Landen Lewis, a championship contender in the ARCA Menards Series West, will travel to Lexington, Ohio this weekend in an attempt to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The 17-year-old driver will partner with Roper Racing to pilot the No. 04 Carquest Chevrolet Camaro in Saturday’s event at the 2.258-mile road course. Bruce Cook, Lewis’ team owner in the ARCA West Series, will serve as crew chief of the entry.
“This has been a dream of mine to compete in the NASCAR Truck Series, and I cannot wait to make my debut in the No. 04 Carquest Chevrolet for Roper Racing,” said Lewis. “I want to thank Cory Roper and everyone at Roper Racing for this incredible opportunity. I am honored to be a part of such a dedicated team and I’m excited to take on another road course behind the wheel of the Carquest Auto Parts Chevrolet.”
At 15 years old, Lewis shocked the world with a victory in his second-ever start at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, driving for Rette Jones Racing. Lewis recorded a pair of top-10 results in a three-race schedule that season.
Lewis then joined forces with Bruce Cook and Cook-McGowan Motorsports, winning his ARCA Menards Series West debut at Kern County Raceway Park in 2022. Since then, the Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina native has joined the series full-time, scoring a victory earlier in the year at Portland.
“We’re excited to have Landen [Lewis] in the truck, we have watched him in the ARCA [Menards] Series and feel confident he will do a great job,” said Craig Roper, team manager for Roper Racing. “Even though he will be a rookie in the truck series for this race, I think we’ll see some veteran-like driving from young Landen.”
As far as expectations are concerned, Roper has the utmost faith in the driver-crew chief pairing of Bruce Cook and Landen Lewis, saying: “Normally the answer to this question with a rookie driver would be to just run all the laps, help Landen learn the truck, and have a solid day, but with Bruce as crew chief and with Landen’s talent, I think we’ll have a shot at winning this race.”
Bruce Cook, who has served as the crew chief of the No. 04 throughout most of the season, will continue his role with Lewis at Mid-Ohio. With the prior experience between the pair, things are likely to get off on the right foot in Saturday’s event.
“We have a lot of faith in Bruce [Cook], as well,” said Roper. “He has helped Roper Racing find speed and has put together some great finishes this year with a driver he hasn’t worked with before, so having Bruce and Landen together on our truck with their history is a great match-up, especially with this being a road course race and seeing what they are able to accomplish at Portland this year in the ARCA West car.”
With 38 on the preliminary entry list for Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lewis will have to lock himself into the field via a top-31 speed in qualifying, which will take place on Friday prior to the ARCA Menards Series event.
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