GARY HUNT’S US 131 RACER OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY AEROQUIP
AUSTIN TRUHLER SUCCEEDS ON THE TRACK AND OFF
Last month Austin Truhler was wearing the hat of an entrepreneur while successfully promoting his first big-money bracket race, Mid-Summer Bracket Bash. This month, having traded hat for helmet, the founder of ADOG Promotions LLC outlasted a field of 60 to win Top ET honors in the Lane Automotive Bracket Series and emerge as Gary Hunt’s US 131 Racer of the Week.
At the wheel of a dragster he characterized as “one of the most consistent cars no matter where we go,” Truhler contributed a .018 of second average reaction time as driver and had the best overall light in three of the seven rounds. He beat reigning U.S. 131 champion Bill Swain of Ionia, Mich., in the final.
Racing for just the third time this season due in large part to the demands of his studies at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, the 19-year-old native of South Bend, Ind., will be back at US 131 this week for a Saturday-Sunday Lane Automotive Series doubleheader.
Whether he’s racing as a promoter or a driver, Truhler credits his success to those around him starting with his dad Ron, mother Barbara and sister Carly with an extra shout out to Scott Wahlstrom, the Lane family, Nathan Heims, Jamie Bellman, Lane Automotive and Allstar Performance.
Congratulations, Austin, from Gary Hunt and everyone else at US 131 Motorsports Park.
ABOUT GARY HUNT
Gary Hunt is starting his ninth season as the track announcer at US 131 Motorsports Park, a track on which he used to race in the brackets and Stock Eliminator. His experience as a race car driver of some repute (he won seven points championships) has served him well behind the mike and while he often misses the thrill of competition, his “desk job” is not without its benefits. “It’s given me the best seat in the house, which is always climate controlled,” he said. “I never break any parts, don’t have to wait in line and I leave with a little bit of money every week.”
