Amy Lisenbe/Nevada Appeal
By Rhonda Costa
Nevada Appeal Staff Writer
Courtney Lewis, co-owner of the No. 96 Supermodified Racing Association team, died Dec. 27 at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. He was 60 years old.
Lewis had been in poor health after suffering a heart attack in August 2007, which was further complicated by diabetes. He had been in the intensive care unit since Dec. 23 after suffering a heart attack at his home.
Lewis and co-owner, Mike Burts, have been part of the supermodified racing family for eight years. Drivers have included Mike Baisch, Ernie Coppo, Kirk Wartman and most recently, rookie Kenny White of Fresno, Calif.
"Courtney was a brother to me," said Burts, who lived with Lewis and helped care for him for more than a year. "We fought like brothers. And we were the odd couple " I was neat and tidy and he was not neat and tidy. It was a constant feud.
"But we depended on each other. We lived pretty good, for poor boys."
Burts will announce at a later date arrangements for a celebration of life for Lewis.
"I thought we had an exceptional relationship (as driver and owner)," said Wartman. "We got along real well and we thought of him like family. He spent a week with us (family) in 2007 and we got along great, even our dogs. And he included us as part of his family.
"Not everyone got along with Courtney, but he was a good man."
While undergoing dialysis three days a week, Burts would make sure Lewis got his treatment, even when it meant booking an appointment out of town or out of state.
"As ill as he was he was a great help on race day," Burts said. "He made all the hotel arrangements, took care of getting tires, parts, everything I needed to work on the car. He was so gravely ill recently he couldn't work on the car. But we made for a great team."
Burts said now that he has lost Lewis and with the hours he puts in at his own job it will be very hard for him to handle all operations of the race team.
"I'm not sure if I can handle it," he said. "I may have to relinquish the car to the driver for the six Madera races and let them take care of it. But either way, the car will be at the first race (April 4 at Madera Speedway, in Madera, Calif.).
"The bottom line is the financial part. It's hard to figure out right now. The problem lies in do I want to go on. We couldn't afford it financially as it was, yet we were there every race. There are a lot of people who literally ... racing is their life. Instead of putting a roof on their house, they go racing."
Several words describe Lewis when it came to supermodified racing: Passionate, opinionated, stubborn and dedicated.
"I've known Courtney since the late '60s when I met him at T-CAR (Tahoe-Carson Area Raceway)," said Steve Shaw of S&S Motorsports in Carson City. "He was always a real straight-up guy and tried to do things right, whether it was his business, one of his semi-trucks or the racecar. He was always first-class."
Shaw described Lewis as an "old-fashioned, man's man kind of guy."
"I'm proud to have known him," Shaw added. "I'm going to miss the old coot. What it all boils down to, Courtney was a good man."
Lewis had been involved in one form or another of racing since the late 1960s and joined the supermodified series in 2000 with help from S&S Motorsports. The team finished second in point standings the Supermodified Racing League's 2005 season, something Lewis was proud of.
"Anytime I finish second to S&S, I'm happy," Lewis said in a 2005 interview. "They're the best."