(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (June 4, 2018) – Austen Wheatley dusted the cobwebs off last Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway where he made his season debut and his first sprint car start since last October.
“We had electrical issues so the car didn’t fire for packing or hot laps,” he said. “We got it to fire just before qualifying. I hadn’t even looked at the race track and hadn’t raced the car in more than seven months, but it turned out solid.”
Wheatley qualified ninth quickest in his family owned No. 45. He then placed fourth in a heat race to lock into the ninth starting position for the A Main.
“I think it took me a minute to get acclimated,” he said. “Elma is a fast place. The track was great in the feature. It had two grooves at both ends and was really smooth.
“It was a weird ending to the race. We had a caution with four laps to go. I was in seventh when we had a restart. I got up to fifth when a car broke in turn four. Jason Solwold was right in front and he slowed to like half speed. I questioned whether the race was over, but J.J. Hickle passed me. I picked it back up and he beat me at the line by a nose.”
Wheatley was credited with a sixth-place result.
Wheatley said his next event will be June 21-23 at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., during the 47th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com. He will also compete with the ASCS National Tour the following weekend at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., during the Fred Brownfield Classic.
“It might take a few laps to get up to speed at Skagit since that’s different than Grays Harbor, but I feel good going into Dirt Cup,” he said. “I think we can be competitive.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 2 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 4 (2); Feature: 6 (9).
SEASON STATS –
1 race, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 1 top 10, 1 top 15, 1 top 20
UP NEXT –
June 21-23 at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the 47th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com
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 Jun 05, 2018
- Article Date: 6/4/2018 by Inside Line Promotions