The Official Site of Area Auto Racing News Area Auto Racing News
By STEVE BARRICK
Aaron Reutzel’s drive to victory at Port Royal Speedway Friday night was an heroic effort. Reutzel had returned to racing one night before in the first of three days of High Limit Sprint racing after having sat out several weeks recovering from a significant injury to his right foot after a violent crash at Eldora Speedway.
In that wreck, Reutzel caught the first turn wall at full throttle and flipped end over end. Then, with the bottom of his car facing oncoming traffic, was rammed, at top speed, by Steven Snyder Jr. Reutzel’s lingering injury from the accident was a severely broken foot.
The remedy that put Reutzel back in the seat was a specially made carbon fiber driving shoe. Interestingly enough, a second shoe was fashioned for Justin Grant, who sustained a similar injury this summer. Both drivers won this weekend. Grant won for the second time wearing the shoe in USAC competition in the midwest.
Reutzel attributed his winning effort to a good car and the best possible starting spot.
“When you have a good car and start up front, I was able to be patient at the start and let the race come to me, which it did,” Reutzel said of his win in the Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87 410 Sprint.
Reutzel had shared the front row with Ryan Smith, but by the end of lap one, Parker Price-Miller, up from fifth, had the lead with Reutzel settling in second. He stayed there for eight laps before making the decisive move by Price-Miller for a lead he never gave up.
“The car is so good I could be 75 percent and still win. I wasn’t a hundred percent tonight for sure, the car carried me. Need to get a good night’s sleep tonight, then get ready for the big money tomorrow,” the race winner said.
Port Royal’s notoriously variable track conditions worked to Reutzel’s disadvantage, even though he was leading and pulling away from the field.
“I could really feel it physically. The track was slick and slow for the feature, a slow pace,”Reutzel said.
“I felt everything that was going on, every bump, every rut. There was no adrenaline rush from how fast we were running tonight. I feel good, though, maybe a little sore.”
Reutzel and Ridge & Sons Racing had plenty of time to work on a fix for Reutzel’s broken foot. A carbon fiber products company created what was actually quite a simple fix – molding a regular racing shoe with carbon fiber.
“It has a carbon cap on the sole. That took all of the flex out of the shoe so it’s more like a walking boot than a shoe which is what you usually have when your leg is broken,” Reutzel explained.
“It has no give, it’s a solid boot so if you do get hit, there’s no flex, similar to the walking boot cast I have been wearing. The boot allows me to do what I do without putting any weight on my right foot. I do need a little pressure, though, to press the gas pedal.”
Reutzel used his first race night back on Thursday as a test for his physical well being, and adjusting his racecraft. His carbon fiber right shoe is an inch higher than his left one.
“That’s not that big of a deal in the car because you are kind of sitting like that in a Sprint car, leaning to the left. I have always run one heel riser on one side of the car than the other,” Reutzel added.
“It has taken some adjustment with the feel. I’m used to feeling the gas pedal with my toes, which I can’t now. It has taken some adjusting, rethinking.
“Last night (Thursday) I definitely felt better in the car in the A Main than I had in hot laps, time trials and the heat race. Hopefully I can start today where I was after the feature yesterday.”
He admitted he is racing in some degree of pain though not much. “Not too bad really, you race you forget about the pain,” he smiled.
His post-Eldora crash was traumatic. “All I remember is that I was in a s**t load of pain afterward,” he winced.
Reutzel said he has actually gained weight since the accident. “I pretty much just laid around for two months, I need to lose a few more pounds,” he admitted.
To aid his movements around Port Royal, Reutzel was using a non-motorized, knee scooter which he propelled with his left leg thus allowing the injured right foot to be outstretched. He also used crutches once off the scooter, getting in and out of the team transporter and either crutches or the scooter steadying him when he either climbed in and out the No. 87.
Reutzel backed up his Friday win with a third place finish from a tenth place start in the Saturday night Tuscarora 50.
Aaron Reutzel’s drive to victory at Port Royal Speedway Friday night was an heroic effort. Reutzel had returned to racing one night before in the first of three days of High Limit Sprint racing after having sat out several weeks recovering from a significant injury to his right foot after a violent crash at Eldora Speedway.
In that wreck, Reutzel caught the first turn wall at full throttle and flipped end over end. Then, with the bottom of his car facing oncoming traffic, was rammed, at top speed, by Steven Snyder Jr. Reutzel’s lingering injury from the accident was a severely broken foot.
The remedy that put Reutzel back in the seat was a specially made carbon fiber driving shoe. Interestingly enough, a second shoe was fashioned for Justin Grant, who sustained a similar injury this summer. Both drivers won this weekend. Grant won for the second time wearing the shoe in USAC competition in the midwest.
Reutzel attributed his winning effort to a good car and the best possible starting spot.
“When you have a good car and start up front, I was able to be patient at the start and let the race come to me, which it did,” Reutzel said of his win in the Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87 410 Sprint.
Reutzel had shared the front row with Ryan Smith, but by the end of lap one, Parker Price-Miller, up from fifth, had the lead with Reutzel settling in second. He stayed there for eight laps before making the decisive move by Price-Miller for a lead he never gave up.
“The car is so good I could be 75 percent and still win. I wasn’t a hundred percent tonight for sure, the car carried me. Need to get a good night’s sleep tonight, then get ready for the big money tomorrow,” the race winner said.
Port Royal’s notoriously variable track conditions worked to Reutzel’s disadvantage, even though he was leading and pulling away from the field.
“I could really feel it physically. The track was slick and slow for the feature, a slow pace,”Reutzel said.
“I felt everything that was going on, every bump, every rut. There was no adrenaline rush from how fast we were running tonight. I feel good, though, maybe a little sore.”
Reutzel and Ridge & Sons Racing had plenty of time to work on a fix for Reutzel’s broken foot. A carbon fiber products company created what was actually quite a simple fix – molding a regular racing shoe with carbon fiber.
“It has a carbon cap on the sole. That took all of the flex out of the shoe so it’s more like a walking boot than a shoe which is what you usually have when your leg is broken,” Reutzel explained.
“It has no give, it’s a solid boot so if you do get hit, there’s no flex, similar to the walking boot cast I have been wearing. The boot allows me to do what I do without putting any weight on my right foot. I do need a little pressure, though, to press the gas pedal.”
Reutzel used his first race night back on Thursday as a test for his physical well being, and adjusting his racecraft. His carbon fiber right shoe is an inch higher than his left one.
“That’s not that big of a deal in the car because you are kind of sitting like that in a Sprint car, leaning to the left. I have always run one heel riser on one side of the car than the other,” Reutzel added.
“It has taken some adjustment with the feel. I’m used to feeling the gas pedal with my toes, which I can’t now. It has taken some adjusting, rethinking.
“Last night (Thursday) I definitely felt better in the car in the A Main than I had in hot laps, time trials and the heat race. Hopefully I can start today where I was after the feature yesterday.”
He admitted he is racing in some degree of pain though not much. “Not too bad really, you race you forget about the pain,” he smiled.
His post-Eldora crash was traumatic. “All I remember is that I was in a s**t load of pain afterward,” he winced.
Reutzel said he has actually gained weight since the accident. “I pretty much just laid around for two months, I need to lose a few more pounds,” he admitted.
To aid his movements around Port Royal, Reutzel was using a non-motorized, knee scooter which he propelled with his left leg thus allowing the injured right foot to be outstretched. He also used crutches once off the scooter, getting in and out of the team transporter and either crutches or the scooter steadying him when he either climbed in and out the No. 87.
Reutzel backed up his Friday win with a third place finish from a tenth place start in the Saturday night Tuscarora 50.
