03/08/2015
Reed Finishes 15th At Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 8, 2015) – Ryan Reed earned a 15th– place finish in the third NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) on Saturday afternoon.
Reed fought an ill-handling car for most of the day, but avoided several on-track incidents to fight for a top-15 finish. Despite the handling issues, Reed’s No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang ran as high as the second position in the Boyd Gaming 300.
“We fought to improve the balance of the car for the majority of the race, said Reed. “We continued to make improvements throughout the day that got us closer to where we needed to be, but just didn’t have the time to get our Lilly Diabetes /American Diabetes Association Ford up to the front to contend for a win. I felt like Seth (Barbour) made some really good calls on adjustments and pit strategy, but we just couldn’t get the break we needed. I think we have the potential to run really well at Phoenix next weekend and I look forward to getting back out front.”
Reed started the 200-lap event from the 18th position and immediately reported that the car was tight in the center. The team brought Reed down pit road during the first caution of the day on lap-13 for four tires, a full tank of fuel and a spring rubber adjustment in the left rear of the car. Following the stop, Reed radioed in to crew chief Seth Barbour that the car handled really well in Turns 1 and 2 but lacked grip on the right side in Turns 3 and 4.
The team completed their second pit stop of the day under the lap-46 caution flag, adjusting the track bar and changing only two tires. The pit strategy call put Reed back on the track to restart in the second position. On the ensuing restart, Reed was left in the middle of a three-wide pack and was shuffled back to the 16th position, but reported that the car’s handling in Turns 3 and 4 had improved.
The team made their only green flag pit stop on lap-104, taking four tires and fuel. On the exit of the pit stop, the car stalled causing Reed to lose several positions on the track.
After pitting under caution for four tires on lap 158, Reed reported that he ran over some debris with the right front tire. To be safe, Barbour brought Reed back down pit road for four new tires to complete the final 42 laps of the race, ultimately leading to Reed taking the checkered flag in the 15th position.
Reed’s 15th-place finish ties his 2014 NASCAR XFINITY Series finish at LVMS.
He leaves Las Vegas third in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship standings, fifteen behind points-leader Ty Dillon.
Reed and the NASCAR XFINITY Series return to action next weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.
