3/10/2016
Aaron Reutzel
Las Vegas a Learning Experience for Reutzel
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (March 10, 2016) – Aaron Reutzel got his first taste of The Dirt Track at Las Vegas last weekend with two nights of World of Outlaws competition as well as a round of non-wing USAC Sprint Car action.
It was a weekend of learning aboard Shane Liebig’s No. 55 Triple-X Sprint Car that culminated with a 14th place finish in Friday’s Las Vegas finale while a broken wheel center dug too much of a hole in the No. 0 wingless Sprinter fielded by Glenn Styres and Jack Yeley.
“Vegas was good, we’re still getting used to everything,” Reutzel commented of the weekend in the Liebig No. 55. “We made a lot of progress out there, made a lot of gains. I’m looking forward to racing with him more this year.”
Reutzel and Liebig will team up next at the Badlands Motor Speedway’s season-opening $100,000 Silver Shootout on May 21.
The Las Vegas double began on Thursday night with Reutzel racing his way into the main event from the “B” Main. “We had a good car in the B,” Reutzel said. “In the feature, I caught an infield tire and that messed the car up. It was pretty much one-lane on the bottom and we weren’t going anywhere so I just pulled off to save the car for another night.”
Friday’s qualifying effort was foiled by an attempt to save weight with a light fuel load. It proved to be too little. “It started spitting in qualifying, we weren’t completely up to speed.”
Reutzel rebounded by racing through his heat race into the feature, where he started 14th.
“The feature was going really good, we were good on the long runs and up to about tenth,” Reutzel explains. “The caution killed us, the tire sealed up and we just couldn’t get going again after that.”
Reutzel avoided non-wing disaster when a right rear wheel center broke in heat race action. While Reutzel saved the machine, he was relegated to the tail of the “B” Main. And when they saturated the topside of the speedway, it made for tough going.
“We just had to run the bottom with everyone else and still made our way up to fourth, but they only took three,” Reutzel comments. “There was just no top to work, it was just slime up there.”
Now, chomping at the bit to kick off his Lucas Oil ASCS National championship defense aboard the familiar Shark-powered Dissolvealloy Frac Ball Revolution /BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car, Reutzel will have to wait another week with Mother Nature washing out this weekend’s scheduled opener at Creek County Speedway near Tulsa, OK.
And with the weekend’s other options of Short Track Nationals at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway and an ASCS Gulf South double in southeast Texas washed out as well, it makes for an unscheduled idle weekend for Reutzel and crew before firing back into action next Thursday at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway.
Up Next: ASCS National Tour season opener at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway on Thursday, March 17, followed by the Devi’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals in Mesquite, TX, on Friday and Saturday, March 18-19.
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
