Stellantis Media Site SRT Motorsports - SRT Viper Cup Race Recap - VIR                                                Contact:                                                             Matthew                         Simmons                                                                                                Adam                         Saal                                                                                                Bill                         Klingbeil                                                                                                                                                                                   SRT Motorsports - SRT Viper Cup Race Recap - VIR                                           SHANE LEWIS COMPLETES WEEKEND SWEEP AT VIRGINIA INT’L RACEWAYLewis  Capitalizes on Tommy Kendall’s Misfortune to Win Sunday’s SRT Viper Cup  Race                                                                                                                                                           July 8, 2012,                                                                                                                      Alton, Va.                                                       -                                                ALTON, Va. (Sunday, July 8, 2012) – Shane Lewis made it a weekend  sweep in SRT Viper Cup Series competition Sunday at Virginia International  Raceway with his second win in as many days. Lewis took advantage of Tommy  Kendall’s misfortune on the final lap to capture the victory.Lewis and  Kendall were the celebrity entries for the weekend driving Viper ACR-X’s  prepared by Cindi Lux and the Lux Performance Group.Both Lewis and  Kendall started at the back of the field Sunday as the grid was set in reverse  order of Saturday’s finish. Kendall had mechanical problems Saturday and did not  complete 75 percent of the laps, so he didn’t have the advantage of the  inversion.Kendall grabbed the race lead at the halfway mark of the  35-minute timed event and was in command when the field took the white flag to  start the 18th lap around the 3.270-mile, 17-turn course. However, all was not  well inside the cockpit.“We started running out of fuel with three to  go,” said Kendall. “I didn’t know how long it would go before it ran out, so I  was short shifting and to make up for it, I was really driving hard on the  brakes, really using the tires which were 35-minutes old. I dumped the wheel on  the outside (Turn 14) and did a spin. I lost about as little ground as you could  do but I’m still very disappointed.“I’m pleased with 99 percent of the  race today, but the only lap that pays is the last one. It’s hard not to be  disappointed. We were close to a perfect weekend. I had a pole, Shane won  yesterday and we were looking for a win today. I’m rusty. That’s what happens  when you don’t drive every weekend. It was a perfect weekend for Lux  Performance. Shane was there to pick up the pieces today. I would be lying if I  didn’t say I wasn’t disappointed.”While Kendall was disappointed, Lewis  was a bit shocked with the outcome as he had issues with the heat and had slowed  during the middle part of the race.“Today, I had to really, really work  for it. Two goals – keep the car clean, I didn’t want to put a scratch on the  car, and with track temperatures this hot, I was determined to take care of the  equipment and the tires. At one point, I actually backed out to conserve the car  a little bit. I was hoping the leaders would come to me and they sure did. The  strategy paid off and we brought home a victory.”The temperature had  reached 101 when the field took the green flag just past 2 p.m.“It’s  the hottest track temperatures I’ve ever run at,” said Lewis. “Every driver here  did an awesome job. It’s a testament to the Viper. Any other car would have  overheated, blown up, but this car ran flawless. Starting from the back, I just  tried to pace it. I was ready to settle for third and then Jim and Tommy had  problems.”Jim Booth, the early race leader, also had fuel issues but  finished second. “I was P2 behind Kendall, but having a fuel issue and lost the  spot to Shane just before Kendall spun,” he said. “On the downhill, it picked up  the fuel again and I sputtered to the finish. I’m happy, P7 to P2, I’ll take  that any time. I had some inspiration out in front of me in Kendall and Lewis. I  drove to a level I haven’t driven before…the results speak to  that.”Another driver having a banner day was Louis-Philippe Montour who  finished fourth. “It was the most exciting race of my life,” said Montour. I was  patient. This is awesome.”Although Ben Keating’s winning streak was  snapped at four, he still has a comfortable lead in the season standings with  four races remaining. “It was a good race, a very close race which made it fun,  said Keating. “It was unbelievable hot. About three or four laps into the race,  I looked down and my engine was pegged in red, overheating. At the time I was in  fourth. I just decided the smartest thing to do was back off, get the best  finish I could instead of a DNF and a blown engine. I was able to get third.  That’s great. I’m happy. It was a good race.”Race ResultsSRT Viper  Cup Series(35-Minute Timed Race)Virginia Int'l RacewaySunday, July  8, 20121. Shane Lewis2. Jim Booth3. Tommy Kendall4.  Louis-Philippe Montour5. Ben Keating6. Kurt Solberger7. David  Mazyck8. Marc Montour9. Bernie Katz10. David Pintaric11. Tim  HundSRT Viper Cup SeriesPresented by Pennzoil UltraPoint  Standings(After 6 of 10 events)1. Ben Keating  3622. Jim Booth  2653. Louis-Philippe Montour  2254. David Mazyck  2045. Kurt Solberger  1996. David Pintaric  1707. Marc Montour  1708. Jeff Courtney  939.  Trevor Nelson  7810. Todd Nelson  62-- 30 --