CLUTE, Texas — Aaron Reutzel will not return to Roth Motorsports after his suspension by World of Outlaws officials for an attempt to circumvent the sanctioning body’s inspection process.
Reutzel confirmed his departure from the team in a press release Wednesday night after Roth Motorsports officials announced Kasey Kahne would finish the season in the team’s No. 83.
“They made a proposal to finish out the season that I wasn’t comfortable with, I felt it was best for us to part ways and I’ll pursue some other opportunities that have been presented,” Reutzel said. “I appreciate the opportunity that Dennis and Teresa Roth gave me and I’m pleased with the success that we were able to accomplish.”
Reutzel enjoyed a solid season in the Roth Motorsports entry prior to his suspension. He had earned five victories — four with the World of Outlaws and one with the All Star Circuit of Champions.
For the first time since his suspension, Reutzel addressed the circumstances in question that led to him being suspended by the series for 30 days and being fined $10,000. The suspension came after series officials discovered the No. 83 race car Reutzel was driving at Weedsport (N.Y.) Speedway on July 31 had “suspicious peculiarities with the chassis paint, and that the chassis inspection sticker appeared to have been tampered with.”
Reutzel admitted to removing an inspection sticker from a different legal chassis and placing it on the chassis in question.
“It’s a chassis that I originally bought in 2011,” Reutzel explained. “And it’s a car that I have been running frequently for the past three years.
“We have raced it each of the past two years and gone through World of Outlaws tech as well as Knoxville 360 and 410 Nationals tech with no problem,” Reutzel continued. “We powder-coated it one more time for this year and apparently one rail got too thin as a result.
“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.”
Reutzel apologized to his fans and everyone affected by the suspension.
“Everyone works so hard and I feel like I let them down, I apologize to everyone involved with this effort,” Reutzel said. “I apologize to all of our fans as well, they always keep us motivated to be our best and are always there for us and we miss not being able to see them for the short term.
“It was a mistake and I’ll learn from it,” Reutzel said. “I’ll take the time off as prescribed and then plan to come back stronger and better than ever.”