TALLADEGA, Ala. (May 6, 2017) – Ryan Reed was poised to close out stage two at Talladega Superspeedway with a top-five finish when contact from behind sent him into the outside wall. Reed started the race 11th, avoided a multi-car wreck in stage one, then was tapped and spun by a fellow competitor just before stage two concluded. The No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford had been one of the fastest cars in the race, but was damaged beyond repair; leaving Reed scored 29th.
“We had a really fast car so that made the racing a lot more fun for us, but with this low downforce you’re really at other people’s mercy on how they push you,” said Reed following the wreck that ended his afternoon. “Aric (Almirola) got careless there and he took the blame for it, but I think it being Saturday and him not racing here that often he was a little more careless. I don’t think if it was Dale Jr. or somebody he races with every week in front of him that he would have done that, so I wish he would have taken a little more time, especially that early on, and give us a little more respect because we do race in the series every week. We’re racing for a championship and he’s not, and feel like he owes us that respect, so I’m frustrated.”
Reed started the race from the 11th position and spent the first part of the 25-lap stage one hoovering around that the middle of the field before thinking better of that plan as the racing got dicey. Reed dropped to the back and with that move was able to avoid a multi-car accident on lap 22. The accident led to a red flag for the field to clean up the debris. Once the red flag was lifted Reed visited pit road for tires and chassis adjustments. Reed took the green flag 21st and two laps later was scored 25th as stage two concluded.
Many competitors visited pit road over the stage break, setting Reed up eighth for the beginning of stage two. Reed was making different lines around the track work to his advantage and finding different drafting partners. Reed ran as high as second before getting spun into the wall.
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.
