VADO, N.M. — Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing returned to the spotlight on Tuesday as the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series debuted with a live television broadcast (FS1) from New Mexico’s Vado Speedway Park.
Showcasing sprint car racing to a broader audience in a two-hour window on the network, fans were treated to thrills from start-to-finish as three heat races, a dash, B Main and 30-lap feature presented Royal Jones’ state-of-the-art facility to the masses.
Going green flag at 8:31 p.m., all eyes were on the front row of Brent Marks and Logan Seavey, but then third-starter Aaron Reutzel stunned them right off the start and skirted by to lead the opening circuit.
Reutzel would go on to lead all 30 laps, but the battle for second, the run through traffic, and one particular late-race charge kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Three different drivers held the runner-up position behind Reutzel with Brent Marks trailing from Laps 1-14, Logan Seavey trying to catch him from Laps 15-27, and Tyler Courtney taking the spot from Lap 28 on.
With a Lap-1 red flag being the only stoppage of the race, traffic became a crucial factor as Reutzel lapped eight cars on his way to victory. His closest challenge into the race surfaced with around 10 laps remaining when Logan Seavey had chopped his lead down to less than a second before Reutzel made a daring move on Brian Brown to seal his advantage.
When the checkered flag waved, the gap as 3.744 seconds — the third-largest margin of victory in High Limit history. The score made Reutzel the first repeat winner of the season and gave Ridge & Sons Racing their 10th High Limit score.
Courtney held on for a season-best second-place finish with a huge wheelie across the line in his Clauson-Marshall Racing No. 7bc.
Ryan Timms was arguably the show in the closing laps as he found the top and put it against the fence to shoot up the leaderboard. He was running eighth on Lap 23 before driving to third at the checkered flag, running lap times almost a full-second faster than the leaders in his Liebig Motorsports No. 10.
Brent Marks and Chase Randall took advantage of much-needed strong performances and rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]; 3. 10-Ryan Timms[10]; 4. 19-Brent Marks[1]; 5. 9R-Chase Randall[7]; 6. 87X-Logan Seavey[2]; 7. 88-Tanner Thorson[9]; 8. 42-Sye Lynch[4]; 9. 55-Kerry Madsen[13]; 10. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[11]; 11. 26-Justin Peck[8]; 12. 24-Rico Abreu[14]; 13. 2B-John Carney II[16]; 14. 9-Daison Pursley[17]; 15. 5-Brenham Crouch[18]; 16. 13-Tanner Holmes[12]; 17. 21-Brian Brown[15]; 18. 24D-Danny Sams III[6]; 19. 17GP-Hank Davis[20]; 20. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[19]; 21. 42X-Caleb Saiz[24]; 22. 73-Hunter Schuerenberg[22]; 23. 6-JJ Hickle[21]; 24. 16G-Austyn Gossel[23]
