Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes American Diabetes Association team finished 22nd on Saturday after getting caught up in an incident while battling for the ninth position with 11 laps to go.
“I feel like we just can’t catch a break,” said Reed. “We had a top-10 car and I hate that we couldn’t finish up there with our teammates and get a good finish for our Nationwide Children’s Hospital Patient Champion, Michael. I learned a lot about the track this weekend and feel like Chad (Norris) and I really communicated well for our first race together. I can’t thank the guys enough for their hard work this week and hopefully we will get a chance at redemption next week at Bristol.”
Reed started the 75-lap event from the 17th position on Saturday afternoon. He was quiet on the radio until the sixth lap, when the caution flag waved for the first time. He reported that he could use some grip, but felt like the car would be fine once he got in clean air. The team did not pit, putting Reed in the 10th position for the impending restart.
By the second caution flag, Reed ran 11th and came down pit road for a fuel-only stop. He restarted in the 17th position on Lap 15 and was up to 16th by the next caution on Lap 20. Crew chief Chad Norris told Reed that he had less than 20 green-flag laps on his tires so they would stay out and continue to work on track position.
After Reed restarted 15th on Lap 26, the caution was displayed again before the field could complete a lap. The field restarted with 46 laps to go before the next caution would occur on Lap 41. At this time, Reed came down pit road for four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel. Norris told Reed his tire wear looked good and that he had done a good job of taking care of his tires. The team’s quick work on pit road gained Reed two spots, putting him in the 12th position for the restart on Lap 45.
By the following lap, Reed was up to 10th and running his fastest laps of the race. The caution flag was displayed for the sixth time on Lap 51. Reed ran in the ninth position and was told that his last four laps were the fastest he had run all day.
The field restarted with 20 laps to go and Reed quickly made his way up to the seventh position. With just over 10 laps to go, Reed was battling for the ninth position when he was an involved in an incident, sending him spinning off the course into the gravel. By the time that the safety trucks were able to remove the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang from the rocks, Reed had lost a lap and was scored in the 30th position.
Norris brought Reed down pit road to repair any damage and put fresh tires on the car. Norris told his driver to be patient and that another caution would put him in position to get his lap back. With seven laps to go, the caution was displayed again, allowing Reed to get back on the lead lap.
Reed restarted 29th with three laps to go and had made his way up to 17th before being involved in an incident coming to the finish line, relegating him to a 22nd-place finish.
Reed remains 10th in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship standings, 178 points behind points -leader and teammate Chris Buescher. Reed and the rest of the NASCAR XFINITY Series will return to the track on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
RFR PR
