9/7/2018
Aaron Reutzel
All Star Points Leader Reutzel Tunes up for Tuscarora 50 with Tenth Win of the Year
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (September 7, 2018) – A $51,000 payday hangs in the balance at this weekend’s Tuscarora 50 at central Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.
Aaron Reutzel and the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 Sprint Car team did their best to tune up for the All Star Circuit of Champions event by making an all-night haul from Ohio pay off with a win in the Monday afternoon Labor Day Classic atop the half-mile clay oval.
The team’s tenth overall feature win of the season wrapped up a weekend that included three All Star events in Ohio, with Reutzel surviving the weekend to retain the series points lead aboard the Folkens Brothers Trucking/Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution Triple-X.
The Ohio triple included finishes of 11th and eighth at Attica Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday and then fifth at Wayne County Speedway on Sunday before the overnight trip to Pennsylvania pushed the team into double-digits in the win column.
“We just wanted to test some things and get some laps,” Reutzel said of the last-minute decision to take in the Monday matinee card at Port Royal. “We were trying some new ideas and they worked, hopefully that will carry into this weekend.”
Reutzel’s Ohio weekend began with a strong qualifying effort aboard the Precision Catalyst/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Beard Equipment entry on Friday at Attica Raceway Park.
But a major track rework between qualifying and heat races caught the team off guard. “We missed it, we were beyond tight,” Reutzel explains.
Forced to make it to the main through “B” Main action, Reutzel worked his way through the feature field to salvage an 11th place finish on the night.
“We were okay, but we should have been a lot better than that finish,” Reutzel says.
Another strong qualifying effort ensued on Saturday night at Attica Raceway Park with Reutzel making his way into the Dash this time and starting the feature in tenth. Reutzel went on to finish out the night eighth aboard the Nattress Construction/Momentum Racing Suspensions entry.
“We were pretty good in the feature, there were a lot of guys racing us pretty hard and we were trying to make sure we got a decent finish to get as many points as we could,” Reutzel explains.
From there, it was on to Orrville, Ohio’s Wayne County Speedway on Sunday where Reutzel bounced back from a sub-par qualifying effort to win his heat race and the Dash to earn the front row outside starting position.
Reutzel finished out the All Star Circuit of Champions weekend with a fifth-place run.
“We left the car alone after the Dash and then it got a lot slicker,” Reutzel recalls. “We fell back and just held on for fifth.”
Reutzel finished out the four-race set with Monday’s $4,000 Labor Day Classic triumph at Port Royal Speedway that he the BRM No. 87 team hope to carry into this weekend’s lucrative 51st Annual Tuscarora 50 on Friday and Saturday.
2018 Quick Stats: 63 races, 10 wins, 25 top-fives, 36 top-tens.
Quick Results:
Friday, August 31 – 11th in All Star Circuit of Champions action at Attica Raceway Park
Saturday, September 1 – 8th in All Star Circuit of Champions action at Attica Raceway Park
Sunday, September 2 – 5th in All Star Circuit of Champions action at Wayne County Speedway
Monday, September 3 – 1st at Port Royal Speedway
Next Up: All Star Circuit of Champions at Port Royal (PA) Speedway’s 51st Annual Tuscarora 50 on Friday and Saturday. Those unable to see the event in person can watch on live PPV at https://www.speedshifttv.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.
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley