Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (January 8, 2015) – Oh, so close. That’s been the theme for Aaron Reutzel through the opening three legs of the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown at Cocopah Speedway near Yuma, AZ.
The 2015 Lucas Oil ASCS National championship hopeful has shown plenty of speed in the initial three 410-ci Sprint Car events of his career. So much so in fact, that he has earned a front row starting position in two of three events and led the way in two of the features.
The Clute, TX, racer has lacked any semblance of luck, however, with a variety of misfortunes forcing him pitside early in all three events.
“We’ve had no problem finding speed, we’re just having a problem keeping it until the end,” Reutzel laments.
Reutzel made his 410-ci debut on Friday night and promptly raced his way into a front row outside starting position for the 30-lap feature aboard the BC Fundz/Basic One Services No. 87 Triple X Sprint Car.
Reutzel jumped into the early lead only to cut a tire just a couple of laps into the going.
Fast forward to Saturday night and Reutzel actually improved upon his Friday debut by earning the pole starting position for the feature after winning both his heat race and qualifying race in the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions machine.
Reutzel gunned into the lead at the outset of Saturday’s main event and had the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine well in command of the $12,000-to-win race. A mid-race restart proved to be his undoing though, as the front mounts of the top wing broke entering turn one and sent the No. 87 into the wall.
“It was just a freak deal, we’ve never had anything like that break,” Reutzel explained of the likely win that got away.
With Reutzel sidelined, NASCAR star Kyle Larson went on to take the victory. “Even Kyle said he didn’t have anything for me. I would go hard for a couple laps then just kind of ride around, the car was that good.”
Starting eighth in Tuesday night’s feature event, Reutzel had the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics machine among the top five in short order, battling with Logan Schuchart for fourth and closing in on eventual race winner Steve Kinser when a cut right rear tire ended another potential victory drive just a dozen laps into the 30-lapper.
“We ran over Jacob Allen’s rear end cover in turn two, it cut mine and Larson’s and (David) Gravel’s all about the same time,” Reutzel said of the debris that brought a premature end to another strong run.
“The car was getting better and better the further we got into the race, I really would have liked to see what we could have done,” Reutzel said of the Tuesday night feature event.
While three consecutive nights of misfortune are certainly frustrating, the seamless transition to the 410 ranks and obvious speed through the initial three events makes for plenty of reason to be optimistic going into this weekend’s final pair of Winter Heat events on Friday and Saturday.
“It feels great,” Reutzel said of the team’s competitiveness against a stellar Winter Heat field. “It’s good to know that we’re not chasing the setup or just trying to learn how to drive the car. We came here initially just hoping we could make the features, now we know we can compete and have a chance at a win.”
While Reutzel has made the transition from 360 to 410 look easy, the difference between driving the two is noticeable.
“The 410 is so much less stable, they jump around much more too,” Reutzel explains of the significant horsepower-to-weight ratio change.
With the initial three nights of Winter Heat in the books and obvious speed for the No. 87 team, Reutzel will try to finish off the five-race series with a victory in at least one of this weekend’s $12,000-to-win main events.
“I know we can do it if we can just finish the night,” Reutzel says. “The car is working great, we’ve just gotta finish.”
2015 Quick Stats: 3 races, two front-row feature starts.
Up Next: “Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown” Winged 410-ci Sprint Car action at Cocopah Speedway near Yuma, AZ, this Friday and Saturday, January 9-10.
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 Brent Smith)
- Lonnie Wheatley on Jan 08, 2015
- Article Date: 1/8/2015 by Lonnie Wheatley