Reutzel Gaining Momentum - Busy Weekend Ahead

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (July 28, 2016) – Aaron Reutzel is finding his rhythm.

And it’s a good time for it with Knoxville’s $15,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals just one week away.

Reutzel and the Shark-powered Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X Sprint Car team come off a weekend of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour competition at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, SD, that included podium finishes of second and third.

“I feel like we we’re about back to where we were when we were running so well last year,” the reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour champion commented after the Black Hills double.  A $10,000 score at Billings, MT, preceded that the previous weekend.

Reutzel and the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions team can further build that momentum with a pair of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events in South Dakota bookending a $20,000-to-win NSL card at Minnesota’s Jackson Motorplex on Friday night and then Knoxville Raceway competition on Saturday night.

The four-night set of action begins tonight with ASCS action at Park Jefferson International Speedway in Jefferson, SD, before wrapping up Sunday night at Badlands Motor Speedway near Sioux Falls.

Reutzel was strong aboard the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine from the outset during last weekend’s “Rushmore Rumble” at Black Hill Speedway.

Gridding Friday’s feature fourth, Reutzel railed the top side of turns and one and two on the opening lap to charge into the lead, only to have the move negated by a caution.

“On the second start, those guys moved up and it took me two or three laps to get to the lead,” Reutzel explains.

Being out front wasn’t necessarily the place to be with the rapidly changing Rapid City track conditions.

“Johnny (Herrera) was behind us and he was able to search around and found the little bit of rubber at the bottom of three and four,” Reutzel says.

Herrera slipped by but Reutzel made one more run for it in the Wright Way Logistics/Walker Performance Filtration machine.

“The rubber was right on the bottom, you had to have your left front right up next to the wall to hit it right,” Reutzel explains.  “I dove in and missed it by maybe half a car length and slid up the track.  It was pretty much over then, we raced single file the rest of the way.”

Locked into Saturday’s feature, Reutzel was fast in hot laps.  “We were a half-second faster than anyone else,” Reutzel says.

The redraw wasn’t kind with Reutzel pulling the ‘4’ to start second row outside.  And track conditions weren’t any kinder.

“It was one of those that you needed to draw the front row to have a chance,” Reutzel says.  “It rubbered up almost immediately.”

Reutzel rode in third throughout to finish off a strong weekend.

Now, beginning with tonight, only four more nights of action remain before going after the $15,000 winner’s share at Knoxville next weekend.

2016 Quick Stats:  56 races, 4 wins, 17 top-fives, 27 top-tens.

Up Next:

Thursday – Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Park Jefferson International Speedway (Jefferson, SD)

Friday – NSL 410-ci Sprint Cars at Jackson (MN) Motorplex

Saturday – Knoxville (IA) Raceway

Sunday – Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Badlands Motor Speedway (Brandon, SD)

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.

Bellm Back on Tour with Pair of Top Fives

Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (July 28, 2016) – Kyle Bellm and the Resource Asset Management Solutions (RAMS) No. 14k Sprint Car team joined back up with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at last weekend’s “Rushmore Rumble” at Rapid City, South Dakota’s Black Hills Speedway.

And the team’s presence was definitely noticed with Bellm charging from tenth to finish third in Friday night’s preliminary event before wrapping up the double with a fourth-place finish on Saturday night aboard the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision entry.

“It was a good weekend, it was what we were looking for,” Bellm said after extending his streak of finishes no worse than sixth to seven in a row.

Bellm looks to add more strong runs with this weekend’s pair of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events in South Dakota on Thursday (Park Jefferson International Speedway) and Sunday (Badlands Motor Speedway) along with a Friday night stop at Minnesota’s Jackson Motorplex.

Last weekend began with Bellm rebounding from a heat race spin to rally back up to third to earn the tenth starting position in the main event.

And Bellm was on the move early on in the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair machine.

“I think I was the first one to find the rubber in three and four and we were really able to capitalize on that,” Bellm explained.

He did just that, racing all the way up to third in the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines machine before the rest of field figured out his fast line to the front.

Bellm finished the night out in third to lock into Saturday’s “Rushmore Rumble” finale and then landed on the pole position after the redraw.

The rubber came in from top-to-bottom this time rather than beginning on the bottom.  This time, a couple of other cars found the rubber first, leaving Bellm to finish out the weekend in a strong fourth place position aboard the Schaeffer Oil/Prater Designs/Racinboys entry.

“It laid rubber starting at the top of three and four instead of the bottom this time,” Bellm explains.  “I just didn’t find it quick enough, didn’t get to the part of the track I needed to be at.”

Bellm finished out the weekend by dropping in on Badlands Motor Speedway for some Sunday night action near Sioux Falls.

“We didn’t draw very well,” Bellm said of the evening.  “We gained a couple of positions in the heat which put us about 15th for the feature.  It rubbered up early so we just kind of rode around.”

The outing still proved beneficial according to Bellm.

“We learned some things and I think we’ll be in good shape going into Sunday night’s race at Badlands,” Bellm said of the $10,000-to-win event that puts the wraps on this weekend.

But first, it all begins tonight with Bellm’s first ever outing at Park Jefferson International Speedway.

2016 Quick Stats:  28 races, 1 win, 1 top-fives, 13 top-tens.

Up Next:

Thursday – Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Park Jefferson International Speedway (Jefferson, SD)

Friday – Jackson (MN) Motorplex

Sunday – Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Badlands Motor Speedway (Brandon, SD)

 

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.