# Ashton Lewis Jr.

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 3rd-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-10s 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 5th 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-5, but it was a solid one. Lewis started 24th at his home track of Richmond International Raceway but certainly ran well, moving to a 2nd-place finish. In addition, Lewis earned a triplet of 8th and another triplet of 9th. Lewis was also qualifying well, with 5 top-10 starts, the best being a 3rd 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, Ashton did have better overall finishes. He had two top-5s with a 3rd at Nashville and a 5th at Homestead-Miami. Lewis also tacked on eight other top-10 finishes, to have ten top-10 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 8th place in points, his first career top-10
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 | NBSC | Pts |
| 1993 | | 36 | Pontiac | DAY | CAR | RCH | DAR | BRI | HCY | ROU | MAR | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN 27 | 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 | NZH DNQ | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW 24 | SBO DNQ | TAL | HCY | IRP DNQ | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | MAR DNQ | CAR | | | | | | | | 85th | 91 |
| 1995 | Lewis Motorsports | 80 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | NSV | DAR | BRI | HCY | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN 13 | MLW | TAL | SBO DNQ | 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 | GLN 3 | MLW | MYB | CAL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 53rd | 609 |
| 1998 | NorthStar Motorsports | 98 | Ford | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SBO DNQ | IRP | MCH 39 | BRI 42 | DAR 23 | RCH 41 | DOV 25 | CLT DNQ | GTY 28 | CAR 36 | ATL | HOM | | | | | | | 53rd | 609 |
| 2000 | Lewis Motorsports | 46 | Chevy | DAY DNQ | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR 38 | BRI | TEX | NSV DNQ | TAL | CAL | RCH 29 | NHA DNQ | CLT DNQ | DOV 42 | SBO | MYB | GLN 23 | MLW DNQ | NZH 28 | PPR 29 | GTY | IRP 23 | MCH 17 | BRI DNQ | DAR 30 | RCH DNQ | DOV 25 | CLT DNQ | CAR 31 | MEM DNQ | PHO DNQ | HOM DNQ | | | | 51st | 848 |
| 2001 | Lewis Motorsports | 46 | Chevy | DAY 31 | CAR 33 | LVS 30 | ATL 39 | DAR 19 | BRI 27 | TEX 11 | NSH 42 | TAL 31 | CAL 22 | RCH 32 | NHA 29 | NZH 14 | CLT 13 | DOV 40 | KEN 5 | MLW 32 | GLN 37 | CHI 43 | GTY | PPR 11 | IRP 16 | MCH 20 | BRI 19 | DAR 26 | RCH 37 | DOV 16 | KAN 20 | CLT 5 | MEM 9 | PHO 24 | CAR 27 | HOM 16 | | | 20th | 2904 |
| 2002 | Lewis Motorsports | 46 | Chevy | DAY 33 | CAR 8 | LVS 15 | DAR 25 | BRI 18 | TEX 39 | NSH 37 | TAL 23 | CAL 16 | RCH 2 | NHA 20 | NZH 8 | CLT 20 | DOV 19 | NSH 37 | KEN 11 | MLW 38 | DAY 19 | CHI 11 | GTY 40 | PPR 9 | IRP 37 | MCH 38 | BRI 39 | DAR 23 | RCH 35 | DOV 12 | KAN 19 | CLT 33 | MEM 32 | ATL 9 | CAR 25 | PHO 8 | HOM 9 | | 17th | 3279 |
| 2003 | Lewis Motorsports | 46 | Chevy | DAY 25 | CAR 16 | LVS 27 | DAR 25 | BRI 18 | TEX 27 | TAL 20 | NSH 3 | CAL 12 | RCH 30 | GTY 33 | NZH 35 | CLT 8 | DOV 22 | NSH 6 | KEN 7 | MLW 12 | DAY 12 | CHI 42 | NHA 11 | PPR 9 | IRP 34 | MCH 36 | BRI 10 | DAR 20 | RCH 19 | DOV 7 | KAN 6 | CLT 16 | MEM 10 | ATL 11 | PHO 12 | CAR 12 | HOM 5 | | 12th | 3804 |
| 2004 | Lewis Motorsports | 46 | Chevy | DAY 14 | CAR 15 | LVS 29 | DAR 20 | BRI 31 | TEX 33 | NSH 21 | TAL 17 | CAL 14 | GTY 15 | RCH 15 | NZH 23 | CLT 10 | DOV 25 | NSH 9 | KEN 8 | MLW 13 | DAY 14 | CHI 5 | NHA 17 | PPR 18 | IRP 14 | MCH 13 | BRI 26 | CAL 23 | RCH 20 | DOV 21 | KAN 4 | CLT 35 | MEM 9 | ATL 12 | PHO 9 | DAR 2 | HOM 14 | | 8th | 3892 |
| 2005 | Team Rensi Motorsports | 25 | Ford | DAY 13 | CAL 11 | MXC 9 | LVS 22 | ATL 14 | NSH 19 | BRI 8 | TEX 32 | PHO 17 | TAL 4 | DAR 14 | RCH 16 | CLT 10 | DOV 14 | NSH 25 | KEN 25 | MLW 18 | DAY 26 | CHI 11 | NHA 28 | PPR 15 | GTY 36 | IRP 15 | GLN 31 | MCH 26 | BRI 31 | CAL 31 | RCH 30 | DOV 14 | KAN 28 | CLT 8 | MEM 31 | TEX 21 | PHO 21 | HOM 43 | 14th | 3587 |
| 2006 | Team Rensi Motorsports | 25 | Ford | DAY 12 | CAL 29 | MXC 13 | LVS 13 | ATL 17 | BRI 30 | TEX 38 | NSH 11 | PHO 20 | TAL 33 | RCH 26 | DAR 20 | CLT 28 | DOV 42 | NSH 9 | KEN 5 | MLW 16 | DAY 17 | CHI 35 | NHA 24 | MAR 27 | GTY 16 | IRP 22 | GLN 33 | MCH 39 | BRI 18 | CAL 5 | RCH 31 | DOV 25 | KAN 14 | CLT 11 | MEM 37 | TEX 25 | PHO 24 | HOM 20 | 15th | 3376 |