Grand American Rolex

Moderator: Shane, how are you and the Southard team approaching the 2008 season?

Shane Lewis: It's completely our job to build on the last race of the season at Miller where we finished fourth. We were the top finishing Lexus team and we're very proud of that, and it's something we want to build on for '08 for sure.

Moderator: Tell us about the working relationship with your new teammate.

Shane Lewis: It's going to be great. We have Bill Lester on board and I'm really excited about that. After testing earlier this month at Daytona, we found that we have extremely compatible driving styles. He's very fast and that's what I really needed in a teammate. It's also great because he works well with the team, the crew and the engineers. One of the things we talk about is building on our success to close out last year and this is one of the keys, to have a teammate you can trust and have some faith in to make the car better and know that you're going to be heading in the right direction.

Moderator: What are your thoughts on this year's Rolex 24?

Shane Lewis: It's going to be probably the most interesting 24-hour race we've done in a long time. This will be my 11th Rolex 24 at Daytona and my 25th 24-hour race in my career, so I've seen a lot, but I have to tell you, what's different this year is the large number of GT cars in the field compared to the number of DP cars out there. I think running through traffic and being smart in traffic is going to dictate how you do in the race. Obviously, we have a very strong package. We have an excellent Riley chassis and this Lexus power-plant is just amazing. I love driving it because not only is it powerful, but it's tremendously reliable, which is exactly what you need in a 24-hour race. You don't ever, ever want to come to pit lane in a 24-hour race for anything more scheduled stops.

Moderator: What other changes have seen here at the Rolex 24?

Shane Lewis: There really is no more endurance driving anymore, it's flat-out from the minute the green flag falls now. It's almost a sprint race, but the key is how do you run flat-out for 24 hours, but be smart in traffic, never drop a wheel and never make a mistake? It's really tough for 24 hours and the crew has the same responsibility, they can't make a mistake for 24 hours.

Moderator: I understand that before you began racing, you were a bull-rider. How did you get into racing?

Shane Lewis: Actually, it's kind of interesting. Race cars seem kind of safe after you've ridden bulls. If you put a roll cage around me and give me a set of wheels, it's a much better experience (laughing). It was something I had a lot of fun with when I was younger. Thank God, it was my father who got me out of it and he helped me finish my very first race car. I always wanted to be a race car driver, but nobody had the wherewithal to make it happen, so I became a bull-rider in the meantime. I rode bulls for three years. I was actually California State Bull-riding champion in high school and I had a scholarship to go off and ride bulls in college out west, and I had the opportunity to do some pro stuff. But I got beat up pretty hard and my dad asked me, 'what can I do to make you stop' and I said 'you help me finish the race car' and that's what happened and I've been racing ever since.