Reed Finishes 19th at Charlotte

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In: Xfinity Series News

Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team finished 19th on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway  after suffering a flat tire early in the race.  

“It seems like every week we have a great car and then something happens out of our control that costs us a good finish,” said Reed. “I’m still so proud of my team for fighting through it and giving it their all every week. We will move onto Pocono and hope that we find some luck there.”

After starting 15th on Saturday afternoon, Reed immediately reported that his No. 16 Ford Mustang was loose. The team had their first chance to make adjustments when the caution flag flew on Lap 13. Reed had moved up to the 13th position and reported to crew chief Phil Gould that he needed lateral grip. Gould brought his driver down pit road for four fresh tires and a wedge adjustment, putting Reed 11th for the restart on Lap 19.

Reed had made his way into the top 10 by the time the second caution flag flew on Lap 24. To avoid the incident, Reed turned down pit road, but lost some spots on the track to do so. Gould made the decision to bring his driver back down pit road to top off on fuel under the caution period, leaving Reed to restart 23rd on Lap 41.

Reed stayed out during the following caution period on Lap 43 and was scored 20th. On the next caution on Lap 53, the team pitted for tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Reed restarted 17th on Lap 58, but scraped the wall soon after the restart. A tire rub eventually led to a flat tire, which caused Reed to spin and forced him to bring the car down pit road on Lap 63.

After changing the flat right-front and left-rear tires, the team repaired the damage and sent Reed back out. Following the stop, it was determined that Reed had passed the pace car and he was forced to give a lap back to the race leaders, leaving him one lap down to restart 34th on Lap 71.

By Lap 94, Reed had made it up to the 26th position and reported that the car was loose on entry. Gould brought Reed down pit road under green on Lap 113 for fresh tires. Right after the stop, the caution was displayed. Getting no help from Lady Luck, the team decided to take the wave around under the next caution period with 43 laps to go in hopes that the remaining cautions would fall in Reed’s favor.

Reed restarted 16th with 37 laps to go and completed his last green-flag stop of the day on Lap 177 from the 16th position. The final caution of the day flew with two laps to go, which the team took as an opportunity to put on the last set of fresh tires. Unfortunately there was not enough time to make up more ground, leaving Reed to cross the finish line 19th.

After Saturday’s race, Reed remains 10th in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship standings. Next up for Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team is Pocono Raceway on June 4th. 

RFR PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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