Reid Wilson and Casey’s General Stores Team up for MDA at Iowa Speedway

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Making his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) start since Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April, Young’s Motorsports driver Reid Wilson returns to the tour and looks to make a lasting impression with some young fans in Friday night’s Casey’s General Stores 150 presented by Vatterott College.

Race sponsor, Casey’s General Stores, has partnered with Wilson to host and entertain MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) kids and their families for the July 28th race at Iowa Speedway.

Casey’s is a national partner of the MDA, raising more than $8.4 million since 2007 to send kids to Summer Camp in 15 states. “The kids will tell you that the camp experience is the best week of the year, where anything is possible.  We were thrilled to learn about Reid’s involvement with MDA and the opportunity to share a special race day experience with some of our local MDA ambassadors and families at Iowa Speedway,” commented Angela Wood, Casey’s General Stores promotions manager.

At each track where he races, Wilson will host kids and their families from the local MDA. Wilson is a member of the MDA Muscle Team, a group of professional athletes who volunteer to raise awareness and funds for MDA services and research. The MDA Summer Camp logo will also adorn the hood of his no. 66 Chevy; there are over 80 MDA Summer Camps in the U.S.

“I love these kids; many have been close friends since I joined the Muscle Team at age 11 when I raced Bandolero cars. I want the racing community to know how important MDA Summer Camp is for them,” exclaimed an excited Wilson, who is also a MDA Camp counselor. “After the race, I have to race back to Charlotte to report for camp, which starts Sunday.”

Casey’s General Stores has arranged a full day of activities at the track for the MDA Ambassadors that include: pre-race pace car rides, VIP attendance at the drivers’ meeting, serve as Grand Marshall to give the command to fire engines and Honorary starter to wave the green flag.

Wilson also has another job at the track, and that is to regain the Young’s Motorsports top-10 momentum in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. In three races this year, the team has two top-10 finishes, with a sixth-place best at New Smyrna. The rain-shortened race at Bristol relegated the team to a 20th place finish after coming onto pit road to repair damage just before the race was called.

“In seven K&N races with Reid, we have four top 10s,” said Andrew Abbott, crew chief for Young’s Motorsports No. 66 Chevrolet. “We’ve been to Iowa Speedway plenty of times with our NASCAR Camping World Truck Series truck, so I’m hoping we have a good baseline setup that we can start with and go from there. I feel with the right circumstances, even with Iowa being a NASCAR K&N East and West combination race, we can find ourselves at the right spot at the right time and maybe grab the win.”

In February, Wilson was ranked No. 58 in MotorsportsAnalytics.com’s ranking of the top 75 NASCAR Cup Series prospects. Such NASCAR stars like Erik Jones, Daniel Suárez, William Byron and Daniel Hemric top the list. “Reid hasn’t competed regularly in a NASCAR ladder division, but when he does appear, he’s proven formidable,” stated David Smith, founder of Motorsports Analytics. 

The Casey’s General Stores 150 presented by Vatterott College (150 laps / 131.25 miles) is the 10th of 14 races on the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. Practice begins for the one-day show on Fri., July 28 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Final practice is set from 3:15 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Group qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:00 p.m. The race will take the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. later that night. The event will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on NBC Sports Network with an air date on Thurs., Aug. 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Young Motorsports PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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