(Photo by Wildlight Motorsports Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (Sept. 5, 2018) – Austen Wheatley is focused on showing improvement as he continues the West Coast Swing with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.
Wheatley will compete on Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., during the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
“I don’t think that we’re off that much, but it’s magnified because everyone is so close at the highest level,” he said. “We have to get the balance right and I have to do a better job behind the wheel.”
Wheatley raced with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’ during a trio of races in his home state of Washington during the holiday weekend. The action began last Friday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, where Wheatley qualified 13th quickest overall and finished fifth in a heat race to start the Outlaw Energy Showdown main event on the inside of the seventh row.
“We were running in the top 10 and had a double-file restart,” he said. “I got sandwiched and spun around backwards and hit the infield fence. It gave me a flat right rear tire and broke a shock stud and broke a radius rod, which was jammed in there. They couldn’t get it changed in time so we weren’t able to restart the race.”
Wheatley was credited with a 20th-place finish.
The following night was similar at Skagit Speedway. Wheatley timed in 13th quickest before he advanced from fifth to fourth place in a heat race. That lined him up 10th on the starting grid for the main event.
“I was running around the top 10 and me and (Jason) Solwold were racing back and forth,” he said. “I went to the hit the bottom. Apparently he had a run on me and I don’t think he thought I was going to the bottom. We made contact at the bottom of turn one and spun around. I was able to restart at the back, but we ended up pulling in early because I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Wheatley finished 21st.
He wrapped up the competition on Monday at Grays Harbor Raceway, where a 19th-place qualifying result and a seventh-place finish in a heat race lined him up on the inside of the 10th row for the A Main.
“I think I didn’t do a bad job of driving, but the balance was just off,” he said. “We’re slowly getting there and I could always do better.”
Wheatley ended with a 20th-place result.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 31 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 20 (13).
Sept. 1 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 21 (10).
Sept. 3 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 19; Heat race: 7 (7); Feature: 20 (19).
SEASON STATS –
13 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 6 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 10 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, Franklin Rear Ends, Elite Wings, ART Speed Equipment, Schaeffer Oil and Banshee Graphics 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 05, 2018
- Article Date: 9/5/2018 by Inside Line Promotions