Lonnie Wheatley
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (October 29, 2015) – Aaron Reutzel picked a dramatic way to celebrate his championship.
With the $60,000 Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour championship firmly secured in his hip pocket, the Clute, TX, driver rallied from the 13th starting position to win Thursday night’s 25-lap Sprint Screamer feature event at I-30 Speedway’s 28th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tire.
Reutzel blitzed past Jac Haudenschild on the high side with just a handful of laps to go to snare the $3,000 triumph, his 12th overall of the season aboard the Shark-powered BC Fundz/Basic One Services No. 87 Triple-X chassis.
With the Wednesday portion of the Short Track Nationals rained out and Saturday already canceled due to inevitable wet weather, Reutzel and runner-up Haudenschild are locked into the STN makeup feature set for Spring of 2016.
And with 67 cars on hand for the first of two $3,000-to-win cards, Reutzel and Haudenschild worked for it by rallying from 13th and 12th, respectively, to take the top two spots on a surface made choppy from excessive recent rain.
“The track got pretty rough and made it really technical, a lot of guys were making mistakes and we were able to capitalize,” Reutzel said afterward. “I usually prefer a track that goes dead slick, so to win on this is pretty cool.”
While Reutzel chased Haudenschild through the field, pole starter Wayne Johnson led fellow front row starter Blake Hahn in the early going before the latter took advantage in traffic to take command on the eighth round.
By that time, Haudenschild and Reutzel had already worked up to third and fourth. Within two laps, the duo had moved past Johnson and were putting the pressure on Hahn for the lead.
The lead trio reached traffic and Haudenschild snuck by for the lead when Hahn biked it in turns one and two on the 16th round. Reutzel followed ‘Haud’ around Hahn and then after a lap 19 caution, rallied by Haudenschild on the high side exiting turn four to take command with just five laps to go.
“To pass ‘Haud’ on the outside on a track like this doesn’t happen very often, it’s a pretty special win,” an enthused Reutzel said in victory lane.
Reutzel survived one last red flag stoppage to go for a Derek Hagar flip in turn three with just two laps remaining to beat Haudenschild to the line with Hahn rounding out the podium in third.
Johnson was fourth with Tim Crawley rounding out the top five. Kevin Ramey raced from 16th to sixth with I-30 Speedway track champion Zach Pringle, A.G. Rains, unheralded Okie shoe Fred Mattox and Steven Russell completing the top ten.
Hagar’s flip two laps shy of the checkered flag was the 10th tumble of the night on the cowboy-up track.
The initial start to the feature was waved off when Brandon Hanks biked it in the opening pair of corners, with Joe B. Miller making race-ending contact as well. Another pair of cautions flew along the way when Harli White stopped after nine laps and when Steven Russell came to a stop with 19 laps in the books.
Shane Stewart held down the third position only to pull pitside with mechanical problems after the lap nine caution for White.
Heat race victories for the stout field were captured by John Carney II, Shane Stewart, Cody Gardner, Travis Rilat, Hahn, Crawley, Sheldon Haudenschild and W. Johnson.
Kyle Bellm, Hanks, Miller, Reutzel and Pringle topped the Qualifying Races with Hagar, Glenn Styres, Howard Moore and Dustin Gates winning the “B” Main.
Along with Hahn’s last corner pass of Bellm to win the fifth heat, Harli White’s pass of Carney for the second and final transfer in the final “B” Main ranked among the most dramatic moments in the preliminary events.
The night got off to an inauspicious start with Jack Dover’s flip in turn three on the opening lap of the first heat after climbing Channin Tankersley’s left rear tire. Mark Huddleston, Nate Van Haaften and Chance Morton all logged heat race flips with Josh Baughman, Sheldon Haudenschild, Alex Hill and Blake Jenkins getting upside down in Qualifiers before Joe Wood, Jr., flipped in “B” Main action.
Another $3,000-to-win STN Sprint Screamer is set for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. With all comers eligible to compete, the top two finishers will lock into next Spring’s Short Track Nationals main event makeup feature. Reutzel will also have an opportunity at a $1,000 bonus should he win Friday’s feature as well.
28th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires Thursday Night “Sprint Screamer” Results:
Heat Races:
First Heat (10 Laps): 1. 74b-John Carney II (2), 2. 17-Channin Tankersley (4), 3. 8z-Zach Pringle (5), 4. 76-Zane Lawrence (7), 5. 1a-Kevin Ramey (9), 6. 59-Brad Bowden (8), 7. 74e-Claud Estes (1), 8. 10p-Jim Perricone (6), 9. 53-Jack Dover (3).
Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. 88m-Shane Stewart (2), 2. 17T-Dustin Gates (1), 3. 38-Rick Pringle (3), 4. 9jr-Derek Hagar (8), 5. 8m-Kade Morton (5), 6. 22-Jesse Baker (Grants, NM), 7. 3n-Nate Van Haaften (6), 8. 33h-Mark Huddleston (4), 9. 31g-Johnny Gardner (9).
Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. 2g-Cody Gardner (1), 2. 84-Brandon Hanks (2), 3. 41x-Jason Johnson (3), 4. 2L-Logan Forler (4), 5. 17w-Harli White (6), 6. 34dd-Jac Haudenschild (9), 7. 11w-Joe Wood, Jr. (5), 8. 19-Klint Angelette (8), 9. 26-Marshall Skinner (7).
Fourth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat (1), 2. 23-Seth Bergman (5), 3. 40-Howard Moore (3), 4. 51b-Joe B. Miller (4), 5. 34bb-Bill Balog (8), 6. 199-Ryan Bowers (7), 7. 75-Broc Elliott (4), 8. 44-Ronny Howard (2).
Fifth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn (5), 2. 14k-Kyle Bellm (1), 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel (3), 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr. (2), 5. 0-Glenn Styres (7), 6. 86-Tyler Thomas (8), 7. 23b-Brian Bell (6), 8. 91a-Ernie Ainsworth (4).
Sixth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley (5), 2. 26m-Fred Mattox (2), 3. 17b-Josh Baughman (6), 4. 91-Steven Russell (3), 5. 49-Shawn Dancer (1), 6. 43-Matthew Bauldwin (4), 7. 5x-Tyson Hall (8), 8. 21-Kevin Hinkle (7).
Seventh Heat (10 Laps): 1. 31b-Sheldon Haudenschild (3), 2. 3-A.G. Rains (6), 3. 14m-Jordon Mallett (2), 4. 92-Jordan Weaver (1), 5. 42-Andy McElhannon (5), 6. 99-Blake Jenkins (8), 7. D6-Dakota Gaines (7), 8. 12-Chris Parkinson (4).
Eighth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 77x-Wayne Johnson (3), 2. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek (1), 3. 6s-Tim Shaffer (7), 4. 21b-Brandon Hinkle (4), 5. 77xx-Alex Hill (8), 6. 55-Johnny Kent (6), 7. 8-Alex Sewell (2), 8. 7m-Chance Morton (5).
Qualifying Races – Top 16 in Combined Passing/Finishing Points to “A” Feature; Balance to “B” Mains
First Qualifier (12 Laps): 1. 14k-Kyle Bellm (2), 2. 23-Seth Bergman (5), 3. 52-Blake Hahn (6), 4. 76-Zane Lawrence (3), 5. 0-Glenn Styres (7), 6. 17w-Harli White (8), 7. 17b-Josh Baughman (4), 8. 49-Shawn Dancer (10), 9. 92-Jordan Weaver (9), 10. 38-Rick Pringle (1). DNS: 3n-Nate Van Haaften, 8-Alex Sewell, 33h-Mark Huddleston, 26-Marshall Skinner.
Second Qualifier (12 Laps): 1. 84-Brandon Hanks (3), 2. 41x-Jason Johnson (1), 3. 34dd-Jac Haudenschild (7), 4. 6s-Tim Shaffer (5), 5. 88-Tim Crawley (6), 6. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek (2), 7. 23b-Brian Bell (11), 8. 55-Johnny Kent (10), 9. 2g-Cody Gardner (4), 10. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr. (8), 11. 8m-Kade Morton (9), 12. 21-Kevin Hinkle (12), 13. 91a-Ernie Ainsworth (13). DNS: 53-Jack Dover.
Third Qualifier (12 Laps): 1. 51b-Joe B. Miller (2), 2. 40-Howard Moore (1), 3. 26m-Fred Mattox (3), 4. 3-A.G. Rains (6), 5. 74b-John Carney II (5), 6. 11w-Joe Wood, Jr. (9), 7. 29-Travis Rilat (4), 8. 59-Brad Bowden (8), 9. 12-Chris Parkinson (11), 10. 5x-Tyson Hall (10), 11. 74e-Claud Estes (12), 12. 42-Andy McElhannon (7). DNS: 2L-Logan Forler.
