Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes American Diabetes Association team salvaged a 21st-place finish in Saturday afternoon’s Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) after sustaining damage in a mid-race incident.
“First of all, it was really cool to have the Drive to Stop Diabetes as the sponsor of the race,” said Reed. “We were able to do a lot of things to raise awareness this weekend, but on the racing side I struggled. Bristol is one of my worst race tracks, so I just have to continue to be better. We brought strong equipment this weekend and had a fast No. 16 Lilly Diabetes American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang. I just have to do a better job giving (crew chief) Seth (Barbour) better feedback and just keep learning. I think if we can get better here, we’ll only continue to get better everywhere else. “
Reed, who is the voice of the Drive to Stop Diabetes initiative, started the 300-lap event on Saturday afternoon from the 24th position. By Lap 50, Reed reported that the car was loose on entry to the corners, tight in the center and loose on exit. To remedy the problem, the team added three rounds of wedge in the left rear of the car on the Lap 55 pit stop under caution.
By the next caution on Lap 118, Reed reported that the previous adjustments had improved the car, but he was still tight in the center of the turns. Crew Chief Seth Barbour made the call to move the track bar up two rounds and give Reed four fresh tires.
Reed had made his way up to the 19th position by the Lap 173 caution flag and took the wave-around to receive a lap back. He again applauded the team for the adjustments to make the car better.
The team got another chance to work on the car when the caution flag flew on Lap 183. Barbour called on the team to move the track bar up just one round as Reed reported the car was almost where he needed it.
By Lap 194, Reed was up to the 17th position and was making his way through the field. An incident in front of the No. 16 Ford Mustang caused Reed to sustain damage to the right-front of the car, forcing the Roush Fenway Racing driver to come down pit road for a lengthy stop to make repairs.
The caution flag flew again on Lap 205 and the Lilly Diabetes crew used this as an opportunity to make sure the repairs to the car would last to the end of the race. After realizing the wreck that caused the Lap 205 caution flag had caused damage to the safer barrier, NASCAR decided to red flag the race to repair the damage. The red flag lasted 11 minutes and gave Reed a chance to thank the team members for their hard work.
“I appreciate the quick effort to get me back out there,” said Reed. “We will salvage what we can here. Every team has bad weekends so we will move on from this and get them next week.”
The team restarted in the 25th position on Lap 214 and Reed was able to gain four positions throughout the remaining laps to finish 21st in the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 presented by Lilly Diabetes.
Reed remains fifth in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship standings, 38 points behind teammate and points-leader Chris Buescher. Reed is still the only series regular to win a race so far in the 2015 season.
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