Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (November 5, 2014) – Taking advantage of an idle weekend on the ASCS National circuit, Aaron Reutzel clipped his wings this past weekend to gear up for some season-ending money races in the topless ranks.
And Reutzel tuned up in nice fashion aboard the BC Fundz/Wren Motorsports No. 87 Triple X Sprint Car by racing to a runner-up finish in Saturday night’s USAC Southwest main event at Queen Creek’s Arizona Speedway.
“It felt good to get some good laps in before Western World and the Las Cruces race,” Reutzel explained in reference the $7,500-to-win Western World Championships at Canyon Speedway Park on November 20-22 and the $10,000-to-win Thanksgiving Bash at Las Cruces’ Southern New Mexico Speedway on November 28-29.
Before that though, Reutzel and the Momentum Racing Suspensions/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt team has business to finish up with the ASCS National Tour, beginning with this weekend’s Battle at the Border events at El Paso on Friday and then Las Cruces on Saturday.
“The last two weekends of ASCS racing at Short Track Nationals and Devil’s Bowl have been good for us, so hopefully we can finish up strong,” Reutzel said.
Running wingless this past weekend for the first time since a Freedom Tour outing in August, Reutzel explained that, “I was trying to get a feel for it again.”
The Clute, TX, racer got off to a good start by driving the Basic One Services/Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics machine to a heat race win, earning a second row inside starting position for the $2,000-to-win main event.
“The track was heavy in the heat race, I didn’t think it would slick up that much,” Reutzel explains. “I was wrong, it slicked off big-time and I was way too loose.”
Still, Reutzel stayed in the mix throughout before ultimately taking the checkered flag in second behind reigning USAC Southwest champion R.J. Johnson.
“R.J. kinda caught me sleeping when he slid by,” Reutzel says. “He wasn’t any faster than us, we kept up after he got by. I just made one mistake and he took advantage.”
“We have to feel pretty good about second though,” Reutzel continues. “Those guys run wingless all the time and go to that track quite a bit. I haven’t run without the wing in a while and it’s the first time I’d ever seen that track, so we’ll take a second place.”
With seven overall wins to his credit this year including three on the ASCS National Tour, Reutzel will try to bolster that total on the border this weekend as he keeps a grip on his top ten ranking in National points.
2014 Quick Stats: 58 races, 7 “A” Main wins, 28 top-fives, 38 top-tens.
Up Next: ASCS National Tour Battle at the Border events at El Paso Speedway Park on Friday night and then Southern New Mexico Speedway near Las Cruces on Saturday night.
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 racinboys.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.
(Photo courtesy of Terry Shaw)
- Lonnie Wheatley on Nov 05, 2014
- Article Date: 11/5/2014 by Lonnie Wheatley