Maximum Attack Motorsports Faces Fiery Setback as Brandon Lewis Demonstrates Dominant Pace

Wampum, PA (August 25, 2024) – Maximum Attack Motorsports driver Brandon Lewis endured a tumultuous race weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, as a myriad of mechanical maladies struck his Super Touring Volkswagen Jetta at every opportunity. Despite his misfortune, Lewis demonstrated prodigious speed and extraordinary resilience on his way to setting the 2nd fastest lap of the Feature Race on Sunday afternoon.

The weekend began on an upbeat note as the team had finally found a solution to the tire durability issues that had stymied the team at NJ Motorsports Park. In an effort to reduce the workload on the Maximum Attack Motorsports crew, Team StudioVRM.Racing had also sent two of its crew members to the track to assist with mechanical work and data analysis through the long summer weekend.

However, any hopes of a trouble-free weekend were quickly dashed when the Jetta’s power steering system shut down on the first lap of the Saturday Qualifying session. What was initially suspected to be an electric power steering rack failure proved to be much more serious when a plume of fiery smoke emerged from the depths of the Jetta’s engine bay.

The team discovered that a leak had developed in one of the metal lines for the engine crankcase ventilation system and sprayed hot oil onto the wiring for the Jetta’s electric power steering rack. Fortunately, the fire was small enough to be extinguished quickly, and with the help of the friendly mechanics from fellow USTCC competitors On Q Racing and BRT, the team was able to repair the damage by the evening.

Lewis arrived on grid for Sunday Qualifying with renewed optimism and hopes for a chance at overall pole position. Those chances were cruelly taken away when the VW’s DSG transmission refused to shift into 1st gear while attempting to roll off of the grid. The team eventually determined that this was due to a quirk of the Jetta’s hydraulic parking brake mechanism and quickly began preparing the car for a last-place start in the all-important Sunday Feature Race.

Brandon Lewis unleashed the might of the #79 Maximum Attack Motorsports VW Jetta as the green flag dropped, overtaking 10 cars on the first lap and elevating the team to 7th overall within the first few minutes of the race. The team’s Saturday struggles seemed like a distant memory as Lewis recorded lap times that were several seconds faster than the overall leader as he sliced through the field in pursuit of the front of the pack. By the 2nd lap, the Maximum Attack Motorsports Jetta had managed to overtake BRT’s Honda Civic Si to claim 4th overall on one of Pittsburgh International Race Complex’s long straights.

This charge to the front would unfortunately prove short-lived – A problem with the Jetta’s throttle caused an intermittent loss of power that would only worsen as the race went on. On Lap 5, the Jetta would completely lose power from its 2.0T engine and come to a halt on the service road at Turn 10.
Despite his early exit, Lewis had secured the 2nd fastest lap of the Feature Race on a traffic-filled lap, showing the class-topping performance potential of the #79 Maximum Attack Motorsports VW Jetta.
Brandon Lewis reflected on the difficult weekend with a positive outlook.

"This weekend can be summed up by 'that's racing' — both in the sense of adversity and camaraderie. Everyone's effort, even that of our fellow competitors, especially StudioVRM to help whenever needed kept the hopes alive. Hope to see you back home in Jersey!"

Maximum Attack Motorsports extends its gratitude to its fans and sponsors for their unwavering support. Stay tuned for updates as the team prepares a new engine for the #79 Jetta for the final round of the 2024 season at NJ Motorsports Park.