Ford Performance NXS Notes and Quotes
Alert Today Florida 300 – Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, February 21, 2015
MUSTANG WINS INAUGURAL NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE BY CARRYING RYAN REED TO THE FIRST VICTORY OF HIS NASCAR CAREER AS ROUSH FENWAY RACING FINISHES ONE-TWO
- Ryan Reed won his first race in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series by taking the checkered flag in today’s inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series event.
- The win is Ford’s 220th NASCAR XFINITY Series victory and the first for Roush Fenway Racing at Daytona International Speedway.
- Reed is the 37th different driver to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series race with Ford and the first since his teammate, Chris Buescher, did it last year at Mid-Ohio.
RYAN REED – No. 16 Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang – “First of all, thoughts and prayers go out to Kyle. I heard that he was hurt in some way, so I hope he’s doing OK. It was amazing. I can’t describe the emotions and the feelings that go into the first win – so much hard work and sacrifice from all my guys – Seth and Jack and everyone who stood behind me. Like I said in Victory Lane, to be diagnosed four years ago with Type 1 Diabetes and to have Lilly Diabetes, American Diabetes Association, Ford, and Roush – everyone who stood behind me through it all – to get our first win at Daytona, get the first XFINITY win, there are just a lot of firsts there and it’s really exciting.”
SETH BARBOUR, Crew Chief – “Our cars at Roush on the XFINITY side have been fast for a number of years now and they were fast again today. The goal was to get it up front and keep it up front, and the pit crew did a nice job on the final stop, coming out towards the front. Ryan did a great job on the restarts keeping it up front and, like I said, the goal was to get it out front and keep it up front all day and Ryan and the pit crew and Joel Edmonds, his spotter, did a great job with that.”
JACK ROUSH, Car Owner – “First of all, I just can’t say how excited I am to be here for the first win. I’m gonna sit down and make myself a list of all the firsts. I understand it’s the first XFINITY race that we’ve won at Daytona with a car like this, so that means a lot, but to be here with Ryan and Seth and XFINITY for their first event is just a wonderful thing. The guys worked hard. Of course, everybody that’s involved with NASCAR works hard all winter to get ready for the season, but we’ve had good speedway cars for a number of years, like Seth said, and to be able to close the deal and finish one-two tonight is really satisfying. It’ll be a happy shop in North Carolina on Monday when we’re able to celebrate this as a crew.”
RYAN REED CONTINUED – HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THIS GIVE YOU? “It’s no secret we had some challenges last year in my rookie year. It didn’t go as smooth as we wanted it to, but some kids come out of the gate strong and do great their rookie year and then others have challenges along the way. I’m perfectly fine with standing up and saying I struggled in some areas and I’m probably still going to struggle in some areas, but this is a huge step in the right direction – a lot of confidence. Seth did a great job during the off-season keeping me a lot more prepared and keeping me involved and just being a lot more organized. I think that’s what it takes, it’s those little things at the shop that go a long way. All the preparation that goes in before the race, a dozen little things added up to a lot this week and I think we’re gonna see that a lot throughout the year. I think also, too, we’ve made a lot of changes over at Roush Fenway and I can’t thank everyone enough for all the hard work because there was a ton of hard work the guy put in back at the shop and I can’t thank them enough. They deserve a lot of the credit. Roush Yates, everyone who has played a part in this deserves a lot of credit.”
JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – “Ryan certainly deserves this. He’s a role model for a whole generation of Americans that have some kind of a health challenge, and the Type 1 Diabetes affliction that he’s got is something that he’s overcome. He’s extraordinarily talented. He demonstrated his ability the first time we put him in a race car at Richmond a couple of years ago, and to be able to be here with him when he realizes his first real success on the race track is just wonderful. I can’t say enough about how I empathize with the family for their sacrifice and for their efforts to help Ryan get to where he could do what he did tonight.”
RYAN REED CONTINUED – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT CHARLIE KIMBALL AND THE INSPIRATION HE’S BEEN TO YOU? “To start off with Charlie was a big part of my first experience with Diabetes. I got diagnosed and the doctor told me I wouldn’t race anymore and Diabetes was gonna keep me from that. I didn’t know what Diabetes was and I didn’t understand why it was keeping me from racing, so I went back and did some homework and researched Diabetes and athletes that were still competing with Diabetes, and I naturally searched the motorsports side of sports, and I saw Charlie’s story and it talked about his doctor, Anne Peters, who is in Southern California and was about two hours away from where I was living at the time in Bakersfield, California, where I grew up, and I called her. Right off the bat, Charlie was a part of my story right whenever I was diagnosed, so it’s pretty cool. To win here and for Charlie to have won here, I think it’s a very special place to motorsports and it’s always a great feeling to win here. You mentioned my love for the guys, I think over the radio I said ‘I love you’ to all my guys probably 15-20 times just screaming. There was a lot of emotion. I can’t thank those guys enough. They pulled out a few backups last year, and worked some extra hours from my wrongdoing, so I appreciate all their hard work and this makes it all worth it.”
