Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (February 17, 2016) – Aaron Reutzel opened the month of February with an All Star top ten at Ocala.
Now, he and the Shark-powered Dissolvealloy Frac Ball Revolution /BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car team are ready to make a run for the $10,000 winner’s share at this weekend’s “King of 360’s” Nationals at Tampa’s East Bay Raceway Park.
“We’re gonna do a little bit of testing and experimenting before we get into points racing,” Reutzel said. “And hopefully we can get away from there with the big money while we’re at it.”
This weekend’s venture to East Bay Raceway Park that includes preliminary action on Thursday and Friday before Saturday’s $10,000-to-win finale marks the second weekend of Florida competition for Reutzel and the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions team after taking in the recent All Star Circuit of Champions opener at Ocala’s Bubba Raceway Park.
Reutzel reeled off a top ten finish in the Friday, February 5, opener before the Saturday night card was washed out.
Among the top five in February 5 hot laps, the slightest of missteps in qualifying set the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt deeper in the field than expected. But Reutzel was able to battle back.
“I went too low through three and four and ran through some water, it went up on the track and really killed both laps,” Reutzel explains after the qualifying lap put him 19th in the field.
Reutzel moved forward in his heat race from sixth to fourth to advance to the main event, commenting that, “We were pretty good in the heat, the track is kind of hard to pass on and we still managed to get a couple of positions.”
From there, Reutzel gridded the night’s 30-lap feature in 13th and worked forward through the field to post a strong eighth place finish aboard the Wright Way Logistics entry.
“We went with a little harder tire for the feature,” Reutzel comments. “We were good on the long runs, we just didn’t need that caution near the end because it took us about five laps to really get going very good.”
Reutzel was satisfied with the night, commenting that, “It was a good shakedown for our team, and I felt like we made some progress and learned a few things.”
Now, Reutzel sets his sights on the $10,000 “King of 360’s” Nationals prize that he narrowly missed last year after a spirited battle with Mark Smith.
“I felt like we had an opportunity last time, so maybe we can cash in this year,” Reutzel wraps up.
Up Next: East Bay Raceway Park’s “King of 360’s” Nationals in Tampa, FL, this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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 www.sprintcarmania.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 Chris Seelman)
- Lonnie Wheatley on Feb 17, 2016
- Article Date: 2/17/2016 by Lonnie Wheatley