Aaron Reutzel Press Release

Member of this message board since 1997

Reutzel said he powder-coated the frame one too many times and that made one of the frame rails too thin. Is that possible?

Doesn't make much sense to me.  How would adding material to something make it thinner?  If it does I think powder coating should be banned.  And how does a WOO team offer you a deal to finish the year but you're not comfortable with it, when there's not another ride lined up?  Maybe he has a better oportunity?  It just seems strange.

So if 6pth Annual Nos Energy Drink Knoxville National presented by Casey's  is not a WoO event could AR raced?

Or do tracks and other sanctioning bodies uphold suspension levied by others???

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

Prior to powder coating I assume they would media blast to remove the old coating or paint. You would have to blast a frame alot to remove enough actual metal on the tubing to make a measurable difference. I really don't buy this as a reason. This peaks my curiosity now and I would like to see a more specific description of the infraction. I am guessing it's more than just a few thousandths of tubing wall thickness removed by sand blasting. Or it could be smaller OD tubing used where it shouldn't be.

Knoxville Raceway upheld the suspension. So regardless, he wouldn't have been able to race.

Good point, I didn't think about media blasting.  But I'm still not sure I buy that?  I get it if it's a rusty piece of metal but not this case.  Also does it seem odd to anyone else that he's using a chassis he bought in 2011?  That's an old street car but in race car years, at least at the top level, that seems ancient to me.  Obviously there isn't a financial reason he's using a 10 year old chassis, why is he using this?  Maybe other teams do this?  I had heard before that most WOO teams are given their stuff as sponsorship and then the teams will sell off the rolling chassis?  But that was a few years ago I heard that, maybe that's not the case anymore?  Either way it seems strange to me that he keeps that 10 year old chassis around with the advancements in the past 10 years.

Dependent on were this bar was located on the frame. It is all about how the chassis would flex, A Ron  liked that chassis and for good reason. Peeling that sticker is what got him caught. He said the car went through inspection before and passed, horseshit. 

“It has been a favorite car of mine for years, so I made the mistake of changing the sticker,” Reutzel says. “I own up to it, it was a stupid mistake on my part and something I’ll never do again. The car was never intended to be illegal in any way.”

A person doesn't just change the sticker to just change the sticker.  He knew what he was doing and it was to sneak a problem chassis into the race.  He got called out.  I don't care if it was his favorite.  

Racing needs bad guys, anti heroes.  It sells tickets and keeps forum discussions lively. 

Stan Meissner

Good point Stan.

Irrelavant how it got that way really.  The issue was using a chassis that had already flunked inspection. 

Is it possible?  I suppose it is.  When they are pushing the limits in the first place it doesn't take a lot to remove material.  I have been in manufacturing since 1991.  I've had instances where a metal was incorrectly plated, and then chemically stripped so it could be replated.  I've seen components lose .0005-.001" (.001"-.002" on diameter) per side this way----let alone being stripped through abrasives.  

The Nationals are now "sanctioned" by the outlaws mostly for the purpose of saying the two biggest spintcar races in the world are under their banner. It ran un sanctioned for years. At one point Ted threated to run a race against it in Texas at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track during the unsanctioned years. He was told go ahead and some of the highly prominent drivers at the time told him not to. They eventually came to an agreement on how to sanction it. 

You nailed the bottom line with your first issue. You have excellent points in you post, another thing to add to "if its possible" is that lower frame rails take a lot of debris and get punished. It may take more abrasives to clean the surface for powder coat to be applied properly which could decrease wall thickness.  Just not smart of him to pull that sticker shocker, I'm sure he still has some of the fans he still had. The dude can drive, but he pulled some unheard of stunt and it won't be forgotten real soon.

Reutzel isn't going away, however he's shrinking his pool of quality opportunities all the time. A stunt like this isn't a 1 time mistake. He willingly risked the best opportunity of his career because he's arrogant enough to think he could get away with it. That's his personality, so I seriously doubt this will be the last thing he does to turn perspective car owners/sponsors off. He's talented but that only takes someone so far if character is an issue. Danny Dietrich certainly is a loud mouth, no doubt. But it seems like he has a car owner and sponsors that stick with him for nearly his entire career, and in the last month has posted a podium at The Kings Royal & made the A Main at The Knoxville Nationals. He did that all the while Reutzel was in the pits from crashing in his heat race at Eldora & drinking at Dingus in Knoxville because he wasn't allowed to compete 

Are you referring to Dietrich?

I can see why some guys don't like him, & I've goofed on him too, but can't see the hatred. (I prefer "Double Doofus" )

Nobody's perfect

"real race with real drivers"???? He's beaten the Allstars a few times, & plenty of wins in Pa., over the years. Has he ever beaten the Outlaws? Also I give him credit for "going off the porch" more than any other Posse guy (other than the ones who joined OUtlaw or Allstar tours)

So he got a month's suspension from basically racing anywhere, and now he can't go to a bar and drink?  Damn that's some stiff ass penalty right there.

Well the chasis is 11 years old and so it's also been sand blasted/powder coated many times. I can see how it would eventually get too thin and I can certainly understand how a driver can have a favorite car. They don't all handle and feel the same even if it's from the same builder. Every driver has a favorite car. Surprising to me that any top level driver would be running a chasis that old and I guess it's a testament to his driving that it lasted that long. Not a fan of Reutzel but he shouldn't get hung for this. He wanted to keep running an old car that he was comfortable with, big deal.

A

Well he's a grown ass man, he can drink anytime he pleases. was just stating the reality of the situation 

      I disagree. Tell me if you're reading the situation differently than I am.

     As I understand it, the car was legal when it was built 11 years ago. Since then, for safety reasons, the WoO has upgraded their rules to require thicker walled tubing for the frames. At some point, the frame was inspected and did not pass. At that point Reutzel knew the frame was illegal to use in WoO competition. He then took an inspection sticker off a frame that had passed inspection and put it on the old frame. At that point, he knew he was cheating. It doesn't matter that he liked that frame. It was not approved for racing with the WoO.

     Can powder coating can make the walls of the frame thinner to the extent that they no longer meet the rules? I don't know. Whether it does or not, Reutzel knew he had an illegal frame and cheated by trying to pass it off as legal with the sticker from an approved frame. That seems pretty clear.

     Look at the big picture. Suppose I were to cheat and use a frame that I knew didn't meet the rules because the WoO had changed the rules to make the cars safer. If I had gotten in a crash and gotten hurt or killed, who would that lawyer on the back of the phone book be suing on my wife's behalf? The car owner, who the lawyer will say should have known what was going on? The crew chief, who the lawyer will say should have known what was going on? The sanctioning body, who the lawyer will say should have known what was going on- especially since they do the inspecting? Or all of them, in order to find the deepest pockets? So, yes, I think it is a big deal.

     Overall, it's a bad deal. It's a dumb deal. The guy has talent. Not trusting that talent, he cheated. He got caught and got penalized.