Dirt Cup Luck Lacks for Bellm – Grays Harbor Up Next

 

Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (July 2, 2015) – Skagit Speedway’s Dirt Cup looked so promising for Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour rookie contender Kyle Bellm.  So promising, that victory lane was clearly within sight.

 

The Nixa, MO, racer carried the momentum of a Lucas Oil Speedway runner-up finish into his first visit to the Alger, WA, clay oval.

And in the early laps of Thursday’s preliminary feature, it looked almost certain that Bellm would park the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision No. 14k Sprint Car in ASCS National Tour for the second time in his career.

Then the luck turned for the worse.  And quick.  A tangle in lapped traffic 11 laps into the feature derailed an otherwise perfect night aboard the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair Sprint Car.

“A guy had a flat tire and was up in the cushion, the yellow lights came on late and I just barely clipped him with my right rear,” Bellm explains.

The damage was minimal, but enough to end the night.  “I thought I could miss him, but just barely got him.”

“We should have won that one for sure, we were the only one running 12-second laps in the feature,” Bellm says.

Heat race problems on Friday put Bellm deep in “B” Main action.  “We got tangled up in a mess in the B, did a little tommy-tumpover.”

With accumulated points over both nights setting Saturday’s feature lineups, Bellm’s misfortune atop misfortune landed him deep in “B” Main action.

“Then they moved us to the inside line and it got jumbled up at the start and we fell back to 13th right off the bat,” Bellm says.

“It was still pretty narrow, but we got going and got back up to seventh,” Bellm says.  “Once it widened out, we were fast, we just needed a few more laps.”

Luck aside, Bellm and crew are enthused about the consistent speed of the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines Sprint Car.

“We’ve got a lot of speed, just no luck,” Bellm explains.  “I felt like we were one of the fastest cars all weekend, it’ll turn our way.”

Bellm looks for that turn of luck as he makes his first visit to Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA, for this weekend’s “Fred Brownfield Classic” on Friday and Saturday.

Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA, on Friday and Saturday.

 

Keep Track:  Keep track of Kyle Bellm’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.kylebellm.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KyleBellmRacing?fref=ts or on Twitter at @kylebellmracing.

If you would like Kyle Bellm 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 www.sprintcarmania.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.

Reutzel Extends ASCS Points Lead with Dirt Cup Podium

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (July 2, 2015) – Aaron Reutzel made the most of his first trip to Alger, Washington’s Skagit Speedway with a podium finish in last weekend’s Dirt Cup finale. 

And he did it after a minor mechanical problem in Friday’s preliminary feature mired him five rows deep in Saturday’s finale.

It wasn’t deep enough to prevent the driver of the Shark-powered BC Fundz/Basic One Services No. 87 Triple X Sprint Car from making a run for the win that came just one position short at the checkered flag.

“If there would have been another caution flag on that last lap, no doubt we would have won it,” Reutzel said.

As a result of his fifth place finish in the Thursday preliminary and a runner-up finish in Saturday’s finale aboard the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions machine, Reutzel has extended his lead in the $60,000 Lucas Oil ASCS National championship chase to 71 points.

“If it weren’t for Friday night, we would be checked out in the points race,” Reutzel comments.

Reutzel found the Skagit Speedway oval to his liking at the outset, showing good speed throughout the weekend in the Dissolvealloy Frac Ball Revolution machine.

“We had plenty of speed, I think we were probably the quickest car all week,” Reutzel said.  “We just didn’t have the luck.”

Narrow heats made for tough sledding early on Thursday and a pole draw in a late heat on Friday made for no chance of making the redraw.

Still, Reutzel made the most of it by racing from 12th to fifth in Thursday’s feature aboard Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine and was looking at an up-front starting spot in Saturday’s $15,000 finale until forced pitside.

As a result, Reutzel started five rows deep.  And Reutzel put on a show.

“We definitely had the car to win it, had we started in the top five instead of back in tenth,” Reutzel says.

Reutzel rallied forward from tenth in the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics Sprint Car and rolled the top side towards the front.

“We got the top working good, we got into second on the next-to-last lap and just ran out of time to get the win,” Reutzel says.

“We rebounded after Friday’s problem and got another good finish, we’re happy with it,” Reutzel wraps up.

Another weekend of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action in Washington is on the docket with the “Fred Brownfield Classic” at Elma’s Grays Harbor Raceway on Friday and Saturday.

While Reutzel has been to Grays Harbor Raceway once before, it will be his first chance to sling the Elma clay after both nights of 2011 action fell victim to rain.

2015 Quick Stats:  34 races, 7 wins, 18 top-fives, 23 top-tens.

Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA, on Friday and 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 www.sprintcarmania.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.