SYLVANIA, Ga.: Aaron Reutzel doesn’t have to go through the process of getting comfortable with a new Sprint Car team in 2021.
That’s a huge bonus. It can sometimes take half a season to develop enough chemistry to gain speed and rack up wins.
Luckily for Reutzel, Dennis and Teresa Roth cut down the learning curve. Instead of forcing their program on a new driver, they allowed the Clute, TX, standout to bring his package over to their team, including his crew chief Dylan Buswell.
It’s already starting to pay off. Reutzel chased down Sheldon Haudenschild on the slick Screven Motor Speedway surface and collected the victory in the 35-Lap All Star Circuit of Champions main event Saturday night.
“There is not a lot to get adjusted to when Dennis and Teresa Roth, Todd Ventura, and everyone back at the shop allow me and Dylan to come in and bring our package with us,” said Reutzel after the $10,000 win.
“They had a lot of faith in us by inviting us on board and allowing us to do what we want with the team, so I can’t thank them enough for everything they have done. They took a big risk bringing me and Dylan in and letting us bring Triple X Chassis, Elite Wings, and all of our great partners along the way.”
The main event got off to a rough start with a pair of stoppages. A three-car incident involving Donny Schatz, Mason Daniel, and Hunter Schuerenberg marred the initial start, with Cole Duncan tipping over on the second attempt to get the event started.
When the race finally went green, Sheldon Haudenschild beat Gio Scelzi to Turn 1 and took the early lead. By the time the field hit the line to score Lap 5, Haudenschild had built a 1.139-second lead.
The field entered lapped traffic on the seventh circuit. Haudenschild increased his advantage to 1.734 seconds by Lap 10 and was ahead of the pack by 1.958 seconds on the 18th circuit.
Reutzel, who spent the early stages of the race in third, slipped under Scelzi for second coming off the second corner on Lap 18. Two laps later, Daniel came to a stop in Turn 1, which wiped out Haudenschild’s 1.803-second lead.
Haudenschild continued to lead on the restart, but Reutzel was close behind. The three-time defending All Star champion was all over the leader on Lap 23 before pulling off a low move for the top spot out of Turn 4 on Lap 24.
“It was so tough, because I knew the rubber was kind of coming in,” Reutzel said. “When I got to Gio, I knew I needed to seal the deal on him pretty quick. I wanted to race Sheldon in traffic, hoping he would think I’m just a lapped car that snuck by.
“I knew on the restart that if he saw me poking my nose in there, he would realize the rubber was coming, so I kind of lagged back and waited for it to come in more. It got to where I needed to pull the trigger, so I wanted until I felt like he slipped over there. I went for it, and luckily, he didn’t have enough room to shut the door.”
Haudenschild didn’t go away. The World of Outlaws star raced off Reutzel’s right rear and was a mere half car-length behind at the completion of Lap 27.
But that was as close as Haudenschild would get. He blasted into Turn 1 on the next circuit and spun to bring out the caution, which made things easier for Reutzel down the stretch.
“Lapped traffic was going to get sketchy, because I had that one guy in front of me going in really slow, so I knew he wasn’t going to miss his marks,” Reutzel said. “I had to take the risk and go one lane up, and it worked out.
“I don’t know what happened to Sheldon, but I knew it was going to get pretty rowdy in traffic to where I was going to have to start moving people. I felt like he was just going to beat the fence and wait for a lapped car to hold me up. Luckily, it worked out fine, and we are taking home $10,000.”
Reutzel nailed the Lap 29 restart and led Sam Hafertepe Jr. Kyle Reinhardt, a rookie with the All Stars this season, took advantage and got by Justin Peck and Scelzi to take over the third position.
The final caution of the event occurred on Lap 33, when Carson Short had a right rear flat and spun. Reinhardt was solid on the restart and took second from Hafertepe Jr. at the line with two laps to go.
Catching Reutzel was going to be more difficult. The Roth Motorsports entry was flawless over the final two laps, and Reutzel took the win over Reinhardt by 1.074 seconds at the stripe.
Hafertepe held on for third and earned his second top-five finish in as many nights. Donny Schatz, who won Friday’s event at Screven but missed the scales in his heat race Saturday, charged from 21st to fourth in the main event. Peck completed the top five.
“I can’t thank [Dennis and Teresa Roth] enough for the amazing opportunity, and I hope it’s well worth it at the end of the year,” Reutzel said. “So far, Arizona, we struggled a little bit. We had some time to think during the week, and we made a couple of fine changes, and I felt right at home.
“I can’t thank the whole team enough for the opportunity they have given Dylan and me. I’m really looking forward to getting this Outlaw tour started.”
Sprint Car Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Aaron Reutzel; 2. Kyle Reinhardt; 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr.; 4. Donny Schatz; 5. Justin Peck; 6. Gio Scelzi; 7. Kerry Madsen; 8. Logan Schuchart; 9. Anthony Macri; 10. Kraig Kinser; 11. Cory Eliason; 12. Jacob Allen; 13. Sheldon Haudenschild; 14. Tyler Courtney; 15. Hunter Schuerenberg; 16. Scotty Thiel; 17. Brent Marks; 18. Brock Zearfoss; 19. RJ Jacobs; 20. Chris Myers; 21. Brandon Conkel; 22. Carson Short; 23. Mason Daniel; 24. Cole Duncan.