CHARLTON, Australia – Two-time Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions titlist Aaron Reutzel made a 12-hour haul from Sydney to Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway pay off on Sunday.
Making his QSS World Series sprint car debut, Reutzel stormed from 13th to the victory at the .233-mile bullring, cracking the top seven in just five laps and ultimately making the winning move with nine to go.
Reutzel’s qualifying lap to start the night was a lackluster 19th-quick, but he rebounded with a win and a runner-up finish in his pair of heat races to lock in on the seventh row of the grid.
From there, the Texan was masterful.
A flip by Brent Kratzmann on lap nine and subsequent spin by Shaun Dobson following the restart proved to be beneficial cautions for Reutzel, who worked his way to third by the halfway point of the 35-lap feature and then slid Kerry Madsen for second on lap 25.
Two laps later, Reutzel made the same move on polesitter and race-long leader Robbie Farr to capture the lead, storming away down the stretch as he asserted his dominance.
Reutzel took the checkered flag a whopping 6.196 seconds clear of Farr in the end, with teenaged Tasmanian Jock Goodyer completing the podium.
“I’m just glad to win a race for the Sallers. They’re a family-owned team and I feel like I’ve let them down a couple of times (in Australia) … so I’m just happy I could finally get a win for them,” said Reutzel, who also earned hard charger honors, in victory lane. “I’m really glad we could make this overnight twelve-hour trip (from Sydney) worth it for them. I wouldn’t even ride in the truck for twelve hours, so I got a flight, so I have to thank the team for driving all the way up here.”
Luke Oldfield crossed fourth and Rusty Hickman was fifth, followed by Lachlan McHugh, American Lucas Wolfe, Jack Lee, World Series points leader James McFadden and Madsen.
The finish:
Aaron Reutzel, Robbie Farr, Jock Goodyer, Luke Oldfield, Rusty Hickman, Lachlan McHugh, Lucas Wolfe, Jack Lee, James McFadden, Kerry Madsen, Brooke Tatnell, Shaun Dobson, Jamie Veal, Cody Maroske, Bryan Mann, Kevin Titman, Randy Morgan, Dave Murcott, Brent Kratzmann, Andrew Scheuerle.