During an inspection of Aaron Reutzel’s and Roth Motorsports’ race car prior to competition on Saturday, World of Outlaws Technical Director Tom Devitt noticed suspicious peculiarities with the chassis paint, and that the chassis inspection sticker appeared to have been tampered with. When confronted with these observations Reutzel admitted to Devitt and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Director Carlton Reimers he had taken a white chassis, which he knew had been previously disallowed for competition by Devitt due to undersized tubing (Chapter 3, Section 5, U), painted it black and then removed an inspection sticker from a different legal chassis and placed it on the chassis in question.
All of these actions by Reutzel were an effort to circumvent the inspection process and further violate the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Rules and Regulations, including:
- 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.
For the violations, Participant/Driver Reutzel has been fined $10,000, which must be paid by Aug. 28, 2021, or he will be subject to additional penalties/fines. Reutzel also will be deducted 1,000 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series 2021 Championship Driver Points. Furthermore, Reutzel is suspended from World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competition for 30 days from the July 31, 2021, infraction date.
In addition, Roth Motorsports is fined $10,000 and deducted 500 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Championship Owner Points. Roth Motorsports is not suspended from competition, but the fine must be paid prior to participating in the next event. Reutzel and Roth Motorsports will be on probation for the remainder of the 2021 World of Outlaws racing season and the entire 2022 World of Outlaws racing season. Any subsequent violations will result in enhanced penalties/fines.
“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.”
