04/22/2017
Flat Tire Ends Reed’s Day Early at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 22, 2017) – Ryan Reed blew a right-front tire in his No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang Saturday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway, ending his day early. Reed took the green flag from the rear of the pack due to a penalty in pre-race technical inspection, but was making progress working his way through the field when the right-front tire blew on lap 79, resulting in a 38th-place finish.
“It was a tough day altogether, starting in the back,” said Reed. “The balance wasn’t very good and we went a lap down early. We were trying to fight through it, but had a tire go down and that ended our day. We’ll move on. We’ll go to Richmond, which is one of my favorite tracks, and rebound. The good thing about getting a win at Daytona is that buys you some insurance in case you have some days like this, so we’ll rebound. I’m really proud of everyone on the Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang. It’s a tough group mentally and physically, so we’ll persevere.”
Rain on Friday left the XFINITY Series with only one practice to get the cars dialed in for the race Saturday afternoon. Reed had a decent car in practice, but knew they would have to make some adjustments during the race.
During pre-race technical inspection on raceday morning, NASCAR issued a penalty to the No. 16 car resulting in a penalty of starting the rear of the field. Reed had qualified 24th, but had to forfeit the track position to serve the penalty.
Despite the setback in track position, Reed immediately started making up spots from the drop of the green flag. A tight handling condition impeded his charge and cost him a lap to the leaders and Reed would never make it to a pit stop to get some handling adjustments. On lap 79 the right-front tire blew, sending Reed into the outside wall. The damage was too severe to repair and Reed was left with a 38th-place finish.
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.
