MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 20, 2019)- DGR-Crosley announced today that Bakersfield, Calif. native Ryan Reed will drive the team’s No. 17 Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. Reed, a person living with Type One Diabetes, will have support from Dexcom, Inc., a leader in diabetes care and management.
Reed most recently competed full time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Over the past five seasons, the 25-year-old earned two wins, seven top-five and 26 top-10 finishes. In his accomplished career, Reed has only one Truck Series start which occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2012. Overall, he has seven starts at the one-and-a-half-mile track where he has a best finish of ninth-place. When Reed gets behind the wheel of the No. 17 Dexcom Tundra, he will have veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion calling the shots atop the pit box, and former Cup spotter David Keith guiding him from the spotter stand.
“Ryan has a lot of experience behind the wheel,” said team co-owner David Gilliland. “We are thrilled to welcome him to our program at DGR-Crosley. Not only will he be an asset to our program and provide key feedback as we continue to grow and improve, but it’ll also be an advantage to our younger drivers to have someone with his experience as their teammate. We’re looking forward to getting Ryan and Bono paired up in Vegas – I think it’s going to be a really strong pairing.”
For Reed, his journey back to racing begins in Las Vegas with DGR-Crosley.
I’m thankful to everyone who has played a part in getting me back behind the wheel of a racecar,” said Reed. “Dexcom plays a huge part in my daily life and being able to manage my diabetes every day, and it’s cool to be able to connect them to another part of my life that I’m so passionate about. I was in Daytona over the weekend, and it was really disappointing to be there and not be racing. I’m thankful for Dexcom, David [Gilliland] and DGR-Crosley for giving me the opportunity to race again. This next part of my career is all about being competitive and being in equipment I know I can win in. I believe that DGR-Crosley is going to give me that opportunity at Vegas.”
The partnership with Dexcom has a significant impact on Reed who was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at the age of 17. Reed uses a Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system to track his glucose level at all hours of the day, giving him a peace of mind in controlling his diabetes. Reed’s Dexcom CGM will be installed in the No. 17 Toyota Tundra to allow him to monitor his glucose levels throughout the competition.
The Strat 200 will take place on Friday, March 1 at 9:00 p.m., ET with a live televised broadcast on FS1. Natalie Decker and Anthony Alfredo will join Reed in the trio of DGR-Crosley Toyota Tundras at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
