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Wheatley Charges Forward during World of Outlaws Debut at Arizona Speedway

(Photo by Matt Hill)

Inside Line Promotions – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (March 7, 2016) – Austen Wheatley wrapped up his season-opening weekend with a strong finish at Arizona Speedway on Sunday during the NAPA Desert Shootout.

Wheatley overcame a slow start during his debut at the high-banked track as he rallied from the consolation race to post a 14th-place result in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series main event.

“I liked that track,” he said. “I thought it was a cool shape and in the feature the track was really racy. When the pace finally slowed down and it got to two grooves we came to life. I was ripping the curb the whole way and sliding people. I did a couple of slide jobs that didn’t clear and had to slow up so that cost me a few positions. I should have had a top-10 finish.”

Wheatley began the event by timing in 24th quickest during qualifying. He then finished where he started – eighth – in a heat race, which relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown. However, a fourth-place result earned a transfer into the 22nd starting position for the main event.

Wheatley then charged toward the top 10 before ending 14th. He passed the second-most cars in the main event.

The weekend began on Thursday at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas, where Wheatley qualified 28th quickest overall and placed sixth in a heat race to miss locking into the FVP Outlaw Showdown feature by only one spot.

“They switched the tires up this year,” he said. “I got up to third place and then I sealed a tire up like on Lap 3. We had a restart and I had to maneuver around, but I didn’t have any tire left.”

Wheatley rebounded with a third-place finish in the Last Chance Showdown to transfer into the back of the main event. However, a lack of brakes forced Wheatley to pull into the pits early and he was credited with a 24th-place result.

He returned to the half-mile oval on Friday and qualified 15th quickest before again missing a lock-in to the feature by only one spot in a heat race.

“The track was a lot more predictable on Thursday than it was on Friday,” he said. “I was running where I started in the heat when the motor started going sour about halfway.”

The team quickly swapped engines before the Last Chance Showdown, but was unable to put a new setup on the car.

“We didn’t have much time to make adjustments,” he said. “I couldn’t run the curb like I needed. We were too tight.”

Wheatley placed seventh in the consolation race to miss a transfer by three spots.

He is slated to return to World of Outlaws competition this Friday and Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.

QUICK RESULTS –

March 3 – The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas – Qualifying: 28; Heat race: 6 (5); B Main: 3 (2); Feature: 24 (23).

March 4 – The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 6 (4); B Main: 7 (2).

March 6 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. – Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 8 (8); B Main: 4 (6); Feature: 14 (22).

SEASON STATS –

3 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 1 top 15, 1 top 20

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., 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 – Downforce Designs

Downforce Designs is an apparel company established and operated by Austen Wheatley. For information on apparel options, prices, clientele and more, visit http://www.DownforceDesigns.com.

“It’s good to have a fresh take on apparel in the sport,” Wheatley said. “My goal is to provide something unique and diverse, and I think I know what a driver wants to see on his or her apparel. It’s a racer helping racers.”

Wheatley would also like to thank Redlined Welding & Construction, 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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