6/4/2020
Aaron Reutzel
Reutzel Ready to Thunder Through the Plains after Strong Opening All Star Weekend
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (June 4, 2020) – Thunder Through the Plains returns after an extended absence with nine races in 11 nights beginning on Thursday night at Lawton Speedway and then continuing on throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Louisiana.
And Aaron Reutzel and the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 Sprint Car team are geared up for the hectic slate of events after jumping out to the early All Star Circuit of Champions points lead following last weekend’s action in South Dakota that resulted in a win and a runner-up finish.
After picking off a pair of non-points All Star Circuit of Champions win in Florida in February, the Friday points chase opener went as well as it could have for the two-time and reigning champion and the Folkens Brothers Trucking/Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car team.
“The entire night went smooth, from the pill draw to qualifying, the heat, the dash and the feature, it all went as smooth as it possibly could,” Reutzel says.
The results indicate that as well. After timing in second-fastest overall, Reutzel earned a Dash position through his heat race and then won the Dash to secure the front-row outside starting position in the Precision Catalyst/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Beard Equipment machine for the feature.
From there, Reutzel raced on to his fifth overall win of the season aboard the Nattress Construction/Momentum Racing Suspension machine and 28th of his career with the All Star Circuit of Champions, this one worth $6,600.
“The last time I was here, it was cowboy-up and you had to drive as hard as you could, but tonight it was really slick and technical and that’s how I like it,” Reutzel explained. “It took me five laps to figure out how to run this place. I really had to open my entry up and pivot around the tires to get going down the straightaways. It was a lot of fun though.”
Saturday proved to be more of a challenge with Reutzel rising to the challenge by earning runner-up honors after gridding the feature outside the fourth row.
After topping the charts in qualifying, a high pill draw for the Dash netted the eighth-starting position for the feature event.
Reutzel wasted little time, rallying to fourth on the opening lap and soon injecting himself into the lead race. He led the way on a pair of occasions in the closing laps before settling for runner-up honors at the stripe.
“I felt like we had the better car and I think we would have won if there wouldn’t have been that late caution,” Reutzel explains. “It was sloppy on the bottom of turns three and four, I caught my left front in it and pushed up. Then he (Austin McCarl) did what I would have done and drove under and moved me up the track for the lead. It was good racing.”
With the opening weekend of points racing in the books, Reutzel finds himself back in some familiar territory with the opening portion of Thunder Through the Plains including three nights of action in Oklahoma and then one night in Kansas.
Reutzel has picked up past wins at Saturday night venue Outlaw Motor Speedway near Muskogee and Sunday stop 81 Speedway near Wichita, KS, while Friday’s visit to Meeker’s Red Dirt Raceway will be a first.
“I’m looking forward to it, we’ve done well there with a 360 in the past but this will be the first time at each of these with a 410 so it should be fun,” Reutzel comments.
2020 Quick Stats: 26 races, 5 wins, 13 top-fives, 18 top-tens.
Next Up: All Star Circuit of Champions “Thunder Through the Plains”:
Thursday – Lawton Speedway (Lawton, OK)
Friday – Red Dirt Raceway (Meeker, OK)
Saturday – Outlaw Motor Speedway (Wainwright, OK)
Sunday – 81 Speedway (Park City, KS)
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.
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley