Driver and team have been hit with huge penalties; Team comments
On Friday night, Aaron Reutzel drove to World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory. He grabbed the win at Ransomville Speedway, paying $10,000 to win.
The next night, Reutzel rolled into Weedsport Speedway. Ahead of the race on Saturday night, World of Outlaws teams present their cars to WoO Technical Director Tom Devitt. Officials noticed “suspicious peculiarities” with the chassis paint in addition to an inspection sticker that appeared to have been tampered with.
Reutzel admitted to Devitt and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Director Carlton Reimers that it was a white chassis. The driver knew the chassis had been previously disallowed for competition by Devitt due to undersized tubing.
The team painted it black and removed an inspection sticker from another chassis and placed it on the undersized chassis.
Aaron Reutzel fined/suspended
The No. 83 driver has been fined $10,000 and the fine must be paid by August 28, 2021. Failure to pay the fine by the deadline will result in further penalties/fines.
1,000 points have been deducted from Reutzel. He’s also suspended from series competition for 30 days starting July 31, 2021.
The team, Roth Motorsports has also been fined $10,000 and 500 owner points have been deducted.
The team is not suspended but the fine must be paid before resuming competition. Roth Motorsports has been placed on probation for the rest of 2021 as well as the 2022 season.
World of Outlaws Rule Book
2021 Sprint Series Rule Book, Chapter 1, Section 7, P: Any member and/or participant that violates any technical rule as presented within the rulebook and/or issued in a written bulletin will be subject to penalty and/or disqualification and/or fine and/or suspension and/or legal action and/or any other action deemed appropriate by World Racing Group Supervisory Officials.
2021 Sprint Series Rule Book, Chapter 1 Section 4, A, a: All Members agree to act in a professional manner as determined by World Racing Group Officials. The professional manner includes, but is not limited to verbal representation, social media, text messages, written representation, any representation that may represent the sport of racing and/or motorsports in general and/or any affiliates.
2021 Sprint Series Rule Book, Chapter 3, Section 5, U: The following frame measurements are minimum dimensions. Only those areas indicated are mandatory and subject to technical inspections. In lieu of the “BUTT” BAR a car’s rear end can be tethered to the rear chassis. Only ASTM4130 normalized steel or equivalent material may be used in the chassis/frame construction. See drawing 16.5.a.s.
Comments after World of Outlaws Penalty
“It is an unfortunate situation Aaron Reutzel created for everyone involved,” World of Outlaws CEO Brian Carter said. “The severity of the penalty was weighed heavily and reflects the seriousness with which we considered the violations and infractions.”
Roth Motorsports also commented:
“Being involved in Racing for 30 years, this is something I do not condone, and it is simply not how Roth Motorsports operates,” Team Owner Dennis Roth said. “This is very disappointing to me, and this is a situation that does not sit lightly within out race team.”
“Moving forward we are disappointed in the decisions that our team made on our behalf last weekend,” Todd Ventura of Roth Motorsports said.
Ventura added, “That is simply not how our organization operates and it will not be tolerated. We will use this as a learning experience for our guys and hopefully everyone comes out of his a little stronger. When you put that much trust on the road this is the last thing you think will happen. Roth Motorsports will pick up the pieces, and get right back to work.”
Roth Motorsports intends to resume racing, this weekend. Parker Price-Miller will fill the seat at I-55 Raceway on Friday and Saturday. Additionally, the biggest sprint car race of the year is looming, the Knoxville Nationals.
