(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 2, 2014) – Austen Wheatley made his season debut at Cottage Grove Speedway last Saturday during the inaugural Marvin Smith Memorial.
“It was a really cool event to be a part of,” Wheatley said. “I didn’t know Marvin, but he was obviously a loved guy because the place was packed. It was an awesome event. My car just didn’t feel very good the whole night for whatever reason. It felt average in qualifying and felt pretty average in the heat race.”
Wheatley qualified seventh quickest around the quarter-mile oval, which was only one spot out of advancing into the dash. Wheatley then picked up a position to finish fourth in his heat race to lock himself into the 41-lap main event.
“It looked like it was starting to slick up and we tightened the car up too much,” he said. “The racing groove was on the bottom early and I couldn’t touch the bottom because we were so tight. I spun out around Lap 5 and had to go to the back.”
After starting seventh and competing in the top 10 early, Wheatley’s spin forced him to maneuver from the back of the pack. He rebounded to finish ninth, which marked his fifth top 10 of the season.
“The very last lap was my best lap of the feature,” he said. “We got better as the feature went on, but we were just way, way too tight.”
Wheatley will compete this Saturday at either Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., or at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 31 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 9 (7).
SEASON STATS –
14 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 6 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., or at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.AustenWheatley.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiniWheats44w
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, The Oil Medics, 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 and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jun 02, 2014
- Article Date: 6/2/2014 by Inside Line Promotions