Reutzel Off to Montana after Strong Roth Debut

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (July 16, 2015) – After a weekend of racing in California, it’s back to business for Aaron Reutzel and the Shark-powered BC Fundz/Basic One Services No. 87 Triple X Sprint Car team with a pair of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events in Montana this weekend.

With three of his seven triumphs this season aboard the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions machine coming in ASCS National Tour action, Reutzel takes 63-point lead in the $60,000 championship chase into the Great Falls-Billings double.

Reutzel took full advantage of an idle weekend for the National Tour by making his debut in the Roth Motorsports No. 83sr during this past weekend’s Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA.

It was a successful debut, with a tenth-place run in Friday’s 360-ci Civil War event followed up by a fifth-place showing in his King of the West 410-ci Sprint Car series debut on Saturday night.

“The first night wasn’t too bad, it was just getting comfortable with a new car, a new team, new everything,” Reutzel explained.  “Saturday we got a lot more comfortable, we were figuring each other out a little bit.”

So comfortable that the Clute, TX, racer was in the lead mix late in the KWS going after starting tenth.

“We were definitely quick enough to run at least second, if not win it,” Reutzel said.  “It was a good run, I definitely look forward to going back.”

The weekend was Reutzel’s first look at Ocean Speedway.

“It was rough and heavy on Friday night,” Reutzel said.  “Went through 30 tearoffs in the ‘A’, it was crazy.”

Come Saturday, Reutzel was set to qualify late on a track that was falling off quickly.  Yet he still put down a lap that was sixth-best among the field.

“We laid down a really good lap, nobody that qualified around us was close to that,” Reutzel says.  “Sixth quick was real good.”

Reutzel needed to win his heat race to earn a spot in the Dash but came up just short, which put him tenth in the feature starting grid.

“They reworked the track, so it was a little narrow early,” Reutzel explains.  “But once it widened out some, we really started going.”

Reutzel was on the way to the front in the No. 83sr machine.

“We got up to second, got around Tyler Walker,” Reutzel says.  “But then a couple of guys flipped and that put us back to third.”

It was time to make a move for the lead.

“On the restart, I was gonna try to slide ‘em both,” Reutzel explains.  “Tyler parked it in the middle of the corner, I had to whoa up and got into him a little bit and two or three guys got by.”

“There wasn’t time to get back up there so we finished fifth,” Reutzel says.  “It was good though, good enough they want me to come back.”

And Reutzel will return to the Roth No. 83sr for the Peter Murphy Classic at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway on Saturday, July 25.

But first, there are four more rounds of ASCS action to focus on in the Dissolvealloy Frac Ball Revolution/Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine beginning with this weekend’s double in Montana.

It will be Reutzel’s second tour of Big Sky country, where he posted a pair of top-ten finishes including a third-place run at Billings last year in the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics Sprint Car.

“We’re looking forward to a good weekend, hopefully we can put away a couple of good finishes and maybe add another win,” Reutzel concludes.

2015 Quick Stats:  38 races, 7 wins, 20 top-fives, 27 top-tens.

Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, MT, on Friday night and then Billings (MT) Motorsports Park on Saturday night.

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 to Big Sky Country after Top Five Run

Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (July 16, 2015) – Kyle Bellm finished off his three weekend racing stint in the state of Washington on a high note with a top-five finish this past Saturday night at Grays Harbor Raceway Park.

Now, he’ll look for more top-five runs as Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action resumes in Montana with events at Great Falls on Friday and then Billings on Saturday.

“I’ve only seen some pictures of these tracks,” the leading ASCS National Tour Rookie of the Year contender said.  “We’re just hoping they’re racy so we can get out there and do something.”

While the National Tour was idle this past weekend, the Nixa, MO, shoe stayed busy by notching a top-five run aboard the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision No. 14k Sprint Car at the Grays Harbor Raceway Mid-Season Championships in Elma, WA.

It was a different format, with the track’s top four in points locked into the feature and the balance of the field qualifying.  Bellm qualified third in the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair Sprint Car to earn the seventh starting position in the feature.

“They didn’t run heats, so the track was pretty narrow to begin with,” Bellm explains.  “It didn’t start to really widen out until about five laps or so to go.”

After falling back early, Bellm bounced back in the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines machine to land a fifth place finish.

“We fell back a couple of spots at the start then worked back up there as the race went on,” Bellm says.  “It was a pretty good weekend.  It’s a top five, we’ll happily take it and go on down the road.”

About 750 miles down the road to be precise, where Bellm continues his maiden voyage with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Great Falls, MT, on Friday before moving on to Billings, MT, on Saturday.

Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, MT, on Friday night and then Billings (MT) Motorsports Park on Saturday night.

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.