On the heels of his career-best finish in the X-1R Pro Cup Series at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Reid Wilson (@reidwilson66) hopes to take that momentum and propel his Reid Wilson Racing (RWR) team into Victory Lane in Saturday night’s Summertime Showdown 200.
Reflecting back to Tri-County earlier this month, Wilson entered the sixth race of the season with his impressive season back on-track after two rough outings earlier in the year. The team’s performance in the Precision Printed Products 250 presented by Caldwell Community College & 92.1 The Big Dawg shown that the team has elevated themselves once again to contenders; a serious one at that.
“Tri-County was big for us,” said Wilson, driver of the No. 66 Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits Chevrolet. “We didn’t qualify as well as we wanted to, but when push came to shove our car was fast in race conditions. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have enough to take home the win, but you better believe that the finish gave us a great morale boost for sure.”
Indeed, in a sport where momentum is subject to pivotal success, it’s hard not to circle the Reid Wilson Racing team as an early-race favorite in the seventh race of the season.
“I’m looking forward to Orange County this weekend,” offered Wilson. “Throughout my racing career, I’ve enjoyed success there from our Limited Late Model cars to Legends. Now we just need to carry those same achievements to the Pro Cup side.”
Last year’s race at the 0.375-mile paved oval was spoiled by a late-race accident, just 11 laps from the finish, leaving the then Pro Cup Series rookie with a disappointing ninth place finish.
“Our #66 Bojangles’ Chevy was banged up pretty good after last year,” the 18-year old recalled. “In my opinion, the incident was unnecessary, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to take the positive that we completed 192 laps and hopefully the notebook we obtained that night will help us this weekend.”
Of course, like much of the typical scenario on the X-1R Pro Cup Series tour, starting near the front is crucial to on-track success. For Wilson, he believes that his team will continue to produce the speed that they have all season long – something that’s kept them in the hunt.
“I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive the No. 66 Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits Chevrolet, but it’s a total team effort for sure. I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of these guys. Without them, there is no Reid Wilson Racing. That’s why I want to win so badly. Because, they deserve it, just as much as I do. I especially want a win for Pop (crew chief Mike Herman, Sr.). Maybe, just maybe, this is our weekend.”
In the race for the X-1R Pro Cup Series championship, Wilson continues to secure third in the standings, now just six points behind second-place runner J.P. Morgan and 26 markers behind leader Caleb Holman.
“We made some ground up at Tri-County, so that’s important, but we need to keep doing more of that this weekend,” added Wilson, a native of Huntersville, North Carolina. “We still have plenty of gas in the tank as far as remaining races on the schedule, but we need to stay focused and do what we can to beat the competition. If we do that, the championship should be a pretty fun battle.”
In addition to Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits, Cheerwine serves as an associate marketing partner on the No. 66 entry. Veteran short track specialist Mike Herman Sr. will serve as the crew chief for the racer, who in 2012 at age 15, was dubbed as one of “NASCAR’s future prospects to watch” by Motorsports Analytics.
Reid Wilson PR
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