NEWS :: Johnny Lewis earns career- best GNC Twins finish
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Johnny Lewis earns career-
best GNC Twins finish
 Athlete becomes the first Kawasaki rider to ever make the podium at an AMA Pro
Flat Track Half-Mile race
HAGERSTOWN, MD. (July 12, 2011) It takes significant effort to put a professional racing program together, let alone build a brand-new custom race bike. Last season, Johnny Lewis and Mike Scott of Scott Powersports set out to develop a competitive AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship GNC Twins race program using a Kawasaki Ninja 650 as a base. The ingenuity and work paid off this past Saturday night, July 9, when Lewis battled in the Hagerstown Half-Mile main, earning second place on his Scott Powersports/Triple J Racing/DR.D Kawasaki.
The Hagerstown Half-Mile finish recorded two firsts in the series history. While this marked the third podium for Lewis this season, it was his first GNC Twins podium. His previous best GNC Twins finish was fifth last month in Michigan. The podium finish was a victory of sorts after the extensive development work on the Scott Powersports' Kawasaki 650. Second, this is the first podium for any Kawasaki rider factory supported or privateer in an AMA Pro Flat Track Half-Mile race.
Fans packed the stands at the Hagerstown Half-Mile on Saturday to watch America's elite racers on the dirt oval. This was the largest and loudest crowd since the opening round in Daytona. Lewis reflected, "I have never heard that many fans cheer for me as I walked my number 10 Kawasaki to the starting grid for the main. It pumped me up for the race!"
Scott Powersports/Triple J Racing/DR.D's Lewis went into the first practice at the Hagerstown Half-Mile with his back-up bike in order to look at various set-up options. He notched a top ten lap time. In the second practice he went to his primary bike and ran a similar time. After changing a few items, Lewis stayed with his primary Pit Posse-sponsored race bike for the final timed qualifying practice. He qualified in second and was fourth-tenths of a second faster than the previous outing.
In front of the enthusiastic Hagerstown Half-Mile crowd, Lewis was in the second heat race during the night program. He led for a few laps on his Penske Racing-suspended Scott Powersports' Kawasaki before Bryan Smith passed him off turn two. Due to the different power band, Lewis bike was spinning harder than the traditional H-D flat trackers; however that would be an advantage later. At the checkers, he crossed in second earning a direct transfer to the main and a spot in the six-rider Dash for Cash.
More adjustments were made to his Scott Powersports' 650 flat tracker when Lewis got to the line in his black custom AXO leathers for the Dash for Cash. He noticed a solid difference. At the finish, Lewis came across the line in third place.
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