Ford Performance NASCAR Notes and Quotes
Lilly Diabetes 250 Advance – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Friday, July 21, 2017
Ryan Reed, driver of the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, was part of a press conference this afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where a variety of topics were discussed.
RYAN REED – No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang – LILLY IS THE SPONSOR FOR THIS RACE AND YOU’VE HAD A LOT GOING ON THIS WEEK. HOW HAS IT GONE? “It’s awesome. Lilly puts a lot of effort into the entire NASCAR program and obviously to see them in the fourth year of our partnership is pretty amazing, and to see their continued addition to our program with different NASCAR programs and our sponsorship of this race, and then the whole week-long activation here is really cool. Go-kart racing yesterday with some fans. I got to meet a lot of cool fans out there yesterday and it’s a little bit unique because you actually get to race with them. I said it a few times yesterday, but you don’t usually get to meet a football player and play football with him two days before they’re competing, so I think that’s a pretty cool way to interact with them. And then we have the Lilly Block Party tonight, where a ton of the Lilly family comes out. We’ll see a lot of red shirts and race fans as well, and then I actually get to do my job Saturday afternoon and drive the race car.”
WHAT IS THE MINDSET FOR THIS RACE WITH THE NEW PACKAGE? “We tested it at the end of last year – me and two other drivers, so I was one of three. It was definitely a huge, drastic difference. It was like five seconds difference in speed, so I think that gap will shrink a little bit as everyone puts a little more R&D into the package, but it was very different. I think it’s gonna be pack-style racing. I don’t think it will be quite like Daytona and Talladega just with this place being as flat as it is, but I think, and it’s kind of a guessing game because there were only three of us, you don’t really know what’s gonna happen until you get out there with 38 or 39 other guys. But if I had to guess right now, I kind of think it would be similar to what you see during the Indy race here with Indy cars. You might see four or five guys breakaway, but the leader is not going to be able to get away. You’re punching too big of a hole in the air and then with the time difference and as much slower as it is, the balance is good enough to where you can suck up pretty easy. It’s gonna be exciting. I think you’re gonna see a mixed bag of reviews, but I think the fans are gonna enjoy it.”
WERE YOU LIFTING IN THE CORNERS? “No, definitely not by ourselves, and then when you were in the draft if you got all the way in their dirty air, if you didn’t have a fender poked out, you really had to do a good job of making sure you got some air on the car. But, for the most part, you were wide-open no matter what situation you were in, but that was three cars. When you’re in a pack with 20 or 30 other guys, then I think the balance is gonna be a premium.”
HOW DO YOU ASSESS YOUR SEASON? “I’d say we’ve kind of had ups-and-downs. Obviously a great moment winning at Daytona. We’ve had top-5 runs and top-10 runs, and then we’ve had some not-so-good runs. We’ve had some bad luck, some wrecks and then some races where we definitely needed to continue to find speed, but I think, overall, you’ve seen Roush Fenway as an organization get a lot better. We’ve certainly reaped those rewards on Saturdays, but we need to get in a little more better rhythm and find some consistency. The top-10 weeks need to be two, three, four weeks in a row. The road courses are a great summer stretch for us. We have really good road course cars. We had some great runs last year, a top-5 at Road America, a top-10 at Watkins Glen, so we need to continue that at the road courses. And then I think our short-track program is where we have the most work to do, so if we can find a little more everywhere, and then a lot on the short tracks, I think we’re gonna be in contention come the Playoffs.”
WAYNE AUTON SAID NASCAR HAS ENCOURAGED YOU GUYS TO LOCK BUMPERS AND PUSH EACH OTHER. DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT HAPPENING A LOT IN THE RACE? “You’re gonna be able to lock bumpers. You’re gonna be able to get to the guy in front of you and bump draft or tandem draft – whatever you want to call it – but once you get down in the corner what are you gonna do? That’s gonna be the problem. This place is so flat that you can predict the same style of racing as Daytona and Talladega, but once you get down in the corner the balance is still gonna matter. When you are tandeming you’re gonna be going a lot faster, so you’re gonna have to respect the guy in front of you. If someone does get to your bumper and does give you a shot, you’re at his mercy, so you’re gonna hope that he gives you a break once you get down in the corner.”
