10/21/2017
Reed Earns Top-10 Finish at Kansas to Kick Off The Round of 8
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (October 21, 2017) – Ryan Reed kicked off The Playoffs Round of 8 with a 10th-place finish Saturday afternoon at Kansas Speedway. Reed started the race 15th in his No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang and capitalized on chassis adjustments and fast pit stops throughout the race to earn a top-10 finish. Reed is currently sixth in the Playoff standings with two more races before the Playoff field is narrowed down to four contenders vying for the XFINITY Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“Phil, my crew chief, made a great call to put two spring rubbers on the car and I thought, ‘Man, that’s a really big change.’ I didn’t think that we were that far off. It worked,” said Reed. “The car came to life after that and started to pick up a lot of speed and got competitive. I had really good restart on the last restart and picked up some track position. That was really the key to having a good finish. I had to make up a bad restart that I had earlier in the day. P10, not bad. I think we made up some points. We’re going to have to be better. We need to find some more speed. We’re up to the challenge. We’re only five or six points out. Five or six points out, we can make that up. We’re hanging around and everyone knows that we’re there. We’re ready to go get them.”
Reed started the 200-lap race at Kansas Speedway from the 15th position and despite reporting that he was loose on entry, he maintained the position to close out Stage 1 15th. Reed made slight gains over the course of Stage 2 with the help of fresh Goodyear tires and a chassis adjustment. Reed was still looking for help with turn but on lap 90 at the conclusion of Stage 2 Reed was running 12th.
Crew chief Phil Gould made the call to put spring rubbers in both rears at the conclusion of Stage 2. Reed lost ground on the ensuing restart, but over the course of the final Stage the handling came around and Reed was able to make up ground on the track. Reed steadily advanced through the field and crossed the finish line 10th in his No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford.
About Lilly Diabetes
Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world’s first commercial insulin. Today we are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research and collaboration, a wide range of therapies and a continued determination to provide real solutions—from medicines to support programs and more—we strive to make life better for all those affected by diabetes around the world. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com or follow us on Twitter: @LillyDiabetes.
