(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (March 14, 2016) – Austen Wheatley ran into some rough luck last Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway.
Wheatley drove his way into the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series main event, but he was forced to scratch from the feature because of a mechanical problem.
Prior to the issue, the night had started on a solid note as Wheatley qualified ninth quickest in his group despite being one of the first cars on the track during qualifying.
“I probably could have picked up another tenth or so in qualifying, but the track was so unpredictable,” he said. “On the first lap I tried to get on it and I about spun it out. The second lap I took it a little easier and that was faster.”
Wheatley then came up one spot shy of locking into the feature directly through a heat race as he placed sixth.
“On the first lap Trey (Starks) got the jump into fifth,” he said. “We had a restart and I was on the outside. It got hectic and we were almost involved in a crash. Another guy got by us and we ran sixth the rest of the heat race. There was just no passing so everything was on those initial starts.”
That relegated Wheatley to the Last Chance Showdown, which he started on the pole.
“Paul (McMahan) got me right off the start and I ran second,” he said. “I just had no power from the start. I finished the race in second to transfer, but when I got to the pits and we looked at the engine we found a problem so we were forced to scratch.”
Last Friday’s event at the track was rained out.
Wheatley is hopeful that a fresh engine will arrive this week so that he can compete on Friday and Saturday at Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif., for the FVP Western Spring Shootout with the World of Outlaws.
QUICK RESULTS –
March 12 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 6 (5); B Main: 2 (1); Feature: DNS (22).
SEASON STATS –
4 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 1 top 15, 1 top 20
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 – 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, 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 by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Mar 14, 2016
- Article Date: 3/14/2016 by Inside Line Promotions