6/17/2014
Aaron Reutzel
Reutzel Opens Speedweek in Strong Form!
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (June 17, 2014) – One brilliant heat race move was all it took for Aaron Reutzel to kick off the 22nd ASCS Speedweek on a strong note with yet another top-five finish Saturday night atop the storied ½-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway clay oval near Dallas, TX.
With Saturday’s fourth-place run his fifth top-five in the last six ASCS National events, Reutzel and the Bob and Christie Miller’s Car Parts Machine/Wren Motorsports No. 87 Triple-X team take aim on the Bob Westphal Memorial Cup as Speedweek resumes for four consecutive nights beginning Wednesday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, OK.
With the Devil’s Bowl Speedway manicured in fast and heavy form, a big pill draw for heat race action buried Reutzel near the tail of a heat race. “It wasn’t looking too good.”
On a night where passing would likely be at a premium, a good start was imperative. And Reutzel responded in the Momentum Racing Suspensions/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine.
“There were a couple of cars near the front that I thought maybe would have trouble with the dirty air getting into one,” Reutzel explained. “They checked up and we went eighth to third in the first corner. If they would have made it through the first two corners smooth though, we probably wouldn’t have been able to pass them.”
The top point earner after heat race action, Reutzel and the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/BC Fundz/Wright Way Logistics team redrew the third row outside for the feature.
“The middle slicked up some but the top was still heavy,” Reutzel says of the ½-mile Devil’s Bowl oval. “It was full throttle around the top.”
“We were fifth the first quarter of the race, I tried the bottom a little and Jason (Johnson) got me,” Reutzel says. “He got to racing Crawley and we got him back to finish fourth.”
A fourth-place finish on a challenging track has Reutzel and crew enthused.
“We’re happy with it, we got a top-five at a place where you can just as easily miss the show,” Reutzel explains.
“It’s a good start to Speedweek and it was definitely a good points night for us, we beat all the guys that were ahead of us,” Reutzel says of the team’s move up to fifth in ASCS National points, only 62 points out of the top spot.
ASCS Speedweek continues on Wednesday night at Lawton Speedway, the ¼-mile red clay oval in Southwest Oklahoma that Reutzel has yet to visit.
“I’ve watched some video of it and it looks like my kind of joint, it can either be heavy and rough or slick off,” Reutzel says. “I’m looking forward to it.”
From there it’s on to two tracks where Reutzel has already visited victory lane in 2014, Creek County Speedway near Tulsa on Thursday and then Outlaw Motorsports Park near Muskogee on Friday. ASCS Speedweek then wraps up at the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO, on Saturday night.
2014 Quick Stats: 28 races, 5 wins, 17 top-fives, 22 top-tens, 5 heat race wins, 3 “B” Main wins.
Up Next: The balance of ASCS Speedweek:
Wednesday – Lawton Speedway (Lawton, OK)
Thursday – Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, OK)
Friday – Outlaw Motorsports Park (Wainwright, OK)
Saturday – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO)
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 racinboys.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
Submitted By: Lonnie Wheatley
