From Inside Line Promotions
– MESQUITE, Texas (March 28) – Engine issues plagued Austen Wheatley’s much anticipated return to Texas.
The 18-year-old from Lake Stevens, Wash., hauled approximately 40 hours to attend the 38th annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals last weekend at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. Unfortunately, the hill Wheatley had to climb from the start was worse than the long trip to the track.
“Last year we ran really well,” said Wheatley, who finished 11th in the one-day Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals in 2010.
“To drive 40 hours and then drive four laps on the first night before engine trouble is definitely frustrating.”
Wheatley’s engine blew up on the cool-down lap after his hot-lap session on Friday. The team rallied to change it before his heat race, which he raced from seventh to fifth. He then finished sixth in a B Main – three spots out of a transfer.
On Saturday, Wheatley drove from fifth to fourth in his heat race although the engine was acting up. Since he was in the second-to-last heat race and then in the first of two B Mains, the crew ran out of time to diagnose the problem and Wheatley didn’t make it onto the track to start fifth in his B Main.
“You can’t run without engines,” Wheatley said. “I think we’ll be really fast if we can get our engine problems fixed.”
Wheatley will head back to the West Coast to compete with the World of Outlaws on Friday at Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif., and Saturday at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif.
QUICK RESULTS –
March 25 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 5 (7); B Main: 6 (5).
March 26 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 4 (5); B Main: DNS (5).
SEASON STATS –
5 races, 1 feature, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 1 top 20
UP NEXT –
Friday at Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif., and Saturday at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif., with the World of Outlaws
FAVORITE NUMBER –
3: The number of positions Wheatley was away from advancing to the 38th annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals feature on Friday.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.austenwheatley.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MiniWheats44w
APPAREL –
Wheatley has gray and white t-shirts and gray sweatshirts for sale. For more information, visit www.austenwheatley.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – SpeedMart
Established in 2004, SpeedMart has developed into a leading supplier of sprint car and racing products in the Northwest. For more information, visit www.speedmartinc.com.
“We’ve used the SpeedMart store ever since I was in micro sprints,” Austen said. “It’s local, so it’s great to find everything that we need close to home.”
Wheatley would like to thank his sponsors, including Wolfweld, The Oil Medics, Fire-Down Graphics, Advanced Racing Suspensions, Astro Titanium, DMI, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Goodyear and Redlined Welding & Construction for their continued support.