Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team finished 33rd at Pocono Raceway on Saturday in a rain-shortened event after blowing a tire and making hard contact with another competitor, ending the team’s day.
“I am just thankful to Lilly Diabetes and American Diabetes Association for sticking with us,” said Reed. “I feel like we are making progress. These days are really tough with adversity from the start. We will not give up. I was hoping to get our Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang in Victory Lane for everyone at home watching, but it just wasn’t meant to be today.”
Reed started the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Pocono Raceway from the 23rd position after reporting the car was too loose in qualifying on Saturday morning. Before he rolled off pit road, he lost radio communication back to the team. Crew chief Phil Gould instructed Reed to use hand signals as he passed by the pit box to communicate how the car was handling.
After the field took the green, Reed reported he was loose by giving the signal to Gould as he passed by the pit box. He had raced his way up to the 17th position by Lap 4 and despite the inability to talk to the team, he was gaining ground.
The competition caution flew on Lap 15, giving the team a chance to make adjustments to the car. Gould brought Reed down pit road for four tires, fuel, a spring rubber, and a track bar adjustment. The team also handed Reed a new radio in an attempt to fix the communication issue.
Reed restarted 22nd on Lap 19 before the field was slowed by caution before another lap was complete. He raced up to 19th after the restart and was scored 17th by the next pit stop on Lap 29. The team pitted for gas and a track bar adjustment during that stop.
After the pit stop, the caution was again displayed. Reed was able to restart in the fourth position as he did not pit under the caution.
Soon after the restart, Reed made contact with a competitor, causing Reed to blow a right-rear tire and spin before receiving hard contact from an oncoming car. Because of the heavy damage, Reed was not able to drive the car back to the garage.
After being released from the care center, Reed returned to the garage as the team attempted to prepare the car. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow the team to return to the track, ending the race just past Lap 51 and relegating Reed to a 33rd-place finish.
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