8/26/2016
Aaron Reutzel
Reutzel Embarks on Weekend Triple after Gold Cup Top Ten
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (August 26, 2016) – Reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Aaron Reutzel is set for another weekend of action in the Dakotas after racing to a top-ten finish in last Sunday night’s Rock & Roll Gold Cup finale at the Badlands Motor Speedway in Brandon, SD.
Reutzel will take in two more nights of Badlands action including 410-ci competition on Friday and then 360-ci action on Sunday after taking on the World of Outlaws at Grand Forks, North Dakota’s River Cities Speedway on Friday.
The Friday card will mark Reutzel’s first visit to the racy River Cities oval.
Reutzel comes off a double-duty weekend of both winged and non-wing action aboard the Shark-powered Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car at the Badlands Rock & Roll Gold Cup.
After some early struggles, Reutzel finished the weekend off on a strong note by rallying from the 17th starting position to capture eighth in the finale aboard the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions entry.
“We had a top three car, it was working really well,” Reutzel said of the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine.
The weekend started off with winged action Friday night and a rare problem reared its ugly head. “We broke a push rod on that last lap of the heat race, I don’t know when I’ve ever had that happen.”
In scramble mode, Reutzel and crew patched it up for the feature event. “We found one good enough to start with and then pulled in.”
The non-wing portion proved a challenge on Saturday night in the Wright Way Logistics/Walker Performance Filtration entry.
“We were wrong on the setup,” Reutzel says. “We had no grip, we were spinning the tires like crazy.”
Getting better as the evening progressed, Reutzel still missed the feature cut by one position.
With $50,000 to win in both the non-wing and winged features on Sunday, Reutzel was ready to Rock & Roll.
“We were a lot better with the non-wing on Sunday, we got into the feature and pulled in early,” Reutzel says.
“It was a lot like being at Tulsa Shootout, we got to work on putting wings back on the car and making all those changes,” Reutzel.
It worked out well, with Reutzel working his way through the field from nine rows deep.
“It’s a pretty tight place to race at and can be kind of hard to pass,” Reutzel explains. “The starts and restarts were my best friends.”
Reutzel capitalized on restarts enough to race all the way up to eighth by the end of the 35-lapper. “We had a really good car and were able to move up there.”
It’s something Reutzel plans to build upon as he takes on the World of Outlaws in North Dakota on Friday before returning for two more nights of Badlands action.
2016 Quick Stats: 70 races, 4 wins, 19 top-fives, 31 top-tens.
Up Next:
Friday – World of Outlaws at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND.
Saturday – Winged 410-ci Sprint Cars at Badlands Motor Speedway Brandon, SD.
Sunday – Winged 360-ci Sprint Cars at Badlands Motor Speedway in Brandon, SD.
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 www.sprintcarmania.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 Dean Yoder)
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley