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Wheatley Strong Throughout First Half of Both Nights During Gold Cup Race of Champions

(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – CHICO, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2018) – Austen Wheatley was fast throughout the Gold Cup Race of Champions last weekend at Silver Dollar Speedway.

Wheatley qualified second quickest on Friday and sixth quickest on Saturday in the 40-plus driver field during the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series doubleheader at the quarter-mile bullring. He won a heat race on Friday to make the dash, but a broken part relegated him to an eighth-place finish.

“We probably should have made the dash both nights,” he said. “On Saturday I was rolling well on the bottom and Rico (Abreu) and Brad (Sweet) were good on the top. We traded second place a bunch of times and I just came up short at the checkered flag.”

The third-place finish lined Wheatley up on the outside of the sixth row for Saturday’s 40-lap main event.

“We were a little off on Friday and that broken part hurt, but I thought we were in a good position to get a great finish on Saturday,” he said. “It was a tricky track and we ended up in a bunch of incidents. We drove off the track to avoid an incident at one point and then were caught up in a couple of crashes. It was frustrating not to get the finishes after doing so well for the first half of each night, but it was great to have so much speed for only having raced about a dozen times this year.”

Wheatley ended 17th on Friday and 19th on Saturday.

He also competed last Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., where he qualified 18th quickest, advanced from sixth to fifth place in a heat race and capped the night with a 16th-place run in the A Main.

“Track position was everything and we didn’t have it,” he said. “We didn’t have a great qualifying time so we were buried in the heat race and the main event. It was pretty tough to get rolling.”

Wheatley will wrap up the World of Outlaws West Coast Swing with races this Friday and Saturday at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif., during the Wine Country Outlaw Showdown.

“I really like racing at Calistoga,” he said. “It’s one of the bigger tracks on the West Coast and can be pretty racy. If it’s prepared right it can be wide and give drivers options, which makes it a fun track.”

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 5 – Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. – Qualifying: 18; Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 16 (15).

Sept. 7 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 8 (2); Feature: 17 (8).

Sept. 8 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 19 (12).

SEASON STATS –

16 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 6 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 13 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif., for the Wine Country Outlaw Showdown with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.AustenWheatley.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AustenWheatley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DownForceDesigns?fref=ts

APPAREL –

Wheatley will have t-shirts and hoodies for sale at every race he competes at this season. For his schedule of races, visit http://www.AustenWheatley.com.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Downforce Designs

Downforce Designs is an apparel company established and operated by Austen Wheatley. For information on apparel options, prices, clientele and more, visit http://www.DownforceDesigns.com.

“It’s good to have a fresh take on apparel in the sport,” Wheatley said. “My goal is to provide something unique and diverse, and I think I know what a driver wants to see on his or her apparel. It’s a racer helping racers.”

Wheatley would also like to thank Redlined Welding & Construction, Astro Titanium, Franklin Rear Ends, Elite Wings, ART Speed Equipment, Schaeffer Oil and Banshee Graphics for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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