Reutzel Finding Speed at Knoxville – Busy Weekend Ahead
CLUTE, Texas (May 21, 2015) – Knoxville Raceway hasn’t always been particularly kind to Aaron Reutzel. But that could be changing, as Reutzel showed impressive speed in his first 410-ci Sprint Car outing atop the storied ½-mile clay oval last Saturday.
Reutzel and the Shark-powered BC Fundz/Basic One Services No. 87 Triple X Sprint Car team will be back for more 410-ci action at Knoxville on Saturday night, sandwiched between a pair of FVP National Sprint League events at Minnesota’s Jackson Speedway on Friday and then Huset’s Speedway near Sioux Falls, SD, on Sunday.
While Reutzel’s first Knoxville effort of the year was cut short by a blown left rear tire, there were plenty of positives to take from the outing in the Wren Motorsports/Momentum Racing Suspensions machine.
“I was happy with how it went overall,” the Clute, TX, racer commented.
The Dissolvealloy Frac Ball Revolution machine was fast out of the box. “We were quick time in our hot lap session and then finally Lasoski and McCarl were quicker in the last session, so that was a good sign.”
Changing track conditions caught the driver of the Danny Sander Construction/ButlerBuilt machine just a slight bit off guard for qualifying though.
“We were good in hot laps so we really didn’t change it, then the track slicked off a lot more than I thought for qualifying,” Reutzel explained after stopping the clocks 15th-quick.
The qualifying effort put Reutzel and the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance/Wright Way Logistics machine on the front row of a heat race. “The leader and I got to racing and Dude just drove around both of us on the outside,” Reutzel said.
Reutzel went on to finish fourth in his heat, landing the 15th starting position in the night’s 20-lap main event.
And it looked as if things were coming together on this night for the ARR No. 87.
“The car was really good, we were going forward,” Reutzel comments.
It was working so good that Reutzel was up to seventh in a span of just three laps. But when the left rear tire exploded entering turn three after a restart, the run was cut short.
“The tire blew and TK got into the back of me,” Reutzel explains of the incident.
Despite the final outcome, the positives of the night weighed heavily.
“It was good to see that we had some speed at Knoxville,” Reutzel says. “It went a lot better than Knoxville usually has been in the past, in the past we’ve shown up and been a half second off the pace and not sure what to do.”
“I’m definitely a lot more pumped up for the Nationals now,” Reutzel concludes.
Reutzel will get more valuable laps at Knoxville on Saturday following a $10,000-to-win NSL card at Jackson Speedway on Friday.
“The last time I was there was in 2011 and I left the car at the track,” Reutzel says of a wild crash in his last Jackson visit.
He’ll be looking for better fortune at Jackson this time before going on to Knoxville and then finishing out the weekend with the National Sprint League at Huset’s Speedway.
2015 Quick Stats: 23 races, 6 wins, 14 top-fives, 15 top-tens.
Up Next: A set of winged 410-ci Sprint Car action is on the docket for this weekend, beginning with the NSL at Jackson (MN) Speedway on Friday night before moving on to Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway on Saturday and then another NSL card on Sunday at Huset’s Speedway near Sioux Falls.
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.
Sources: Lonnie Wheatley/Aaron Reutzel PR