Roush Fenway Racing rookie of the year contender Ryan Reed and the No. 16 team battled hard all race long at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’, bringing the American Diabetes Association Drive to Stop DiabetesSM presented by Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang home with a 14th-place finish Friday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“The Drive to Stop Diabetes team worked hard all race long to try and improve the handling on our Mustang,” said Reed. “We had a pretty good car, but we just couldn’t get the track position that we needed to run with those guys up front.”
After a brief rain shower delayed the start of Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway, Reed rolled off 19th to start the 300-Lap event.
From the drop of the green, Reed informed the team that he was battling a Mustang that was too tight in the center. Crew Chief Seth Barbour opted to call his driver down pit road during the first caution period of the day on Lap 45. The team took four tires and made a chassis adjustment to help the handling.
When the race returned to green, Reed radioed that his car was still too tight for him to work his way through traffic. The competition caution was displayed on Lap 60, with Reed visiting pit road again for fuel and a track bar adjustment.
Reed restarted the race 13th, but was still battling a tight Mustang on the next run. The rookie of the year contender maintained his spot inside the top-20 for the middle portion of the race, placing himself in position for the free pass on two separate occasions.
The team continued to work on the handling of Reed’s Mustang, pitting three more times to close out the evening. Reed battled hard inside the race car, bringing his No. 16 Mustang home with a 14th-place finish.
With his 12th top-15 finish of the season Reed remains ninth in the NNS point standings heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway.
RFR PR
