RICHMOND, Va. – It’s hard to overlook the performance of Ryan Reed for the past three months in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
In an upward trend of on-track performance in his No. 16 Lilly Diabetes / American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang, Reed assured him a shot at the XFINITY Series championship with a solid 11th place finish in Friday night’s Virginia529 College Savings 250.
In nine of the past 11 races, Reed and his Roush Fenway Racing team have finished inside the top-15 marked with two top-10 finishes, including a season-best sixth at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July, followed by a 10th place outing at Iowa Speedway nearly a month later.
While contending for his third top-10 finish Friday night, Reed didn’t have quite the car to hustle his way there, but the two-time ARCA Racing Series winner did lead the trio of Roush Fenway cars ahead of teammates Darrell Wallace Jr. (12th) and Gray Gaulding (13th).
“It started off as a pretty frustrating night,” said Reed. “We weren’t very good. We bounced between loose and tight all night. We didn’t find the balance until the last run. We went a lap dog but got the lucky dog and if we wouldn’t of had to start at the tail end because of that lucky dog I feel we could have had a top-10 run.
“We caught the seventh, eighth and ninth (cars) there but ran out of time to get it done and got tight in dirty air. The boys did a good job battling and sticking with it and making lemonade out of lemons. We have to get better on our short track stuff. I am looking forward to Chicago.”
Knowing that with one race remaining before the XFINITY Series Chase begins at Kentucky Speedway, the Bakersfield, California native can breathe a sigh of relief knowing whatever happens next week at Chicagoland Speedway, he is in.
But for Reed, a win would be more meaningful than relying on point stacking all year to act as his safety net into The Chase. Pulling off the upset victory in last February’s season-opening race at Daytona, Reed is determined to prove that his first career victory wasn’t a fluke.
Of course, much like his first win, his second triumph likely won’t come easy, and winning next weekend at Chicagoland doesn’t have quite the gas as it would at Kentucky or maybe the cutoff at Charlotte – but for the 23-year-old a win is a win and Chicagoland Speedway is a suitable location.
Last year, the 23-year-old scored the first of two ARCA wins driving for Lira Motorsports. A day later, he carried the momentum with a track-best 11th. And while it’s going to take more than just momentum to end up in Victory Lane next Saturday, Reed and his Phil Gould-led team have the ability to gamble at a track where fuel mileage could come into play. Of course, time will only tell.
Looking out the windshield though, Roush Fenway will have to dig deep and despite beaming back on the radar with solid performances across the board – this year’s championship is no piece of cake compared to Chris Buescher’s title last season.
It’s now or never to shift that solid performance into excellence.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
