All Star Double for Reutzel after Runner-Up Finish in Sprint Car World Championship

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (May 3, 2018) –  Aaron Reutzel and the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 Sprint Car team were so tantalizingly close to the $100,000 winner’s share in last weekend’s Sprint Car World Championship at Ohio’s Mansfield Motorsports Park.

But, after settling for a lucrative $20,000 runner-up share among the stellar field of more than 70 entries, it’s back to All Star Circuit of Champions action for the Folkens Brothers Tucking/Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution Triple-X Sprint Car team this weekend with events at Sarver, Pennsylvania’s Lernerville Speedway on Friday and then Hartford, Ohio’s Sharon Speedway on Saturday.

Both tracks will be new territory for Reutzel and the Precision Catalyst/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Beard Equipment crew that enters the weekend just six points out of the All Star points lead in second.

Last weekend’s Sprint Car World Championship had Reutzel in the mix throughout, racing to a second-place finish in his preliminary feature on Friday night and then making a last-gasp bid for the $100,000 winner’s share in Saturday night’s finale that fell just short.

“Tim (Shaffer) was fast, there’s no two ways about it,” Reutzel explains.  “He was the guy to beat all weekend, he set the tone in Thursday night’s practice.”

Reutzel started his weekend in strong fashion as well aboard the Nattress Construction/Momentum Racing Suspensions entry, timing in second among his group on Friday and then earning the ninth starting position for the feature after a third-place heat race run.

“We got to fifth pretty quick, so I started taking it kinda easy thinking that we could get in the top four without any problem,” Reutzel relates.  “Some guys got to racing us so I had to pick it up and got to second right away.”

Reutzel held second the rest of the way to lock into the Saturday finale, though it wasn’t without some tense moments in the final rounds.

“With two laps to go, it started to run out of fuel,” Reutzel says.  “It was completely out at the end, we coasted across the line.  We just barely finished it.”

Reutzel drew the front row for Saturday’s Dash and finished second to earn the front row outside starting position.

“We tried a couple of things in the Dash and liked it,” Reutzel says.  “But, it still took all I had just to keep up with Shaffer.”

Reutzel took a conservative approach over the early portion of the 50-lapper to save the best for last.

“I cruised the first 25 laps to save my tires, I tried to not spin them and stayed away from the cushion that was hurting some tires,” Reutzel explains.  “I waited until about 20 laps to go to push him and try to make a move for the lead.”

Cautions didn’t exactly play into Reutzel’s plans.

“I would get to him, then there would be a caution,” Reutzel recalls.  “It would take about five or six laps to get going again.”

One final caution set up the dramatic finish.

“I got a really good start, I got right to him and he blocked my slider, not even knowing I was there,” Reutzel relates.

“Then I got another run coming to the checkered,” Reutzel says of the final circuit.  “I bonzaied it with everything I had, it almost worked but I got into the fence.  All in all, it was still a good weekend to come away with $20,000.”

It was a memorable effort that left fans wanting more.  They’ll get more with this weekend’s pair of All Star events.

2018 Quick Stats:  14 races, 1 win, 5 top-fives, 7 top-tens.

Up Next:  All Star Circuit of Champions at Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, PA) on Friday night and Sharon Speedway (Hartford, OH) 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.

Sunshine Set for USAC Sprint Cars at Plymouth after Silver Crown Podium Highlights Weekend Triple

Lonnie Wheatley, INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 3, 2018) – Tyler Courtney continues his pursuit of the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car championship aboard the Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing Priority Aviation No. 7bc Sprint Car as the series takes to Indiana’s Plymouth Speedway on Saturday night.

It’s a 3/8-mile clay oval that “Sunshine” has found to his liking in the past.

“I’ve always run pretty good there,” Courtney says.  “I won a local race there in 2015 and then ran second with USAC there last year.”

Saturday’s Plymouth card will mark the sixth round of USAC National Sprint Car action after a pair of events last weekend at Bloomington and Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway.

Courtney climbed a pair of positions from 12th to tenth in Friday’s Bloomington event before advancing from 15th to 12th at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday.  “Sunshine” went on to round out the weekend with a third-place run aboard Hans Leins’ No. 97 USAC Silver Crown entry at the Terre Haute Action Track on Sunday.

“We want to run better than that obviously,” Courtney said of last weekend’s pair of USAC Sprint Car events.  “We tried some things and they didn’t really pan out.  Everyone is going to have those kind of nights over the course of the season, I’d rather get them out of the way early than have them later.”

Sitting a strong fourth in USAC National Sprint Car points, Courtney is optimistic going into Saturday’s event at Plymouth.

“We have got back to some of the things that were working earlier, I feel like we’re in a good spot,” Courtney explains.

Sunday’s USAC Silver Crown action that round out last weekend started off with Courtney establishing the day’s quickest time in qualifying.  “Sunshine” soon had his work cut out though after contact sent him spinning before the 100-lapper had reached the tenth round.

Courtney rallied from the tail of the field, climbing all the way to third by race’s end to finish off the weekend in strong fashion.

“Some nights it’s your night and some nights it’s not,” Courtney said of the Sunday card.  “We restarted 24th and got back up to third, that’s a good way to finish the weekend.  That car has been fast each time out, it’s going to be fun to drive in the dirt races the rest of the year.”

Silver Crown action will resume at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 24.  Until then, the focus will be on the USAC National Sprint Car scene with a half-dozen events over the course of May beginning with Saturday’s Plymouth action.

