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Wheatley Captures Summer Thunder Sprint Series Victory at Grays Harbor

(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (Sept. 6, 2017) – Austen Wheatley returned to Victory Lane on Sunday at Grays Harbor Raceway to highlight a busy four-race weekend.

It marked the third win of the season for Wheatley and car owner Doug Rutz.

“It was pretty cool,” Wheatley said. “I feel like we’ve been good in Elma. We won that race earlier this year, but it was only against 11 cars. When you have a full field it’s a lot cooler. I don’t feel like I made a lot of mistakes and the car was really good so it was an efficient night.”

Wheatley opened the event by qualifying seventh quickest before he finished where he started – second – in a heat race. That locked him into the feature redraw, in which he pulled the No. 4 to start the main event on the outside of the second row.

“I hung out in fourth for the first couple of laps before Roger Crockett, who started on the inside of me, had his nose wing come off,” he said. “I slid Tayler Malsam a couple of laps later for second and then I followed Chase Goetz for a couple of laps before I slid him for the lead. I passed them both in turns three and four.”

Wheatley led the remainder of the race as he survived a slew of cautions.

“We’d go a few laps and have a caution,” he said. “I felt comfortable and we were really good on restarts so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Wheatley piloted his family owned No. 44w during a trio of World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series events last weekend as well.

He qualified 18th quickest, placed seventh in a heat race and ended fourth in the Last Chance Showdown on Friday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. Wheatley then advanced three positions to finish 19th in the main event.

He returned to the high-banked oval on Saturday and his results improved. Wheatley timed in 16th quickest during qualifying, maneuvered from sixth to fifth place in a heat race and capped the night with a 17th-place result in the A Main.

Following Sunday’s Summer Thunder Sprint Series triumph, Wheatley tackled the World of Outlaws race at Grays Harbor Raceway on Monday. He qualified 13th quickest, ended sixth in a heat race and finished 21st in the main event.

“The balance felt off,” he said. “The first couple at Skagit were me getting acclimated to 410 racing, but it didn’t feel any better at Grays Harbor on Monday. Hopefully we can get this figured out soon.”

Wheatley will return to World of Outlaws action this Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., before racing on Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., for the Gold Cup Race of Champions.

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 1 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 18; Heat race: 7 (6); B Main: 4 (1); Feature: 19 (22).

Sept. 2 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 16; Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 17 (13).

Sept. 3 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 1 (4).

Sept. 4 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 6 (5); Feature: 21 (16).

SEASON STATS –

26 races, 3 wins, 4 top fives, 11 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 20 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., for the Gold Cup Race of Champions with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.AustenWheatley.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AustenWheatley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DownForceDesigns?fref=ts

APPAREL –

Wheatley will have t-shirts and hoodies for sale at every race he competes at this season. For his schedule of races, visit http://www.AustenWheatley.com.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Redlined Welding & Construction

Redlined Welding & Construction performs welding and construction for fishing boats and processors. Based out of Lake Stevens, Wash., Redlined Welding & Construction is owned and operated by Austen’s father, Shannon Wheatley.

“Redlined Welding & Construction is a family business and we race with a family team so without Redlined Welding & Construction I wouldn’t be able to race,” Austen Wheatley said. “It is the heart and soul of this team.”

Wheatley would also like to thank Downforce Designs, Astro Titanium, Fire-Down Graphics, SpeedMart, Bell and King Racing Products for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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