9/17/2014
Aaron Reutzel
Reutzel Looks for Fall Brawl Finishes to go with the Speed!
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (September 17, 2014) – The speed is there; no question the BC Fundz/Wren Motorsports No. 87 Triple-X Chassis machine is plenty fast.
It’s just a matter of parlaying that speed into up-front finishes. And, hopefully those up-front finishes resume for Aaron Reutzel in the Momentum Racing Suspensions/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt Sprint Car at this weekend’s Midwest Fall Brawl III at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway, where a $50,000 bonus for sweeping the ASCS National Tour weekend is up for grabs.
Reutzel comes off a weekend of “‘what-could-have been’s” at Texas Motor Speedway where a variety of misfortunes sidelined a pair of strong runs among the top five.
“It was going good on both nights, we were plenty fast,” the driver of the Scott Baylor Racing Engines/Basic One Services machine said of the Fort Worth, TX, weekend.
Lady Luck wasn’t on the Clute, Texas’ driver’s side this time around though, with a blown power steering line preceding a broken rocker arm on Friday night and then a lapped car cutting a left rear tire while on the charge Saturday night.
After adding the first of two heat race wins on the weekend, Reutzel started Friday’s feature third but slipped back to seventh in the early going.
“We got back up to fifth, I got by Jeff (Swindell) and was about to pass (Matt) Covington for fourth when the power steering hose blew,” Reutzel explains. “It just blew the side out of it, it wasn’t rubbing on anything at all, it was a weird thing to have happen.”
Working back through the field after the caution, Reutzel was closing back in on top-ten status when he sensed something was amiss. “I felt the motor lose power, so I pulled it in.”
With a broken rocker arm the diagnosis, repairs were made and the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics machine was ready for more Texas Motor Speedway action on Saturday night.
And, after starting the feature tenth, Reutzel worked his way forward in short order. Up to third with the top two in sight, Reutzel’s run was cut short after contact with a lapped car cut the left rear.
“We were running the top in one and two and the bottom of three and four,” Reutzel says. “I got by in one and two then he tried to race me into three and got into the left rear. We went to the work area to change it, but they went green before we could get back out.”
“We were really good,” Reutzel says. “We had just got up to Sam (Hafertepe, Jr.), who was running second, and we’d done it without any cautions.”
Instead of a pair of top-fives and a potential win, Reutzel and crew were credited with finishes of 16th and 18th, yet still climbed a position to ninth in Lucas Oil ASCS National points.
With the No. 87 machine running well, being around for the finish this weekend at I-80 Speedway could prove quite lucrative for Reutzel and company with a $50,000 bonus at stake for the weekend sweep.
“The car is fast,” Reutzel says. “We just need a little luck, if everything will stay together we’ve got a shot at it.”
2014 Quick Stats: 49 races, 6 “A” Main wins, 22 top-fives, 31 top-tens.
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action I-80 Speedway’s Midwest Fall Brawl III in Greenwood, NE, on Friday and Saturday.
Keep Track: Keep track of Aaron Reutzel’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.aaronreutzelracing.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aaron-Reutzel-Racing/117666254913127 or on Twitter at @AaronReutzel. You can also e-mail Aaron at aaronreutzel@yahoo.com.
If you would like Aaron Reutzel Racing press releases e-mailed directly to you, send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Penning the recurring series of “The Wheatley Chronicles” articles on racinboys.com, Lonnie Wheatley provides media, public relations and more for select tracks, drivers and events. For more information, Wheatley may be contacted at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
(Photo courtesy of JM Hallas)
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley
Submitted By: Lonnie Wheatley