Wayne Johnson talks the altercation with Aaron Reutzel during the World of Outlaws event
On Thursday, April 29th, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series visited Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Illinois. It’s one of the smallest bullring dirt track on the schedule.
Wayne Johnson ended up upside down as he knocked a rut while running the cushion. He was then struck by Aaron Reutzel as he sat on the track.
“Two or three guys that were behind me, missed me,” Johnson explained via Six One Six Studios. “Reutzel came in there 10-15 seconds later and hit me right in the top of the cage. Pretty fortunate, the wing actually got bowed into the car and hit me on top of the head.”
“Thankful that we’re not going that fast at Jacksonville. Because if we would have been going much faster we maybe could have got injured or something.”
Reutzel exited his car and had some words for Johnson.
John added, “That’s probably one of his biggest downfalls, is his mouth. Because, he is a pretty darn good race car driver. He just lets his mouth overload his ass a little bit.”
“I’m sure he didn’t want to crash. But, I didn’t want to crash either. I don’t know why he’s so upset with me.”
Johnson was interviewed on the track PA system after the Jacksonville crash. He had some choice words for Reutzel and the crowd cheered in response.
I-70 Motorsports Park
For years, I-70 Motorsports Park sat closed. Over the past year plus, the Odessa, MO track underwent a transformation and brought it back to life. It has returned as a half-mile dirt track.
On Friday night, the track officially re-opened. It welcomed the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Series and thrilled the fans with an exciting feature race.
Teams unloaded in the pit area of the Missouri dirt track after the race in Jacksonville the night before. As crews worked on the cars in the afternoon ahead of the event.
Wayne Johnson and Aaron Reutzel walked the pit area as well and entered in an exchange. That soon led to bikes and punches being thrown.
Johnson approached Reutzel, “I just wanted to have a chat with him. If he had a problem with me, I wanted to put it to bed or whatever. He didn’t want to let it go evidently. That kinda ended up where it ended up.”
It started as a chat. The chat led to Aaron Reutzel throwing an entire bicycle at Johnson. Immediately, Johnson went into a boxing stance.
Johnson said before the second video surfaced, “The best part about that video that nobody got to see — And, I just giggle about it, every time I think about it — He threw his bicycle at me.”
Johnson landed several punches to Reutzel. Crews eventually entered the scene and broke up the fight.
Johnson detailed, “We all hate and love each other every day out there. Just unfortunate, I didn’t want to be in that situation. Sometimes, you get put in a spot where you have no choice.”
“It’s entertainment. I was really shocked that DirtVision used it in their marketing. But, you know, the NASCAR guys do that all the time. It really wasn’t that big of deal. I didn’t really get him that good at all.”
He concluded, “I just hope that now, he can be a little bit more respectful. We all need to be humbled every once in awhile.”
Aaron Reutzel vs Wayne Johnson
Fight Video
Aaron Reutzel throws a bike at Wayne Johnson
Wayne Johnson talks the altercation with Aaron Reutzel
Links
Aaron Reutzel | Wayne Johnson | World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series | I-70 Motorsports Park
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