For the first time since 1999, a national Sprint Car tour visited Santa Maria Speedway, which was the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Series. After enjoying a few weeks off, the High Limit Racing Series returned to action tonight to kick off the California West Coast swing that will see 10 nights of racing in California from August 20 through September 5.
In the series debut race, Aaron Reutzel went on to win the 35-lap feature after starting on the pole position by winning the dash. However, it wasn’t as easy it looked, since he had to work for the win. It was quite the rebound for Reutzel, who didn’t qualify for the famous Knoxville Nationals the weekend before.
“If (the track, Santa Maria Speedway) got a little wider, it would’ve been awesome,” Reutzel said to Flo Racing in victory lane. “I still thought it was close tough racing. It started to get good there at the end where you really had to hit your marks leaving (Turn) 2, or you slip down the whole straightaway. I really wasn’t sure where to be, I knew when we were slow on the bottom, I needed to get back up. You know, make the wing work and do its job.
“I’m just glad, I didn’t lose it myself. That was stupid of me, hitting the bottom on that start and giving the lead up. Our car just got better and better throughout the race. The crew guys made the right changes all night. I felt really good. When you struggle in California, it’s really miserable. I’m glad we showed up here and started off this way. We got really good notes tonight, and now I’m really excited for California, because I feel like this trip makes or breaks your season. This is definitely a good start. Our car feels great. This was a great start to this swing. I couldn’t be more proud of this entire race team. We wouldn’t be here without all of our great partners.”
Entering tonight’s race at Santa Maria Speedway, Brent Marks led the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series points standings over Rico Abreu by nine points, while Abreu led the national points standings over Reutzel by eight points.
The entry list had 27 entries for the 24-car field.
Feature Recap – 35 Laps – $12,000 To Win
Starting on the pole was dash winner Reutzel with Tanner Holmes on the outside pole. Unfortunately, in his High Limit debut, Jett Yanits pulled behind the pit wall for a stuck throttle issue prior to the start of the feature. Yantis was able to get back out to rejoin the field, but would start last and lose his spot.
Reutzel got the early jump, but it was Holmes who led the opening lap over Reutzel. They were followed by McFadden, Kaleb Montgomery, and Brent Marks in the top five. Reutzel remained close to Holmes in the early stages. Through the first five laps, Holmes nearly made contact with the lap car of Yantis, which allowed Reutzel to be close.
Holmes still continued to put cars a lap down and at one point, was side-by-side with Reutel on the backstretch A caution, however, was flown with 24 laps to go for D.J. Netto (who is the defending NARC champion) had a right-rear tire go down.
For the restart, it was Holmes on the bottom and Reutzel on the outside. However, Corey Day went upside down for a crazy flip in Turn 1, with his car completely destroyed. Also, Kaleb Montgomery got into the back of second-place Reutzel and received damage to his Sprint Car. Montgomery was unhappy and ran to race leader Holmes under the red flag, speaking his displeasure. Fortunately, Day was okay and climbed out of his car. He and Tyler Courtney got together entering Turn 1.
During the red condition, Abreu entered the pit area for a flat left-rear tire that went down on the No. 24 Tony Stewart Racing machine.
At 16 laps to go, Reutzel took the lead from Holmes after passing him in Turns 3 and 4. However, it was James McFadden who grabbed the lead for a brief moment off Turn 4 a lap later, but Reutzel got the top spot back. Reutzel held on to win his ninth race of the year over McFadden by 1.907 seconds.
Heat Race Recaps – Top 6 Transfer– 8 Laps A Piece
There were three heat races to determine the lock-in for the A-main, with top-6 cars transferring.
Heat 1 – Holmes started on the pole. A caution was seen with two to go for Caden Steele, who came to a rolling stop on the frontstretch right before the start/finish line. Despite challenges from outside pole sitter Sye Lynch, Holmes held on to win the heat race. Lynch, Netto, Day, and Dominic Gordon were the transfers.
Heat 2 – Australian’s McFadden was the top starter for this heat. Spire Motorsport’s Gio Scelzi briefly took the lead using the high line, but a red flag was brought out immediately for the No. 55 of Kerry Madsen, who flipped widely upside down in Turn 2. Madsen’s car was brought to the attention of his team in the pit area.
By not getting a lap in, this would be a complete restart for the field with a reset for the running order. Meaning, even though McFadden lost several positions on the initial start, he would regain the pole position for the next start. McFadden had a much better start this time around, keeping Scelzi at bay.
At the end of the eight-lap heat, it was McFadden that went on to win the heat, with Scelzi, Reutzel, Courtney, Brock Zearfoss, and Levi Hillier the transfers.
Heat 3 – Montgomery had the top spot for the third and final heat. Montgomery dominated the heat and led every lap to secure the win. Tanner Thorson, Landon Brooks, Tim Kaeding, Kasey Kahne, and Rico Abreu rounded out the transfers.
Going to the dash event to determine the pole sitter were Holmes, Marks, McFadden, Reutzel, Montgomery, and Kaeding. As the dash was getting ready to green, the fog began rolling in the background. Reutzel won the dash, which meant he would start on pole position for the A-main. It was Reutzel’s 12th dash win of the season.
In the 12-lap B-main, Yantis took the win, with Justin Peck, Chase Randall, Daison Pursley, Scelzi, and Jake Andreotti the final transfers. Madsen did not make the main, as he barely missed out on the final transfer position, placing seventh, one spot short.
Important to note, in the newly owned Chase Briscoe Racing entry, Brent Marks set the quickest pace in qualifying with 11.369 seconds in the two-lap session. He was also the fastest in hot laps with a quick time of 11.631 seconds.
Official Race Results Following Santa Maria Speedway
- Aaron Reutzel
- James McFadden
- Tanner Holmes
- Tim Kaeding
- Brent Marks
- Sye Lynch
- Tanner Thorson
- Giovanni Scelzi
- Tyler Courtney
- Landon Brooks
- Justin Peck
- Chase Randall
- Dominic Gorden
- Dominic Scelzi
- Kasey Kahne
- Levi Hillier
- Rico Abreu
- Daison Pursley
- D.J. Netto
- Jake Andreotti
- Brock Zearfoss
- Jett Yantis
- Kaleb Montgomery
- Corey Day
With the victory, Reutzel retook the national championship points standings over Abreu by 30 points. Marks continues to lead the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series over Reutzel by 22 points.
Up Next – The next Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing Series event is slated for Friday night at Thunderbowl Speedway, live on Flo Racing.
