FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ben Shelton (msrmafia@gmail.com)
October 22nd, 2014

Mark Whitener Runner-Up at Hendry County

Middleburg, Florida (10/22/14) – After a strong of frustrating runs Mark Whitener and Big Frog Motorsports got things back on track on Saturday evening with a second place finish in their #58 Dave's Towing/B&B Produce/Barry Wright Late Model with the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series (UDLMCS).

Saturday evening found Big Frog Motorsports returning to competition with the UDLMCS at Hendry County Motorsports Park (Clewiston, Florida).  A modest seventeen entries were on hand for the $5,000-to-win program, and via time trials Mark Whitener locked into the second starting spot for the first heat race. He went on to finish second, earning him a spot in the evening's redraw where he was the recipient of the fourth starting spot for the 50 lap feature. Whitener survived a caution-plagued main event to register a second place finish behind race winner, Jason Fitzgerald. Austin Kirkpatrick, Keith Nosbisch and Jack Nosbisch Jr. rounded out the top five finishers.

“We’ve been battling the handle on this car for a while now, but it was actually really good this weekend,” said Whitener. “Hopefully we have things pointed in the right direction now.”

Full results from the event as are available at www.UnitedDirtLateModelSeries.com .

Whitener will enjoy an off weekend before returning to action with the UDLMCS on Saturday, November 1st as he travels to Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, Florida) for a $3,000-to-win event.  For more information on the event please visit www.BubbaRacewayPark.com and www.UnitedDirtLateModelSeries.com .
Big Frog Motorsports would like to thank their principal and associate sponsors including Dave's Towing, B&B Produce, Big Frog Shocks, Big Frog Signs and Graphics, FK Rod Ends, Schaeffers Oil, Racecar Engineering, Sunoco Race Fuels, Koury Racing Engines, Custom Racing Engines, Ohlins Shocks, American Race Tire, Barry Wright Race Cars, Daytona Sensors LLC, Schoenfeld Headers, COMP Cams, AR Bodies, and MSR Mafia Marketing Services.

For the latest team news and updates on Big Frog Motorsports please visit www.BigFrogMotorsports.com .

Reutzel Ready for STN after Strong Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals!

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (October 22, 2014) – Aaron Reutzel regained his early season form with a pair of strong runs at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals this past weekend, finishing the weekend off with a podium finish in third on Saturday night after opening the double with a fourth-place run on Friday.

And the timing couldn’t be better for the set the BC Fundz/Wren Motorsports No. 87 Triple-X Chassis team going into this weekend’s $15,000 to win Short Track Nationals at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway.

“It was a good weekend, one we were needing,” Reutzel said after running his season total to 24 top-five finishes.

Friday got off to a good start with the draw.  “We drew good, but it wasn’t good enough for the redraw after we won the heat.”

Starting the feature tenth aboard the Momentum Racing Suspensions/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine, Reutzel worked his way forward.  “We had a really good car but it was still hard to pass, you really had to do it when other guys made mistakes.”

Up to fifth and closing on Dusty Zomer for the fourth and final lock-in position, Reutzel found himself fourth when leader Jason Johnson broke in the final rounds.  “We had just caught Zomer, it was going to be close,” Reutzel says.  “We were racing hard, we knew we were on the bubble.”

Locked into Saturday’s Winter Nationals finale in the Basic One Services/Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics machine with Friday’s fourth-place finish, Reutzel redrew a four to start fifth in the Saturday night Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale.

“It was heavy again so I knew the first lap would pretty much determine where you would run,” Reutzel says.  “I blasted the middle to try to get up front, I cleared (Brandon) Hanks but couldn’t quite get by (Matt) Covington.”

Running second in the late stages, Reutzel decided to take a gamble on a restart.  “We’re not really worried about points now so I decided to go for the win,” Reutzel explains.  “I tried the bottom but bounced it pretty hard and Zomer got by for second.”

Back to third, Reutzel rode it out to claim the third-place show position for the second consecutive time in the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale.

“Once Zomer got by we really didn’t have a chance to win so I just kept it on the bottom to hold onto third,” Reutzel says.  “Overall, it was a really good weekend.”