Fourth Qualifier (12 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel (1), 2. 88m-Shane Stewart (5), 3. 1a-Kevin Ramey (3), 4. 9jr-Derek Hagar (4), 5. 86-Tyler Thomas (8), 6. 43-Matthew Bauldwin (10), 7. 34bb-Bill Balog (2), 8. 22-Jesse Baker (9), 9. 75-Broc Elliott (11), 10. 10p-Jim Perricone (12), 11. 21b-Brandon Hinkle (7), 12. 31b-Sheldon Haudenschild (6). DNS: 31g-Johnny Gardner.
Fifth Qualifier (12 Laps): 1. 8z-Zach Pringle (4), 2. 77x-Wayne Johnson (6), 3. 91-Steven Russell (7), 4. 14m-Jordon Mallett (1), 5. 17T-Dustin Gates (3), 6. 19-Klint Angelette (11), 7. 44-Ronny Howard (13), 8. D6-Dakota Gaines (10), 9. 7m-Chance Morton (12), 10. 17-Channin Tankersley (5), 11. 99-Blake Jenkins (8), 12. 199-Ryan Bowers (9), 13. 77xx-Alex Hill (2).
“B” Features – Top 2 from Each Advance to “A” Feature
First “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 9jr-Derek Hagar (1), 2. 14m-Jordon Mallett (3), 3. 44-Rony Howard (6), 4. 22-Jesse Baker (7), 5. 21b-Brandon Hinkle (9), 6. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek (4), 7. 2g-Cody Gardner (5), 8. 12-Chris Parkinson (8), 9. 76-Zane Lawrence (2). DNS: 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3n-Nate Van Haaften, 8-Alex Sewell, 31g-Johnny Gardner.
Second “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 0-Glenn Styres (2), 2. 41x-Jason Johnson (1), 3. 43-Matthew Bauldwin (4), 4. 49-Shawn Dancer (6), 5. 10p-Jim Perricone (10), 6. 21-Kevin Hinkle (12), 7. 11w-Joe Wood, Jr. (4), 8. 38-Rick Pringle (6). DNS: 17b-Josh Baughman, 31b-Sheldon Haudenschild, 99-Blake Jenkins, 77xx-Alex Hill, 26-Marshall Skinner.
Third “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 40-Howard Moore (1), 2. 29-Travis Rilat (3), 3. 86-Tyler Thomas (2), 4. 19-Klint Angelette (4), 5. 55-Johnny Kent (6), 6. 75-Broc Elliott (8), 7. 33h-Mark Huddleston (8), 8. 23b-Brian Bell. DNS: d6-Dakota Gaines, 5x-Tyson Hall, 199-Ryan Bowers, 2L-Logan Forler, 53-Jack Dover.
Fourth “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 17T-Dustin Gates, 2. 17w-Harli White, 3. 74b-John Carney II, 4. 34bb-Bill Balog, 5. 59-Brad Bowden, 6. 17-Channin Tankersley, 7. 74e-Claud Estes. DNS: 92-Jordan Weaver, 7m-Chance Morton, 8m-Kade Morton, 42-Andy McElhannon, 91a-Ernie Ainsworth.
“A” Feature – Top 2 Finishers Locked into STN Makeup Feature in Spring of 2016
A Feature (25 Laps – Starting position in parentheses): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel (13), 2. 34dd-Jac Haudenschild (12), 3. 52-Blake Hahn (2), 4. 77x-Wayne Johnson (1), 5. 88-Tim Crawley (8), 6. 1a-Kevin Ramey (16), 7. 8z-Zach Pringle (5), 8. 3-A.G. Rains (7), 9. 26m-Fred Mattox (15), 10. 91-Steven Russell (14), 11. 41x-Jason Johnson (22), 12. 0-Glenn Styres (18), 13. 14m-Jordon Mallett (21), 14. 17w-Harli White (24), 15. 9jr-Derek Hagar (17), 16. 6s-Tim Shaffer (11), 17. 14k-Kyle Bellm (9), 18. 29-Travis Rilat (23), 19. 17T-Dustin Gates (20), 20. 88m-Shane Stewart (4), 21. 40-Howard Moore (19), 22. 23-Seth Bergman (3), 23. 51b-Joe B. Miller (10), 24. 84-Brandon Hanks (6).
Lonnie Wheatley photo
Lap Leaders: Wayne Johnson 1-7, Blake Hahn 8-15, Jac Haudenschild 16-19, Aaron Reutzel 20-25.