3/9/2017
Aaron Reutzel
Reutzel Ready to Roll the Dice in Vegas
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (March 9, 2017) – Early season action for Aaron Reutzel continues with another pair of nights of World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car action at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on Thursday and Friday.
It will be one more weekend of 410-ci competition for the Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car team before kicking off the pursuit of a second Lucas Oil ASCS National championship at next weekend’s Devil’s Bowl Speedway “Spring Nationals” near Dallas, TX.
Reutzel races into Las Vegas on the strength of an impressive charge through the field at Kilgore, Texas’ Lonestar Speedway last Friday night that came to a premature end when caught up in a jumbled restart melee.
“At least we were fast and going forward,” Reutzel said of the Lonestar outing aboard Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions entry. “It gives us good momentum going into Vegas.
Credited with an official finish of 20th after rallying from 16th to eighth at Lonestar, Saturday’s scheduled action at the Gator Motorplex in Willis was rained out and rescheduled for April 13.
Friday’s card at Lonestar Speedway started with Reutzel drawing an early qualifying number.
“I thought that would be to our advantage, but it didn’t work out that way,” Reutzel said. “The track kept cleaning off as qualifying progressed and it was getting faster.”
The second one out to qualify, Reutzel settled for a time that was 16th-quick among the 28 car field, putting the Nattress Construction/Wings Unlimited entry in the sixth starting position of the first heat race.
Reutzel raced his way into the feature with a sixth-place finish in his heat and gridded the field in 16th.
With the 35-lap feature under way, Reutzel was on the move in the Wright Way Logistics/Walker Performance Filtration entry, cracking the top ten by the time the race’s first caution flew at the midway point and then climbing to eighth before getting collected in a multi-car scramble on a lap 27 restart.
“The track was tricky, you had to throw sliders to make passes and it was easy to get into the wall off of two or slip off the top of four,” Reutzel said of the speedy Lonestar oval. “We had good speed, but I was making some mistakes that let people get back by and you can’t afford to do that with the Outlaw guys.”
Reutzel still made his way forward until the lap 27 restart cut his race short. “A couple of cars got together ahead of me,” Reutzel relates. “I tried to back off, but there was already somebody on me, there just wasn’t anywhere to go.”
With the Saturday card at Gator rained out, Reutzel got an early start to Las Vegas. He got his first taste of World of Outlaws action at the Vegas dirt oval last year.
“We were running about seventh or eighth the first night and hit an infield tire, then we were 14th the second night,” Reutzel recalls.
Reutzel looks to post a pair of strong runs before ASCS action fires off next weekend.
2017 Quick Stats: 14 races, 2 top-tens
Up Next: World of Outlaws Sprint Cars at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on Thursday and Friday night.
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.
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley