Bacon Prepped for USAC’s Midwest Midget Week

Lonnie Wheatley, WINCHESTER, Ind. (July 10, 2018) – After last Friday’s USAC “Sprintacular” at Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway, Brady Bacon is set to shift back into Midget action aboard the FMR No. 76 for this week’s USAC Midwest Midget Week.

And it begins close to home for the Broken Arrow, OK, native with action kicking off at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway with some “Tuesday Night Thunder”.  From there, action shifts to Beloit, Kansas’ Solomon Valley Raceway on Wednesday night for the “Chad McDaniel Memorial”.  Competition resumes on Friday and Saturday with the “Midwest Midget Championship” at Fairbury, Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway and then wraps up Sunday at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex.

With just a half dozen USAC Midget events in the books thus far in the 2018 campaign, Bacon sits a close sixth in points going into the critical week of competition.

Bacon enters the week after Friday night’s USAC “Sprintacular” at Putnamville, IN.  And it looked to be a promising night aboard The Joie of Seating No. 99 Sprint Car after timing in third quickest among the 37-car field and then transferring through heat race action to earn the sixth starting position for the feature.

However, a flattened left rear tire just two laps into the feature sent Bacon to the work area and then to the tail of the field to start his charge anew.  Bacon made the most of it by rallying back through the field to salvage an eleventh-place finish on the night.

The USAC Midwest Midget Week will mark Bacon’s first Midget competition since Indiana Midget Week wrapped up in early June with Bacon posting a pair of sixth-place finishes in the final two rounds.

Brady Bacon Racing is bolstered by the support of partners including Fatheadz Eyewear, Tel-Star Technology/Port City Raceway, Gene Frankowiak, Cimarron Cycle Works, Priority Aviation, Triple-X Race Co., FMR Racing, FK Indy, Heath Clips Lawn Care, Elliot’s Custom Trailers and Carts, B&S Cattle, Lucas Oil Products, Kiser’s Truck and Auto, Smiley’s Racing Products, Keizer Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, FK Rod Ends, DMI, Walker Filters, ProGlide Coatings, Octane Ink, CP Carrillo, PAC Racing Allstar Performance, Simpson Racing Products, Driver Websites, Engler Machine and Tool, Wilwood Engineering, Schroth Racing, Smith Precision Products, KSE Racing Products, King Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, FSR Radiators, LRB Mfg. Indy Race Parts and Imperial Wagyu Beef.

2018 Quick Stats:  50 races, 5 wins, 22 top-fives, 30 top-tens.

Up Next: USAC National Midgets “Midwest Midget Week”

Tuesday, July 10 – Red Dirt Raceway (Meeker, OK)

Wednesday, July 11 – Solomon Valley Raceway (Beloit, KS)

Friday, July 13 – Jefferson County Speedway (Fairbury, NE)

Saturday, July 14 – Jefferson County Speedway (Fairbury, NE)

Sunday, July 15 – Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex (Sweet Springs, MO)

Keep Track:  Keep track of Brady Bacon’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.bradybaconracing.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Brady-Bacon-278125555137/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BradyBaconRacin.

If you would like Brady Bacon Racing press releases e-mailed directly to you, send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.

Sunshine Set for Mid-America Midget Week after Sprintacular Score

Lonnie Wheatley, INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 10, 2018) – Tyler Courtney soared to the top of the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car point charts by racking up his seventh overall win of the year in Friday night’s “Sprintacular” event at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

“Sunshine” will try to make the same upwards move in the USAC Midget ranks with this week’s Mid-America Midget Week that encompasses five nights of competition throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri beginning on Tuesday before wrapping up on Sunday night.

Courtney began Friday night’s USAC “Bill Gardner Sprintacular” by timing in fourth-quick on the evening aboard the Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing Priority Aviation No. 7bc Sprint Car before rallying from sixth to win his heat race.

Gridding the feature field in fifth, “Sunshine” ultimately raced into the lead on the 23rd of 30 laps en route to his fifth series win of the year and propelled himself into the points lead in the process. 

“I’ve never won at Lincoln Park before, it’s always kinda cool to win at places that you haven’t done it before,” Courtney says.

The win also held some special meaning for Courtney.

“My grandparents owned Lincoln Park for 16 years so that made it even more special to get a win there,” Courtney explains.  “I was young so I didn’t spend a lot of time there, but I guess I went to my first race there when I was about two weeks old.”

With another Sprint Car triumph in the books, Courtney looks to add some additional Midget wins to the ledger aboard the Clauson-Marshall Racing Driven2SaveLives/Indiana Donor Network No. 7bc Midget beginning with “Tuesday Night Thunder” at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

From there, the week continues at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, KS, on Wednesday night with the “Chad McDaniel Memorial” before moving on to Fairbury, Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway for the “Midwest Midget Championship” on Friday and Saturday and then wrapping up at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex on Sunday.

It’s a week that can be crucial in the USAC Midget championship chase.

“We need to have a great week,” Courtney says.  “And if any of the guys ahead of us have a bad night or two, we have to be able to capitalize.”

Courtney capitalized to take over the Sprint Car points lead on Friday.  He’ll try to do the same in the Midget ranks this week.

2018 Quick Stats:  37 races, 7 wins, 24 top-fives, 27 top-tens.

Up Next: USAC National Midgets “Mid-America Midget Week”

Tuesday, July 10 – Red Dirt Raceway (Meeker, OK)

Wednesday, July 11 – Solomon Valley Raceway (Beloit, KS)

Friday, July 13 – Jefferson County Speedway (Fairbury, NE)

Saturday, July 14 – Jefferson County Speedway (Fairbury, NE)

Sunday, July 15 – Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex (Sweet Springs, MO)

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.

Reutzel Ready for First Doty & Kings Royal Events

Lonnie Wheatley, CLUTE, Texas (July 10, 2018) – Aaron Reutzel and the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 Sprint Car team came out of the gates with guns-a’-blazin’ at the outset of the 2018 season.  And it’s a trend that has continued.

The Clute, TX, racer picked off his first career World of Outlaws win early on in the season and has since racked up a handful of All Star Circuit of Champions feature wins to firmly entrench himself in the series championship battle aboard the Folkens Brothers Trucking/Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution Triple-X Sprint Car.

So, it was only a matter of time until the inevitable week of disappointing outings occurred.

And that was last week with struggles in three rounds of Pennsylvania Speedweek and then an All Star card.

“Long story short, we sucked all week,” Reutzel summed up.

Reutzel and the Precision Catalyst/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Beard Equipment crew look to get back to their winning ways beginning with Tuesday night’s “Brad Doty Classic” at Ohio’s Attica Raceway Park and then three nights of action at Rossburg’s Eldora Speedway that culminates with the $50,000-to-win Kings Royal on Saturday night.

It will be Reutzel’s first attempt at either event.

“We’ve been going through everything, so we should be ready to go,” Reutzel says.

The trials and tribulations of last week began with a Tuesday night card at Bechtelsville’s Grandview Speedway, where Reutzel held down sixth in the feature aboard the Nattress Construction/Momentum Racing Suspensions entry.  At least until trouble arose in the form of a broken hood that ultimately forced him pitside.

Action moved on to Port Royal Speedway on Wednesday where more problems persisted.  “We had a horrible vibration all night, it ended up being a left front that was way out of balance,” Reutzel said after making an early exit from the feature.

After racing into the feature once again on Thursday night at Maryland’s Hagerstown Speedway, the struggles of the week continued with just a 14th-place finish.  “We just never could get a good handle on it,” Reutzel sums up.

All Star Circuit of Champions action resumed on Saturday night at Hartford, Ohio’s Sharon Speedway with Reutzel salvaging an 18th-place showing on the night.  “It was basically the same as Hagerstown for us, we just never got a handle on the track,” Reutzel wraps up.

Reutzel and crew look to get back on track as the “Month of Money” kicks into full swing this week.  Reutzel has posted a pair of seventh-place finishes at Attica earlier this season and scored a podium finish in World of Outlaws action at Eldora Speedway.

2018 Quick Stats:  39 races, 6 wins, 15 top-fives, 20 top-tens.

Up Next: 

Tuesday, July 10 – World of Outlaws “Brad Doty Classic” at Attica (OH) Raceway Park

Thursday, July 12 – World of Outlaws “Jokers Wild” at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)

Friday, July 13 – World of Outlaws “Knight before the Kings Royal” at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)

Saturday, July 14 – World of Outlaws “Kings Royal” at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)

For those unable to catch the action in person, all four of these events are available via PPV at www.dirtvision.com.

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.

Carney Ready for Western Sprint Tour “Speedweek Northwest”

Lonnie Wheatley, EL PASO, Texas (July 10, 2018) – After three nights of California competition last week, El Paso’s John Carney II and the Clayton Snow No. 7 Sprint Car team have journeyed northward to Oregon to take in the Western Sprint Tour’s “Speedweek Northwest”.

The “Speedweek Northwest” will encompass five nights of competition from Tuesday night through Saturday beginning with the opening round at Coos Bay Speedway.

From there, competition shifts to Lebanon’s Willamette Speedway on Wednesday and then Banks’ Sunset Speedway Park on Thursday before wrapping up with a Cottage Grove Speedway double on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Carney says.  “I’ve never seen any of these tracks before, but I don’t think that should have any real bearing on our results.”

Carney and crew showed good speed in California last week even if the results don’t necessarily reflect it.

The week started at Marysville Raceway Park on Tuesday night and Carney was fast right out of the box.

“I had never seen the place before and we were the quickest car in hot laps and then set fast time in qualifying by about three-tenths of a second,” Carney recalls.

A heat race miscalculation put the team behind the eight ball though.

“I guess we didn’t put enough fuel in after qualifying and we ran out in the heat race,” Carney says.  “That put us in a jam.  We had to run the ‘B’ and got wrecked on a restart.”

The following night at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway got off to another good start before misfortune struck again.

“We timed in sixth, then we started the heat in third and was running in second when we had an engine failure,” Carney explains of the shortened night.

After a pair of off nights, it was back to racing action with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour at the Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday night.

“That place has been a thorn in my side since I started coming out here it seems like,” Carney says.

And it looked like that may continue.  But, after timing in 25th among the field of 39 entries, Carney salvaged the night by racing to a solid 12th-place finish.

“We didn’t time in well at all, but then we were able to run up to fourth in the heat race to get locked into the feature,” Carney says.  “We struggled early in the ‘A’, we started 16th and fell back to 20th.  It started slicking off a little and I started picking them off.  We got to tenth, then I got loose on the last lap and lost a couple of spots.”

It was still a strong outing after losing the primary powerplant at Chico earlier in the week.

“With the long straightaways at Stockton and the tire with the softer sidewalls, being down on power wasn’t the greatest combination,” Carney explains.  “We were still able to make a good night out of it though.”

With five nights of new tracks awaiting the El Paso, Texas, native, Carney will look to add to his season win total of four beginning on Tuesday night at Coos Bay.

John Carney Racing is made possible by the support of invaluable partners including Mesilla Valley Transportation, Vado Speedway Park, South Plains Auto Transport, Danny Sander Construction, CSR Garage, Briley Trucking, Momentum Racing Suspensions, Performance Plus, Performance Motor Coach, Raider Graphix, MSD Ignition and Joe Hunt Magnetos.

Up Next: Western Sprint Tour “Speedweek Northwest”

Tuesday – Coos Bay Speedway (Coos Bay, OR)

Wednesday – Willamette Speedway (Lebanon, OR)

Thursday – Sunset Speedway Park (Banks, OR)

Friday – Cottage Grove Speedway (Cottage Grove, OR)

Saturday – Cottage Grove Speedway (Cottage Grove, OR)

Keep Track:  Keep track of John Carney II’s on-track action including schedule and results at https://www.johncarneyracing.com/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JohnCarneyRacing/.

If you would like John Carney 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.