3/8/2018
Aaron Reutzel
Reutzel Scores WoO Top Five in BRM Debut; Thunderbowl Double this Weekend
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (March 8, 2018) – Assembling all the parts and pieces to a new team is no easy task. But the effort proved worthwhile right away as Aaron Reutzel raced to a top-five World of Outlaws finish in last week’s Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 Sprint Car team debut at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas.
After showing substantial speed aboard the Folkens Brothers Tucking/Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution Triple-X Sprint Car only to be foiled by a cut tire on Wednesday night, Reutzel and crew bounced right back to earn the pole position for Thursday night’s feature event before posting a fifth-place finish.
“All in all, it was a good way to get started,” the Clute, TX, racer commented. “Everyone involved was happy with how things went.”
Saturday’s scheduled card at Perris Auto Speedway was an early victim of rain. The team stays in California for World of Outlaws action over the next three weekends beginning with Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway on Friday and Saturday.
The BRM team unloaded at the track for the first time last Wednesday night (February 28) for the opening leg of the World of Outlaws FVP Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas. And the Precision Catalyst/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Beard Equipment team came out of the box quickly.
“We were happy with hot laps,” Reutzel says. “But I guess that I made one too many laps, so they penalized us one lap in qualifying.”
That penalty proved costly. “That one lap we had, I got hung out in the slick and ruined our lap,” Reutzel said of the circuit that put him 13th among his group. “Then our heat was pretty much one lane, but we were happy with our speed.”
Gridding the “B” Main field sixth, Reutzel rallied into second in short order only to have a transfer position swiped away by a flattened left rear tire with the white flag in sight.
“I don’t know if we had it too low to start with or if we cut it or just what happened, but there wasn’t enough time to get back out,” the driver of the Nattress Construction/Momentum Racing Suspensions entry explained.
Reutzel began Thursday’s action with a qualifying effort that was fifth among his qualifying group. “We went out dead last and still laid down what I thought was a decent lap. I may have left a tenth or two out there, it’s been a while since we’ve qualified so I’m still knocking the rust off.”
There was no rust in racing action though, with Reutzel rallying from fifth to second in his heat race to secure a Dash position.
“We went from fifth to second in the heat race with no problem and about passed Brian Brown for the lead,” Reutzel recalls.
Reutzel went on to win the Dash to secure the pole position for the night’s feature event.
“We were good in the Dash, but I felt like we were just a little bit loose,” Reutzel explains. “We tightened it up just a little bit, but it was just a little too much.”
With a tight race car for the feature, Reutzel still managed to put together a fifth-place run to make for a successful opening pair of events for the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 team.
“I couldn’t quite hit the ledges, and if you’re off just a little bit with these Outlaw guys, it’ll show,” Reutzel explains.
The BRM team will spend the next three weekends in California competing with the World of Outlaws before shifting to All Star Circuit of Champions action in Ohio. And the California swing gets rolling with this weekend’s pair of events at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway on Friday and Saturday.
Reutzel has enjoyed some past Thunderbowl success with a Peter Murphy Classic win in 2015.
“Tulare has been good for me,” Reutzel says. “Hopefully it’s a get-up-on-the-fence kinda deal. It if is, then I think we’ll be alright.”
2018 Quick Stats: 2 races, 1 top-five, 1 top-ten.
Up Next: World of Outlaws at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA on Friday and Saturday. For those unable to catch the action in person, it is available via PPV on www.dirtvision.com.
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.
(DB3 Photo)
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley