(Photo by Lisa Dynes Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – ALGER, Wash. (Sept. 7, 2016) – Austen Wheatley was on pace to set a career-best World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series result at Skagit Speedway last weekend before he was caught up in a crash both nights.
The action began on Friday with Wheatley qualifying 13th quickest overall and placing fifth in a heat race to line up 13th in the main event.
“We got three laps in and someone spun out in front of me and I couldn’t avoid it,” he said. “It knocked the front end out and we didn’t have enough time in the work area to fix it so we ended with a DNF.”
Wheatley was credited with a 20th-place finish.
He returned to the high-banked oval on Saturday and opened the competition by timing in 17th quickest during qualifying.
“I didn’t put two laps together either night and that hurt us,” he said. “The heat race on Saturday night was just a melee.”
Wheatley not only survived incidents on the track, but he moved forward to place second and earn a bid into the dash. He then finished sixth in the dash to start the main event on the outside of the third row.
“I had a lot of fun,” he said. “We hung around sixth most of the time with slide jobs with (Logan) Schuchart, (Donny) Schatz and (Jason) Johnson. I think we would have finished eighth, but someone spun out in front of me with about two laps to go and I flipped.”
Wheatley was involved in the late incident and he was unable to restart the race. He was again credited 20th.
“If you look at statistics it doesn’t look like a great weekend, but Saturday was pretty good,” he said. “We were really competitive and they weren’t my most aggressive laps. I think we would have finished eighth. If I really would have been on it we could have had a top five.”
Monday’s event at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., rained out.
Wheatley is set to compete Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., for the Gold Cup Race of Champions with the World of Outlaws.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 2 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 20 (13).
Sept. 3 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 2 (6); Dash: 6 (5); Feature: 20 (6).
SEASON STATS –
5 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 2 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., for the Gold Cup Race of Champions with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
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 – Redlined Welding & Construction
Redlined Welding & Construction performs welding and construction for fishing boats and processors. Based out of Lake Stevens, Wash., Redlined Welding & Construction is owned and operated by Austen’s father, Shannon Wheatley.
“Redlined Welding & Construction is a family business and we race with a family team, so without Redlined Welding & Construction I wouldn’t be able to race,” Austen Wheatley said. “It is the heart and soul of this team.”
Wheatley would also like to thank Downforce Designs, Astro Titanium, 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 Sep 07, 2016
- Article Date: 9/7/2016 by Inside Line Promotions