AMNProgressive Insurance Dirt Track Grand Championships
LEWIS, GILLIM, and
SNYDER earn tOD honors
at amateur dirt track's
annual summit
68 AUGUST 4,2004 • CYCLE NEWS
ot since Geo rgie Price IVdid
the deed has a rider notc hed
the overall w in in three separate prem ier classes during
the AMNProg ressive Insurance Dirt Track Champio nshi ps. But that
d idn 't st o p Brand amo re , Pe nnsylvan ia's
John Lewis from entering the 250cc TwoStroke Modified, 450cc Modified and SOScc
Modified categories at th is year's running of
the impo rta nt event. It was a bold move by
Lew is, but he proved it to be a good decision when he not on ly re peated Price's feat,
but picked up the AMA Sport s Dirt Trac k
Horizon Award in the pro cess. And if past
Horizon winners like Nicky and Roger Lee
Hayden , Tony Meiring, Bryan Smith and
Ricky Marshall are any indication, Lewis has
a big future ahead of him as well.
N
40th Anniversary
"It' s awes ome," said Lewis, who turned
15 at the event. "Georgie is a good friend ,
and he's the one who always to ld us to run
thre e prem ier classes and go up against the
hardest people. I race Expert locally, but this
was just as tough as that, most the time ."
Lewis' success didn't come wit hout diffi culties. During the first day on the half-mile,
the power valve on his 2S0cc Modified
machine shut closed during practice, and
du ring the last day on the same track, the
pipe fell off on his 450cc Modified steed .
And he had se rious competition for the
Horizon Award fro m Aaron King (son of dirt
track legend Rich King) until King broke a
rocker arm during 505cc Modified qualifying
on the last day and had to start the main
from the penalty line (but o nly after father
Rich put on his me chanic's hat and per-
