Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (July 22, 2016) – It was just what the defending Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour champion was needing. A big win.
Plagued by ill fortune over the latter portion of the Northwest swing, Aaron Reutzel had last weekend’s $7,500 NSA winner’s share in his sites at Billings Motorsports Park.
And he wasn’t letting this one get away.
“It was much needed, hopefully this turns things around,” Reutzel said after capturing the victory.
The Billings oval is a place that Reutzel has found to his liking. He finished second there last year in his Shark-powered Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car.
This time, he joined forces with Shane Liebig and the No. 55L team for the weekend.
“It doesn’t matter what we do there, we’re always bad fast there,” Reutzel says. “That track just fits my driving style, it’s really racy and fun to get around.”
After the Friday portion rained out, Reutzel put that on display with the big money on the line Saturday.
Reutzel raced from fourth to second in his heat race and then redrew the pole position for the main event on the reworked surface.
“It started to rubber up in the heat races, they did a great job of reworking the track and prepping it for the feature,” Reutzel says.
Reutzel gunned into the lead at the outset and paced the field early on.
“I was searching around, I ran the top and I ran the bottom,” Reutzel explains. “I kept hearing Travis (Rilat) up there.”
Rilat raced by on the high side to take command. “I didn’t think there was that much up there, but he was making it work. He actually cleaned the top off and I was better up there then.”
Reutzel kept Rilat in sight and pounced when the opportunity presented itself.
“I got back to him in traffic,” Reutzel says. “He made a mistake with one lapped car, I capitalized on his mistake and drove on from there.”
With his fourth win of the year in the books, Reutzel and the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions team look to turn their luck around in Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour competition at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, SD, this weekend.
“Our luck had been terrible in Shane’s car too this year, so hopefully it turns it all around,” Reutzel comments.
Reutzel has been in contention for past wins at Black Hills Speedway with a fourth-place finish last year in the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt mount after a third-place run the previous year.
This weekend, Reutzel looks to add to the win column in the Wright Way Logistics/Walker Performance Filtration machine.
2016 Quick Stats: 54 races, 4 wins, 15 top-fives, 25 top-tens.
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, SD, on 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.
- administrator on Jul 22, 2016
- Article Date: 7/22/2016 by Lonnie Wheatley