SETH BARBOUR CONTINUED – WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT ROUSH FENWAY RACING HAS HELPED YOU ACHIEVE THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU AND YOUR DRIVER TO WIN THIS RACE? “Like I said in the beginning, our speedway program has always been great at Roush Fenway Racing. I worked as an engineer under Mike Kelly for eight years and he has always done a great job on the speedway program. I owe a lot to him for being here today. Like I said, the speedway cars have been great and that is a credit to the guys at the shop who have hands in it. Anytime you win a speedway race is hats off to everybody back at the shop”
JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – “We shouldn’t let the moment pass without giving credit to Ford Motor Company because they have given us a lot of wind tunnel time and other things that have been beneficial to us with their dedication of resources from Dearborn.”
JACK ROUSH CONTINUED — ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH THE LACK OF A SAFER BARRIER BOTH HERE AND AT OTHER RACE TRACKS? “That sounds like a loaded question. Whenever somebody hits a barrier or an earth mound that is not safer barrier protected you always think an injury could have been avoided. NASCAR and the tracks have done a great job with the research to define a space for the race tracks that will limit injuries and it is unfortunate that Kyle (Busch) hit an area that is probably the first time anyone has wrecked in that particular space there. It is certainly that race tracks are not without risks and drivers have to face the problem of having something happen that somebody didn’t plan for and it is unfortunate when that does occur. I can’t speak for Ryan and the other drivers but in terms of seeing the progress that has been made in making the race tracks safer there has been tremendous progress made in the 28 years I have been involved and I certainly compliment NASCAR on those improvements.”
RYAN REED CONTINUED – “I will second that. I think Jack pretty much hit the nail on the head. NASCAR has done a lot to keep us safe and we have seen improved safety and I am sure they will go back and look at this and if there is an area they can improve on it will be improved on. We hate to see anyone hurt so our thoughts and prayers go out.”
WITH REGARD TO YOUR DIAGNOSIS, WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET TO THE POINT OF BEING ABLE TO RACE? “I found an amazing doctor, Ann Peters, who stood up and told me we were going to make it happen. She worked closely with NASCAR. It wasn’t an overnight process at all but she taught me a lot about diabetes and helped me understand the disease and that goes a long way toward managing the disease. This is something you have to manage on your own to some extent. It is really awesome to have a doctor who cares that much and is that involved and if I get sick at the race track I can call her and she will stay on the phone with me for hours and do what I need to do to get better to get my blood sugar where it needs to be. All around, I contribute a lot of it to her. Obviously there are more – my family for keeping me positive through some of the darkest days of my life thinking I would never be back in a race car and they were there for me through it all. Then obviously working with Lilly Diabetes and the American Diabetes Association and trying to give back with the Drive to Stop Diabetes program. I feel like if I wouldn’t have had that diagnosis and was told I couldn’t, I may not have taken it so seriously and gotten involved to the level I am today. I try to look at the silver lining and I think we have accomplished a lot through a tough situation.”
RYAN REED CONTINUED — SEVERAL YEARS AGO YOU WENT TO MARTINSVILLE AND QUALIFIED INTO THE RACE AND SHOCKED A LOT OF PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T THAT FAST IN PRACTICE. HOW DID THAT SET YOU UP TO SUCCEED IN THE PRESSURE COOKER TODAY? “I think if you look at my stats, I didn’t run a ton of late model or K&N or ARCA races. I didn’t have the seat time that I feel like some of the other guys have. You haven’t been exposed to some of the situations. Martinsville was a really cool race for me. I went on top of the hauler and there were like 80 cars or whatever trying to qualify and I watched Phillip Morris and it clicked. If you can run 30-40 races a year then great, things are going to click one time or the other where if you are running 12 a year it takes longer to click. A lot clicked last year. We found speed and there were areas I did and still do need to improve on but things started to click at the end of the year. We found speed and I am really confident. This sport is so much based on confidence. This is the way to do that, to start the year with a ton of confidence and get all the guys fired up and just a great way to start the year. Like you mentioned, you have to instinctively know what to do when you get in situations, whether it is on the backstretch at Daytona and you are getting a run on the leader with the white flag coming or if you are just in a bad situation and can see a wreck forming. Those things are developed and they are instincts you have to develop. You can’t think about it. You have to just react sometimes. I was really fortunate to experience a lot last year with a lot of things I have never experienced before and I think it will really help me this year.”
