(Photo by Matt Levonas Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (July 28, 2014) – Austen Wheatley’s new best friend is ice.
Wheatley will be forced to spend a lot of time with frozen water following a wild weekend where he flipped violently in back-to-back nights.
“It’s probably the worse weekend I’ve had in my career,” he said. “We have one motor left. We have one car left.”
The weekend started on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where Wheatley qualified 20th quickest and finished third in his heat race to lock himself into the feature. However, Wheatley was unable to make a lap as another car made contact with him on the start.
“Somebody on the outside came down and cleaned us out,” he said. “They turned down and clipped my left front. It was around the bottom so I think they were trying to get to the bottom before we got to turn one.”
The impact propelled Wheatley into a series of flips, which culminated with his car landing on top of the frontstretch infield wall adjacent to the flag stand.
The team put together the spare car on Sunday afternoon prior to the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions event at Huset’s Speedway. Wheatley qualified ninth quickest and placed third in his heat race to start the main event on the inside of the sixth row.
“I was running eighth with five laps to go and Sheldon Haudenschild yard sailed me,” he said. “He hit my left side header with his right front. It cut the car in half. The motor almost came out.”
The crash, which resulted in a 19th-place finish, destroyed Wheatley’s car for the second straight night and beat his body up.
“My knees are swollen and there’s about a two-inch bubble in my forearm,” he said. “I’ve been icing a lot.”
The team hopes to replenish the inventory in order to compete this weekend.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 26 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 20; Heat race: 3 (2); Feature: DNF (15).
July 27 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 3 (2); Feature: 19 (11).
SEASON STATS –
32 races, 1 win, 4 top fives, 6 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 11 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
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, 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 Jul 28, 2014
- Article Date: 7/28/2014 by Inside Line Promotions