2018 Quick Stats:  16 races, 3 wins, 8 top-fives, 9 top-tens.

Up Next: USAC National Sprint Cars at Plymouth (IN) Speedway on Saturday night.

Saturday’s event is available on https://www.speedshifttv.com/ for those unable to take in the action live.

Keep Track:  Keep track of Tyler Courtney’s on-track action including schedule and results at www.tylercourtney.com.

If you would like Tyler Courtney 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 Set for ASCS Regional Double after Podium Run at the Lake

Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (May 3, 2018) – Kyle Bellm and the Nixa, Missouri based No. 14k Sprint Car team continued a strong start to the 2018 season with a podium finish in last Saturday night’s season-opening event at Eldon, Missouri’s Lake Ozark Speedway.

Bellm and the Greenworks Nursery/Landscapes Awarded team are set for a pair of ASCS Warrior vs. ASCS Red River Region events this weekend, beginning with Kansas’ Heartland Park Topeka on Friday before moving on to Wheatland, Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway on Saturday night.

Friday will be Bellm’s first Heartland Park Topeka outing while Saturday brings familiar surrounding at Lucas Oil Speedway where he has posted a pair of podium finishes in past ASCS National Tour action.

“Topeka will be a new one,” Bellm says.  “We’ve run well at Lucas Oil before, hopefully we can put it all together and win one there.”

Bellm enters the weekend after a strong Lake Ozark Speedway run that netted a third-place finish aboard the Christian County Collision Repair/Bybee Lawn Care entry.

“We had a good car, I felt like any of the top four cars were capable of winning,” Bellm said of the racy feature event atop Lake Ozark Speedway clay.

Bellm raced from fourth to second in the early going aboard the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision machine. 

“I felt like we were good in traffic early on running second behind Randy (Martin) and a caution came out,” Bellm relates.

The leaders were back in traffic soon after, with it not working to Bellm’s favor this time around.

“I got bottled in behind two lapped cars and (Roger) Crockett got by,” Bellm recalls.  “It just didn’t play out the way I would have liked.  Traffic was going to determine the outcome of that one, I just ended up in the wrong line at the wrong time.”

It was Bellm’s second consecutive top-five finish and third top-ten in four starts this season aboard the VP Racing Fuels/Schure Built Suspensions/Schaeffers Racing Oil machine.

“We’ll take it, the car was fast and the track was in great shape,” Bellm explains.  “If we can keep putting together top-five finishes, the wins will come.  Hopefully it’ll all come together and we can get at least one this weekend.”

This weekend’s double kicks off a busy month of May that includes ten schedule events including three more next week.

2018 Quick Stats:  4 races, 2 top-five, 3 top-tens.

Up Next: ASCS Red River vs. ASCS Warrior Region at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas on Friday and Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) on 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.

Hafertepe Looking For Victory Lane In Pennsylvania With Lucas Oil ASCS

Bryan Hulbert - MECHANICSBURG, Penn. (May 3, 2018) While things in Kentucky didn't go the way Sam Hafertepe, Jr. had hoped, the Sunnyvale, Texas driver is geared up and ready for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by Sawblade.com debut at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, May 4 and Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday, May 5.

"I'm looking forward to getting down to Pennsylvania this weekend. With the experience we have, especially at Williams Grove, I think it's going to help us tremendously. I've been to

, I think twice, and it's a big joint, which both tracks are bigger than what we normally race on."

With that experience to work with, Sam will use the weekend to hopefully take over the top spot in the 2018 Lucas Oil ASCS Driver standings, "Having traveled as much as we have, when we do go to these place, we're able to capitalize because it might catch some of these guys off guard, and honestly, these will be the two hardest races on the schedule all year, just because the guys we're racing with run these tracks so much."

While the Hill's Racing Team eyes Victory Lane this weekend, the team had to bring out a new car before making the trip to the "Keystone State" after colliding with Roger Crockett off the fourth turn at Paducah International Raceway.

"I really don't know what happened at Paducah, all the sudden Roger was there and we hit so hard, it bent the back of my car over, but it is what it is," commented Sam of the crash that landed him with an 18th place DNF. "I was riding around and letting things iron out and finally started getting into a good rhythm and then that deal happened, and I never did get a chance to go talk to Roger. Just tough having to get another car put together."

For continued updates on Sam Hafertepe, Jr. log onto http://www.sam15.com and make sure to find him on Twitter (@samhafertepejr). For news on Hill's Racing Team, log onto https://www.facebook.com/hillsracing/ and on Twitter (@HillsRacingTeam).

2018 Season to Date:

Events: 13; Wins -1 ; Top 5 - 4; Top 10 - 5; Top 15 -7; Top 20 -9;

Up Next:

May 4 at Williams Grove Speedway with Lucas Oil ASCS and URC
May 5 at Selinsgrove Speedway with Lucas Oil ASCS and URC

Sam Hafertepe, Jr. T-Shirts:

http://www.kevinquirkracewear.com/buy-driver-tees.htm

Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011628097506
Website: http://www.sam15.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/samhafertepejr

The Sponsors:

Hill's Racing Team, Townline Variety, Heidbreder Foundation Service, Fisher Racing Engines, Super Shox, Cool Chassis, Smiley's Racing Products, Hoosier Tire, Huggins Cams, Champion Oil, The Sparks Family, Lonestar Speedway, Keizer Wheels, XYZ Machining, Simpson Racing Products, CP-Carrillo, KSE Power Steering, FK Rod Ends, BMRS, Allstar Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Vortex Wings, DMI, Wilwood Brakes, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Hwy. 79 Collision.