Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (March 23, 2016) – The opening weekend of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour competition was anything but kind to reigning series champion Aaron Reutzel.
After getting shuffled to seventh in the closing laps of Thursday’s season opener at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway, horrendous luck denied a position in Saturday’s Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals in Mesquite, TX.
“It was a horrible weekend,” Reutzel summarizes. “Hopefully that’s the end of all the bad luck.”
In retrospect though, “Waco wasn’t too bad,” the driver of the Shark-powered Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car commented.
Reutzel found himself starting deep in Thursday’s feature field at Heart O’ Texas Speedway, working forward from 13th in the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions machine.
“We weren’t all that great in the ‘A’, but we kept our nose clean and stayed out of trouble,” Reutzel said.
Indeed, the Clute, TX, racer avoided trouble to the extent that he was battling among the top five in the closing rounds.
“We were battling with Matt Covington for fourth, then here comes Wayne Johnson trying to slide us both in the same corner,” Reutzel recaps. “I barely caught his rear bumper when he slid by, then he tried to drive both of us off the racetrack in one and two on the last lap so we ended up seventh.”
Reutzel and the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt team moved on to Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday night where no luck was to be found following a Friday rainout.
“We drew bad again and it was typical one-lane,” Reutzel says. “We actually went eighth to fifth in the heat and was trying to make a move on fourth and he spun in front of us. I swerved to miss him and ran off the track, he kept going so we were back to last.”
Reutzel and the Wright Way Logistics/Walker Performance Filtration team had work to do in the “B” Main. And work was getting done.
“We had moved up to fifth, but then I hit an infield tire and broke the front end,” Reutzel explains. “That was pretty much it.”
Reutzel accepted a provisional for the main event but pulled off right away. “Provisionals are money only this year and no points, so it didn’t make any sense to stay out and risk tearing up more.”
It’s a weekend that Reutzel looks forward to putting behind him in short order with strong runs in ASCS National Tour action at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, TX, on Friday night and then Bronco Raceway Park in Cleveland, TX, on Saturday night.
Both are tracks that Reutzel has enjoyed success at and both are relatively close to his Clute, TX, home. It could very well be just what the doctor ordered to rebound from a rough opening weekend.
“We just have to get the bad luck out of the way,” Reutzel says. “If we have that out of the way, we can start winning some races.”
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, TX, on Friday night and then Bronco Raceway Park in Cleveland, TX, 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 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.
- administrator on Mar 23, 2016
- Article Date: 3/23/2016 by Lonnie Wheatley