Wheel Issue Leads to 21st-Place Finish for Reed in Bristol

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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 21st on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway  after an issue with the right-front wheel forced an unscheduled green-flag pit stop while the team was running 12th. 

“Since we unloaded we weren’t great, but we made a lot of progress,” said Reed. “I felt like we had the chance to salvage what wasn’t a great weekend and then we broke a right-front wheel. I’m proud of my guys.  They’re just keeping their heads down and grinding through it and trying to get the bad luck out of the way. Now we’ll just move on to Richmond, which is a place I like to go to.”

After posting a 21st-place qualifying time Saturday morning, Reed lined up 11th in his 50-lap heat race early Saturday afternoon. Reed took the green flag for the 200-lap main event from the 17th position after finishing ninth in his heat race. Reed had reported that the car was tight-center off throughout the day and reinforced that sentiment by the first caution on Lap 37. This gave the team a chance to work on the No. 16 Ford Mustang, pitting on Lap 39 from the 17th position for tires and a wedge adjustment.

Reed restarted 16th on Lap 46 and maintained that position until the next caution period on Lap 125. The Bakersfield, Calif. native told crew chief Phil Gould the car was tight through Turns 1 and 2. Gould had his driver take the wave-around under caution to get back on the lead lap, allowing Reed to restart 11th with 67 laps to go.

With 40 laps to go, Reed reported to the team he had a tire issue and immediately came down pit road while he was running 12th, causing him to lose several laps. After the stop, it was determined that it was actually a problem with the wheel.

Reed returned to the track in the 24th position and had sustained damage to the body of the car by the time the next caution flew with 13 laps to go. Gould brought Reed down pit road to make sure there were no tire rubs and sent Reed back out to restart 21st with three laps to go, which is where he would finish on Saturday afternoon.

After Saturday’s race, Reed remains ninth in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship standings. Next up for Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team is Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, April 23.

RFR PR

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