Reutzel Grinds Out Challenging Speedweek!

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (June 24, 2014) – While the results weren’t all that bad, they still weren’t what Aaron Reutzel was hoping for as he and the Bob and Christie Miller’s Car Parts Machine/Wren Motorsports No. 87 Triple-X team rode out a trying ASCS Speedweek.

It could best be characterized as a workmanlike effort, overcoming a variety of setbacks including a cut tire, brake loss and power steering failure along the way.

When all was said and done though, the familiar Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/BC Fundz/Wright Way Logistics machine was among the top ten in four of five Speedweek events and no lower than 11th, good enough to rank fifth in ASCS Speedweek points and hold down the fifth position in the season’s ASCS National championship points race.

To cap off the week, Reutzel dropped in on Double X Speedway on California, MO, on Sunday night where he claimed a third-place finish in the Momentum Racing Suspensions/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine.

“We had a great car every night, it seemed like little things happened though and we just didn’t capitalize and get the finishes we should have,” Reutzel surmised.  “That part of it sucks, we should have won at Outlaw and should have been top five the other three Speedweek races.”

After opening Speedweek with a fourth-place run at Devil’s Bowl Speedway the previous Saturday, a four-night stretch of action kicked off last Wednesday at Lawton Speedway where Reutzel claimed seventh after battling among the top five early on.

“We should have been third at Lawton or maybe even second, then I fell off the racetrack,” Reutzel explained of his first Lawton Speedway feature outing.

On to a heavy Creek County Speedway near Tulsa on Thursday where Reutzel clawed his way to another seventh-place finish after starting 11th.  “We were points racing, I really never got up on the wheel and manhandled it like I maybe could have.”

With an eighth consecutive ASCS National top ten finish in the books, it was on to Outlaw Motorsports Park near Muskogee, OK, on Friday night, a track where the Clute, TX, driver claimed his second National win in May.

Running a strong second early on, Reutzel’s luck soured when a cut left rear tire shredded down the backstretch.  To complicate matters, a loss of brakes once action resumed hindered Reutzel’s charge back through the field though he still salvaged a ninth-place finish.

What was a potential win at the outset before the cut left rear tire, Reutzel still felt that, “We could have got to the top five if we hadn’t lost the brakes, the car was that good.  After that though, we just got what we could get.”

Set for the Speedweek finale at Lucas Oil Speedway, Reutzel was behind the eight ball early.  “I missed a chance to win the heat race, just made a mistake in the first corner and ended up in a “B” Main.”

Reutzel dominated his “B” Main and was on the move from the 18th starting position until he felt fluid and brought the machine to a stop in turn four.  “I thought it was oil from the engine so I shut it off, I looked down and saw the fluid and realized it was power steering.”

Minus power steering over the final 22 circuits of the 30-lapper, Reutzel still managed to work his way to an 11th-place finish.  “Before we lost power steering, we were easily a top ten car and probably a top five.”

Hungry for a win, Reutzel and crew member Ryan Beechler opted to take in Sunday night’s card at Double X Speedway to tune up for some ASCS Warrior action over Fourth of July weekend.

Fast out of the box once again, a “W” on this night wasn’t meant to be either.

After starting fifth, Reutzel worked his way past fourth and then third before setting his sights on the lead duo.  Reeling in the second place car in short order, Reutzel went to work.

“I slid him and stuffed it in the fence, I thought for sure I was flipping,” Reutzel recalls.  “I don’t know how I kept going, but I did.  It knocked the Jacob’s ladder off though, after that I couldn’t touch the cushion so we rode around and finished third.”

With a busy stretch of action in the books, Reutzel will take to the storied Knoxville Raceway ½-mile clay oval at Iowa’s Marion County Fairgrounds on Saturday night with twin features on the docket to gain some valuable laps for the upcoming Knoxville 360 Nationals before taking in four nights of ASCS Warrior Region competition over Fourth of July weekend.

2014 Quick Stats:  33 races, 5 wins, 18 top-fives, 26 top-tens, 6 heat race wins, 4 “B” Main wins.

Up Next: Twin 360 features at Knoxville Raceway this Saturday, June 28.

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 Bats .500 at ASCS Speedweek!

Lonnie Wheatley, NORMAN, Okla. (June 24, 2014) – It had been over a month since Christopher Bell had turned a lap in a winged Sprint Car.

