Reutzel Wins Wire-to-Wire at Grandview, Extends Lead
Aaron Reutzel extended his Interstate Batteries High Limit division championship lead with a wire-to-wire victory at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. Driving the Ridge & Sons Racing PowerPlus No. 87 from the pole, Reutzel led all 35 laps and collected the $20,000 winner’s purse. The win raised his series points total to 906 and extended his advantage to 33 points over Rico Abreu, while also moving him seven points clear in the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series standings over Tyler Courtney.
Rico Abreu briefly powered to the front on Lap 28, but a red flag nullified the pass and allowed Reutzel to regain the top spot. Reutzel called it a difficult race, saying, “It was a hard race, I got lucky on that win.” Abreu, in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing Carquest Auto Parts No. 24, was scored second after the caution. The result marked Abreu’s fifth straight Grandview podium and gave Tony Stewart Racing its seventh consecutive top-10 finish.
The Grandview victory was Reutzel’s fifth High Limit win this season and his seventh overall, and it was his fifth win in the last eight races, a stretch over which he averaged a 1.75 finish and earned $105,000. Chase Dietz finished third for a career-best Grandview result, Kasey Kahne was fourth and Brady Bacon finished fifth. The series’ next marquee event is the $100,000 Bob Weikert Memorial at Port Royal Speedway, scheduled for May 22–24.
