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As you may have noticed, Michael Lewis stayed on track the entire race and with his strategy of not stopping for fuel, Lewis took a car that wasn't fast enough to run up front, and garnered a fourth place finish. Lewis is running a carburated Lozano Bros. system.
The #12 AmeriSuites Jaguar XKR ran out of fuel during the second practice session on Friday. Using the data obtained from the session, the fuel mileage determination was made that Lewis should be able to complete all 66 laps on the regulation 24 gallons of fuel. While the Trans-Am Series rules do not mandate a pit stop, the assumption is that the fuel load is not sufficient to complete the 100 mile races and that teams will have to come in for fuel.
While some may have speculated as to the exact legality of a car that could go from start to finish without a pitstop, following the event, the #12 Jaguar XKR reported for Technical Inspection to determine if the vehicle met all current regulations and if the fuel cell capacity was at the mandated levels. The thorough inspection by the Trans-Am officials confirmed that the car and driver were in compliance.
"In the past, I have always done well here and I was starting to get concerned when I wasn't able to qualify better than eighth. We never had a fast car all weekend. Since I couldn't compete with the speed, I decided to run smarter and outlast them," explained Michael Lewis.
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