Reed Finishes 24th at Chicagoland

Ryan Reed and the No. 16 American Diabetes Association Drive to Stop DiabetesSM presented by Lilly Diabetes team finished 24thin Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Chicagoland Speedway.  The team battled hard and overcame several obstacles throughout the course of the race to finish inside the top-25.

“That was a tough day,” said Reed.  “We really had a pretty decent Mustang, but any time we started to gain ground, we’d have a little trouble.  The guys battled hard all day and never gave up.  Twenty-fourth is definitely not what we wanted today, but I’m happy with the effort from this Drive to Stop Diabetes team.”

Reed lined his No. 16 Ford Mustang up in the 21st position to start the 200-Lap, 300-Mile race.  By the time the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Reed worked his way up to 17th.  He visited pit road under the caution period for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.  A fast pit stop returned Reed to the track in 13th.

On the following run, Reed felt as though something was amiss with his car.  Crew Chief Seth Barbour told his driver to hold tight until the caution came out.  On Lap 65, Reed came down pit road under caution for the team to check under the hood.  The following lap Reed came back down pit road after the crew diagnosed the issue. 

With the issue resolved, Reed restarted 31st, one lap down on Lap 70.  With the green flag back in the air, Reed informed the team that his Mustang was far too loose. A timely caution on Lap 93 put the No. 16 team back on the lead lap, and offered another opportunity to adjust on the handling of Reed’s Mustang.  Barbour called for four tires and fuel along with air pressure and chassis adjustments.

After a Lap 139 restart, Reed felt a severe vibration.  He thought it might be a tire going flat, so he visited pit road under green for fresh tires.  The tires did not fix the vibration, so under the next caution period; Reed came back down pit road for the team to investigate the issue.

Reed battled the vibration for the remainder of the race, ultimately crossing the finish line in 24th.  With the finish, Reed remains 24th in the NNS point standings. 

RFR PR