Even though Reid Wilson’s finish in his most recent NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway didn’t turn out the way he’d hoped, the Young’s Motorsports driver is looking overall at the performance and not the finish.
His Tyler Young-owned and Andrew Abbott led team came to New Hampshire optimistic, knowing they brought their K&N rookie a competitive No. 66 TruNorth Warranty Programs / MDA Summer Camp Chevrolet, but they also knew the track can be somewhat challenging for a rookie. Not for Reid Wilson though.
The 20-year-old quickly adapted to the 1.058-mile paved oval with fast practice speeds and an 11th place qualifying effort.
Unfortunately, Wilson’s United Site Services 70 debut would be cut short just 32 laps into the race after falling victim to another competitor’s misfortune.
As Wilson was battling for seventh and quickly reeling in the leaders, the car of Dominique Van Wieringen experienced a mechanical failure and left a trail of oil in her wake and directly in the path of Wilson’s Chevrolet.
A passenger at that point, Wilson’s car treaded towards the outside wall where he made contact with Van Wieringen’s uncontrollable race car. He quickly climbed from his car to check on his fellow driver before making the mandated trip to the infield care center himself.
Once released, Wilson joined his team back in the garage.
“First and foremost, I wanted to make sure Dominique was OK. I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that you’re not supposed to get until the safety crew arrives,” Wilson said. “She took a really hard hit. I hate it for our Young’s Motorsports team. They did a great job bringing me another fast race car and something beyond our control took us out of the fight. We easily had a top-10, if not a top-five. I guess that’s racing.”
Headed back to North Carolina with a damaged race car allowed Wilson to reflect on his first four races with Young’s Motorsports. Paired with the Mooresville, North Carolina team during the off-season, the former CARS Pro Cup competitor quickly began to mesh well with the team, which turned into strong results on the track.
In just their second race together, the team mounted an impressive sixth place finish at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway. They backed it up with a solid 10th place showing at Dominion (Va.) Raceway in late May.
Moving forward, it will be a couple races before Wilson and Young’s Motorsports returns to the racing scene, but Wilson can’t wait.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this Young’s Motorsports team,” added Wilson. “Tyler, Andrew and all the guys are a blast and we get along really good. We’ll fix our No. 66 TruNorth Warranty Programs / MDA Summer Camp Chevrolet and come back to the track better than ever.”
Young, a frequent competitor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series says Wilson’s presence has brought the Young’s Motorsports team even more closer together as a family.
“Reid has really done a good job this season,” said Young. “Not only has he shown he has the talent to get the job done behind the wheel, but his personality always make the guys laugh and smile and that’s important. Often times you get wrapped up in the competitive nature of Motorsports and Reid often reminds us you need to have some fun too. “Reid is serious about his responsibilities behind the wheel, but it’s great to know that he also has a personality that makes us remember what life is all about.
“We’ll get the car fixed and go at it again. I think we’ve shown everyone in K&N that we have the speed to compete, we just need to have a little more luck and hopefully Reid will be up there challenging to put our Young’s Motorsports – No. 66 TruNorth Warranty Programs / MDA Summer Camp Chevrolet in Victory Lane.”
Ried Wilson PR
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