Ryan Reed drove his No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang through the field twice, cracking the top 10 before an unscheduled green flag stop derailed his forward momentum. Reed capitalized on pit strategy and raced his way into the “lucky dog” position with under 20 laps remaining. Despite being marred in the back of the field, Reed methodically worked his way through the pack to cross the finish line 17th.
“We had a fast Lilly Ford and I had a lot of fun driving into the top 10 after starting last,” said Reed. “We had a tire coming apart and had to pit under green there towards the end and that set us behind. We were able to minimalize the damage and finish on the lead lap. I’m ready for an off weekend before the summer stretch.”
Reed started the race from the tail end of the field after not clearing technical inspection in time to make a lap in qualifying. Reed made short work of the field and was up to 11th by the time the flag waved on lap 60 to close out stage 1. A quick pit stop for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments lined Reed up 10th for stage 2.
Over the course of stage 2 Reed reported back to his team that they had helped forward drive, but he still needed work through the center. Reed earned stage points finishing the segment 10th and came back down pit road for service. Unfortunately, Reed and his teammate Ty Majeski were both caught speeding on pit road, resulting in a penalty of starting at the tail end of the field.
Reed took the green for the final stage 19th and while working his way through the field developed a tight-handling condition as the left-front tire faded. Reed lost a lap to the leaders before ultimately having to make a green flag stop for tires. Just as Reed pulled into his pit, a caution occurred on the track. Crew chief Phil Gould was quick on his feet and called for two-tires to get Reed back out in time to not lose another lap. Reed kept his position and was able to come back down pit road under caution for the left-side tires.
Reed restarted 20th and had a lot of lapped traffic to dodge as he maneuvered his way through the field to finish 17th.
RFR PR/Photo Credit Robert Laberge/Getty Images