After a quick couple of days off, it’s back to work tonight in the Second Annual Short Track Nationals Open before mixing up in the Thursday night qualifying portion of I-30 Speedway’s 27th Annual Short Track Nationals.

“This is one of my favorite racetracks to come to, I’m excited about it,” Reutzel says of the ¼-mile clay oval that he captured his first career ASCS National win on earlier in the year.

With an eye on the weekend’s $15,000 winner’s share, Reutzel guns for his second start in the prestigious STN finale after racing into the 2011 main event.

2014 Quick Stats:  54 races, 6 “A” Main wins, 24 top-fives, 34 top-tens.

Up Next: Short Track Nationals Open at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on Wednesday night, Short Track Nationals qualifier on Thursday and Short Track Nationals finale on 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 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.

Bell Lands First Asphalt Win – Sets Sights on STN!

Lonnie Wheatley, NORMAN, Okla. (October 22, 2014) – Racing a full-bodied Late Model on asphalt looked like anything but new for 19-year-old Christopher Bell this past Saturday night as the Norman, OK, native raced to victory lane in just his third try on asphalt.

Saturday’s win aboard the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 52 in the 150-lapper at Durham, North Carolina’s Orange County Speedway marked the young racer’s 22nd overall feature win of the 2014 season after reeling off 21 triumphs in a mix of Midgets, winged and non-wing Sprint Cars.

With his first asphalt triumph under his belt, Bell shifts his attention beginning tonight to I-30 Speedway’s Short Track Nationals in Little Rock, AR, where he has finished second in the previous two editions of the $15,000 to win event.

“It was awesome,” Bell said of Saturday night’s asphalt late model triumph at Orange County Speedway.  “It shocked me that I won, it shocked the whole team.”

It probably shouldn’t have been that much of a shock, as Bell was fast throughout the weekend.
“We were the best car all weekend, we were fast in practice Friday night and then qualified well on Saturday and redrew for the pole,” Bell said.

While the pole starter jumped out to the early lead, Bell reeled him in soon enough and took command.
“The spotter was telling me to slow down to save my equipment,” Bell says.  “I did and John Hunter Nemecheck.”

Nemecheck passed Bell for the lead, with the duo swapping the point a number of times along the way.
“Nemecheck got to me and passed me,” Bell says.  “Then he’d slow down to save tires, someone would get up to me so I would pick up the pace and pass him back for the lead. We probably passed each other six or seven times.”

Bell eventually took command and checked out to put the race away.

“John Hunter finally slowed down after about 100 laps or so, I guess he wore his stuff out, we checked out then and won it.”

The experience was a new one for Bell.  “It’s entirely different from Sprint Car racing but I enjoyed it, it was a lot of fun.”

After breaking his maiden in the asphalt late model ranks, Bell shifts his attention to I-30 Speedway’s prestigious Short Track Nationals that gets under way Wednesday night with the Short Track Nationals Open before Bell’s qualifying night on Friday.

“I hope we can get the win this time, I’m tired of running second,” Bell explains after running second each of the past two years in October atop the high-banked, ¼-mile clay oval.

“This is such a tough event, we could just as easily miss the show after running second twice before,” Bell comments.  “There’s so many good cars at this race, everything has to go just right to have a chance of it.”
Bell’s ride for the Short Track Nationals is Brandon Berryman’s All Pro Auto Reconditioning No. 31b, a ride he drove to a pair of ASCS Speedweek wins in June.

2014 Quick Stats:  93 races, 22 wins, 49 top-fives, 62 top-tens.
Next Up:
Wednesday, I-30 Speedway STN Open (Little Rock, AR) – Berryman No. 31b Winged Sprint Car
Friday, I-30 Speedway Short Track Nationals (Little Rock, AR) – Berryman No. 31b Winged Sprint Car
Saturday, I-30 Speedway Short Track Nationals (Little Rock, AR) – Berryman No. 31b Winged Sprint Car
Keep Track:  Keep track of Christopher Bell’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.christopherbellracing.com/.

If you would like to keep up with all of Christopher Bell’s racing action by having press releases e-mailed directly to you, simply 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.