Little difference did it make though, as the Norman, OK, native kicked off four nights of ASCS Speedweek action with Hard Charger efforts at Lawton Speedway last Wednesday before topping two of the next three events at Creek County Speedway and Lucas Oil Speedway to run his season total to 14 feature wins.
And the 19-year-old was ever so close to another win aboard Brandon Berryman’s All Pro No. 31b JR1 Chassis with fuel problems sidelining a possible Friday night score at Outlaw Motorsports Park.
Bell’s ASCS Speedweek action kicked off Wednesday atop the red clay of Lawton Speedway in Southwest Oklahoma.  Arriving at the track just in time for hot laps after travel delays, a broken wing valve in heat race action set up a spectacular rally from the tail of a “B” Main into the third and final transfer position.

Bell then raced from 20th to tenth in the feature before the track locked down, earning Hard Charger honors and setting up a drive for the ages the following night at Creek County Speedway.
With the balance of the field struggling on a heavy, seemingly narrow Creek County surface near Tulsa, OK, on Thursday night, Bell made it look easy.

Starting from the front row outside, Bell gunned into the lead and dominated the field by lapping all but the second and third place cars with a pair of cautions the only thing keeping the remaining podium finishers on the lead lap.

“I tried it down low some early but I was way too tight for that like everyone else,” Bell explained.  “I moved up the track and just ran it harder, the harder you run a winged car the better it goes.”

Racing in front of numerous friends and family at one of the tracks Bell grew up on in the Micro Sprint ranks was a special moment.  “I grew up running Micros around here, I always enjoy coming back to this place.”
Bell particularly enjoyed the cozy confines of the Creek County Speedway clay oval on this night.  “I just love these rough and heavy little bullrings.  You can really sit up in the seat where the driver can really make a difference.”

Coming off a thorough thrashing of ASCS competition on Thursday, the young sensation worked his way into a threatening third position in Friday’s feature at the Outlaw Motorsports Park.  Set to challenge front-runners Brad Loyet and Jeff Swindell for the point after a caution with just six laps to go, only a fuel shortage could slow Bell’s charge and result in a DNF.

“I think we had as good a shot at winning that as anyone, we were good,” Bell explained.

On to the ASCS Speedweek finale at the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO, Bell rallied from ninth to second in his heat race to rank as high point driver among the loaded 53-car field.

Redrawing the number seven, Bell wasted little time racing forward from his fourth row inside starting position, cracking the top five by the fifth round and then taking second from Brad Loyet on the tenth circuit.
Bell reeled in Matt Covington and raced into the lead at the midway point of the 30-lapper, racing the rest of the way virtually unchallenged to his 14th win of the year, a world-best open wheel win total for 2014.
“That was a blast, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Bell explained of his triumph on the well-manicured Lucas Oil Speedway clay oval.

“I just can’t thank Brandon (Berryman), Bobby Craft and Jerry Russell enough, they gave me a great car each night,” Bell comments.  “We won two out of four races, can’t complain about that at all.

With another successful stint aboard the Berryman No. 31b in the books, the beat continues with Bell making the fast trek to Ohio for the annual All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
Sunday’s Ohio Speedweek start for Bell in the Ray Marshall Motorsports No. 33 wrenched by Rick Ferkel at Waynesfield Raceway Park netted a tenth place finish after an earlier spin with Monday night’s go at Wayne County Speedway falling victim to rain.

“We made a couple of little changes in the front end, it felt better in the couple of laps we got before it rained,” Bell explained of the car before rain washed out Monday’s action at Wayne County Speedway after qualifying.

With Tuesday’s card at Sharon Speedway falling victim to rain as well, Ohio Speedweek continues with Bell in the Marshall Motorsports No. 33 at Atomic Speedway on Wednesday before climbing aboard the Keith Kunz No. 67 for the final three rounds at Fremont Speedway (Thursday and Saturday) and Limaland Motorsports Park (Friday).

2014 Quick Stats:  52 races, 14 wins, 29 top-fives, 35 top-tens.
In Progress: All-Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Sprint Speedweek:
Sunday, Waynesfield Raceway Park (Waynesfield, OH) – Marshall Motorsports 33 Winged Sprint Car (10th)
Monday, Wayne County Speedway (Orrville, OH) – Marshall Motorsports 33 Winged Sprint Car (Rained Out)
Tuesday, Sharon Speedway (Hartford, OH) – Marshall Motorsports 33 Winged Sprint Car (Rained Out)
Wednesday, Atomic Speedway (Chillicothe, OH) – Marshall Motorsports 33 Winged Sprint Car
Thursday, Fremont Speedway (Fremont, OH) – Kunz 67 Winged Sprint Car
Friday, Limaland Motorsports Park (Lima, OH) - Kunz 67 Winged Sprint Car
Saturday, Fremont Speedway (Fremont, OH) – Kunz 67 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.