(Mar. 5, 2001) Mark Reed might want to consider adopting Las Vegas Motor Speedway as his new home track. Last April Reed finished 6th in his second career start in the Winston West Series on the 1.5 mile oval and last September he won the Star Nursery.com 250 Featherlite Southwest Series race on the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last Thursday night Reed and his Food 4 Less Motorsports team grabbed their second win at the Bullring and their first Winston West victory in convincing style.
After a 24-hour rain delay, Reed put his Food 4 Less Pontiac Grand Prix on the pole position for the NAPA Auto Parts 300 with a lap time of 15.341 seconds. This was his second pole award in two races.
“We came over here last week and did a night test from 5 – 10 PM”, said Reed. “We found a set-up that was really fast for qualifying, but also good for the long runs”.
At the drop of the green flag, Reed settled into the second position until lap 12 when he took the lead for three laps. At the 50 lap mark, the Food 4 Less car had slipped back to third place and was running 9th prior to Reed’s first pit stop on lap 95.
“The car was just a little tight in the turns prior to the first pit stop”, said Reed. “When we raised the track bar and adjusted the air pressure during the first pit stop, it really made the car come to life”.
Several of the lead cars elected to stay on the track when Reed pitted. Steve Portenga was leading the race followed by Sean Woodside, Kevin Richards, Bill Sedgwick, and Ron Hornaday. Reed came out of the pits in 10th position after also adding fuel and putting on four fresh Hoosier tires. It took little time for Reed to make his move toward the front. The Food 4 Less car was in fourth place by lap 134 and Reed assumed the lead on lap 149 when the top three cars made their pit stops under caution.
When green flag racing resumed, Reed lead the next 58 laps until Sean Woodside passed him on lap 207. There was another caution on lap 209 which allowed crew chief Jerry Pitts the opportunity to bring Reed back into the pits for his final stop. Reed came back on the track in 5th position with a full load of fuel and four new tires. The Food 4 Less car was running 3rd on lap 219 when the leaders made contact in turn four. Reed assumed the lead at that point and was able to hold off a late race charge by Mike Duncan to take the checkered flag. Sean Woodside, Austin Cameron, and Kevin Richards rounded out the top five. The race was slowed by 16 caution flags for 98 laps and there were 13 lead changes among seven drivers.
“A big thank you to Jerry (Pitts) and the crew”, said Reed after the race. “This is a driver’s dream: to sit on the pole, lead the most laps, and win the race. It doesn’t get any better than this”. The Food 4 Less Motorsports team will be at Tucson Raceway Park Saturday March 10th and Mesa Marin in Bakersfield on Sunday March 18th for the next two races on the Winston West Series schedule.
