6/3/2014
Aaron Reutzel
Two More Top Fives for Reutzel - Unbeaten Streak at I-30 on the Line!
Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (June 3, 2014) – With an eye now turned on keeping an unbeaten streak alive this coming weekend, Aaron Reutzel reeled off another pair of top-five feature runs in Lucas Oil ASCS National action this past weekend in Kansas and Nebraska to stay in the thick of the championship points battle.
The Clute, TX, shoe drove the Stafford Performance-powered Bob and Christie Miller’s Car Parts Machine/Wren Motorsports No. 87 Triple-X chassis to a fifth-place finish at Salina Speedway in Kansas on Friday night before racing to fourth in Saturday night’s Eagle Nationals at Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway.
With top-five runs in 13 of his last 15 feature starts, Reutzel continues his pursuit of ASCS National glory this weekend with a first-time visit to Tennessee’s Lexington 104 Speedway on Friday before a return to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on Saturday night. Reutzel is two-for-two in reaching victory lane at I-30 Speedway thus far in 2014.
While slightly disappointed with a fifth-place finish in Friday’s slide job festival at Salina, Reutzel salvaged a fourth-place showing at Eagle with an ill-handling machine to make for another solid weekend.
Reutzel’s weekend started with action at Salina, KS, on Friday.
“It was all up top, you had to slide to pass people and you had to slide them at the right time to keep your momentum,” Reutzel explained of Friday’s main event at Salina.
“Hafertepe started sliding me on a restart, so after that I had to slide Loyet on restarts and he’d cross me over, it went on from there with them and then Herrera and Bruce.”
While Reutzel ultimately crossed the stripe a solid fifth aboard the Momentum Racing Suspensions/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine in the frenzied affair, he had hoped for more.
“The car was about perfect,” Reutzel says. “We should have run at least second so I was a little disappointed with fifth. It was still a really good night though.”
Moving on to Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway for the TBJ Promotions Eagle Nationals on Saturday, Reutzel was on the move early from his eighth starting position in the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/BC Fundz/Wright Way Logistics machine, making his way up to third in short order and challenging Johnny Herrera for second.
But it wasn’t going to last.
“The track fooled us,” Reutzel explains. “The track started getting wide and slicking up before the feature but it was really rough. They tilled the hole in turn two so we kept the car free not knowing exactly what it was going to do, but then the track went away really fast.”
After making a quick charge up to third, the handle soon went away.
“I rode in third a while, after 12 to 15 laps though I was just hanging on, the car was way too loose,” Reutzel said.
Reutzel held on quite well, posting a fourth-place finish to stay within 76 points of the lead.
“I really thought we’d drop back to probably tenth or so,” Reutzel explains. “To run fourth that night, I was really happy with that.”
Running his season totals to 16 top-fives and 21 top-tens in 27 starts, Reutzel can’t help but be pleased with the team’s success thus far in 2014.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how this team is going this year,” Reutzel says. “With all of Bob and Christie Miller’s help and Ryan Beechler working on the car, it’s been a great year, we couldn’t ask for much more.”
Gaining ground in the ASCS National points chase is still a chore, even with four top-fives in the last five events.
“It’s so hard to gain points, even with top-fives, the guys that finish ahead of us are the ones already ahead of in points,” Reutzel explains. “We just have to keep working at it.”
Reutzel and crew will keep working at it this weekend at Lexington 104 Speedway on Friday and I-30 Speedway on Saturday.
“I’ve never been to Lexington 104, never even seen a picture of it,” Reutzel explains of the 3/8-mile dirt oval in Tennessee.
I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, AR, is a different story however, as less than two months ago, on April 12, Reutzel picked off his first career ASCS National win and first of five overall wins thus far in 2014. Reutzel added another score atop the ¼-mile clay oval on May 10 to make it two-for-two in Little Rock.
“We haven’t been beat there yet this year, hopefully we can keep it that way Saturday night,” Reutzel says of I-30 Speedway.
2014 Quick Stats: 27 races, 5 wins, 16 top-fives, 21 top-tens, 5 heat race wins, 3 “B” Main wins.
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National action on Friday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, TN, and then on Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, AR.
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 racinboys.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.
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley
Submitted By: Lonnie Wheatley