
Awards1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Runner-up
NASCAR Cup Series career
114 races run over 9 years
Best finish14th – 1965 NASCAR Grand National Series season
First race1960 Gwyn Staley 160 (North Wilkesboro Speedway)
Last race1968 World 600 (Charlotte Motor Speedway)
First win1966 Smoky Mountain 200 (Smoky Mountain Raceway)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 45 1

Paul Lewis (born September 28, 1932) is a retired NASCAR Grand National Series race car driver whose career spanned from 1960 to 1968[1] while primarily driving a #2 Dodge vehicle owned by Bobby Allison.[2]

Career

Driver

Lewis made his debut into top-level professional stock car racing in 1960 at the age of 27. He originally drove a Chevrolet. but also raced Ford, Dodge, and Plymouth cars.[3] During his 10-season career, Lewis made 114 Grand National starts, with 1 career pole in a May 1965 event at North Carolina's Harris Speedway, and scored his only career win at the 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 in Maryville, Tennessee. He led a total of 71 laps in his career as well.[4]

During his career, Lewis never ran a full season, and his best season points finish was 14th in 1965 after competing in just under half that year's events.[5] He started his career at the age of 27 and ended it at 35 years of age; a latecomer compared today's to NASCAR drivers who generally start their career at the top level between the ages of 18 and 21.[1]

Lewis has managed to earn a grand total of $52,867 from all the racing events that he participated in ($444,892.25 when adjusted for inflation).[1] Dirt tracks helped to contribute to Lewis' best career finishes; with him finishing an average of tenth place. His shortcoming would be restrictor plate tracks; where Lewis would finish a mediocre 30th place on average.[6]

Owner

Like many NASCAR drivers of his time, Lewis also drove his own car during some his career; his ownership career spanned from 1962 to 1968. In addition to himself, Buddy Arrington and Tiny Lund also each drove 1 race apiece for Lewis. Total earnings as a NASCAR owner for Lewis was $29,060 ($244,548.94 when adjusted for inflation).[7]

Post-NASCAR career

Lewis still offers advice to stock car racers who live in the vicinity of Johnson City, Tennessee.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Paul Lewis racing information at Racing Reference
  2. ↑ Paul Lewis Archived 2017-12-29 at the Wayback Machine racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  3. ↑ Racer profile about Paul Lewis at Insider Racing News
  4. ↑ "Driver".
  5. ↑ "Driver Season Stats".
  6. ↑ NASCAR statistics on Paul Lewis Archived 2013-05-18 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  7. ↑ NASCAR Team Owner statistics for Paul Lewis Archived 2015-09-21 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  8. ↑ Paul Lewis remembers the first BMS race at TriCities
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