(Photo by Paul Gould)
Inside Line Promotions – SPRING RUN, Pa. (June 30, 2014) – If he can improve his results in qualifying, Austen Wheatley is confident his team can string together a bunch of good finishes.
Wheatley said he struggled with qualifying throughout the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Speedweek last week, which put the team behind the eight ball each night.
“I don’t know why we struggled so bad,” he said.” There were a couple of times I couldn’t control it because the track went away and other times I’d mess up and lay down bad laps. Qualifying is the most important part of the night. I need to be more consistent.”
Wheatley was unable to qualify inside the heat race inversion and despite a couple of good performances in the heat races and B Mains, he didn’t advance into a main event during the marquee week of competition.
The qualifying woes continued on Sunday at Path Valley Speedway Park, where Wheatley made his PA Speedweek debut by timing in 35th quickest on the quarter-mile oval.
Once again he showed speed in his heat race by rallying from ninth to sixth place, which was one spot short of advancing into the main event.
“I got rolling,” he said. “It’s a really small track, which suits my style. I got one position every lap for the first two or three laps. I got under the guy for the transfer spot two or three times, but just couldn’t complete the pass.”
That relegated Wheatley to the B Main, which he started on the outside of the eighth row.
“I went from about 16th to ninth on the first lap and some guy spun out in front of me,” he said. “It bent some stuff and knocked the nose wing off. It poked a hole in the tail tank so we were leaking fuel.”
Wheatley restarted in last place, but he spun out a couple of laps later and was unable to finish the event.
The PA Speedweek resumes on Tuesday at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville before races on Wednesday at Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Md.; Thursday at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal; Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg; Saturday at Port Royal Speedway and on Sunday at Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove.
Wheatley will make his debut at all of those tracks except Williams Grove Speedway.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 25 – Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio – Qualifying: 39; Heat race: 5 (8); B Main: 13 (17).
June 26 – Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio – Qualifying: 36; Heat race: 11 (9); B Main: 12 (16).
June 27 – Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio – Qualifying: 29; Heat race: 9 (8); B Main: 9 (10).
June 28 – Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio – Qualifying: 38; Heat race: 8 (10); B Main: 20 (18).
June 29 – Path Valley Speedway Park in Spring Run, Pa. – Qualifying: 35; Heat race: 6 (9); B Main: DNF (16).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 1 win, 4 top fives, 6 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa.; Wednesday at Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Md.; Thursday at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa.; Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Saturday at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa.; and Sunday at Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, Pa., for the PA Speedweek
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 – Astro Titanium
Established in 1999, Astro Titanium manufactures quality titanium fasteners for sprint cars and midgets. Based out of Noti, Ore., owner Dave Sims has developed his business into a titanium leader on a national scale. For more information, visit http://www.AstroTitanium.com.
“Astro Titanium and Dave Sims have been with me since the beginning of my career,” Wheatley said. “Anytime we have a problem, we call Dave up and he helps. He’s a really personable guy and his products work great.”
Wheatley would also like to thank Redlined Welding & Construction, Downforce Designs, 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 30, 2014
- Article Date: 6/30/2014 by Inside Line Promotions