(Apr. 5, 2001) Mark Reed will make his first NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series start of the 2001 season this Saturday night in the Coors Light 125 at Mesa Marin Raceway. The current points leader in the Winston West Series is excited about the upcoming race. “This will be the first race this year where we’re not worried about points”, said Reed. “We’re just going to have fun”. The race this weekend will be the first of eight Southwest Series events Reed plans to participate in this year. In addition to the October Classic at Mesa Marin, he and his Food 4 Less Motorsports team will also compete in events at Irwindale Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sears Point, and Madera Speedway.
The Food 4 Less Motorsports team built a 2001 Victory Circle chassis with a Pontiac Grand Prix body and a Bill Maropulos motor to use in the eight races this year. “We decided to go with the Grand Prix body to match what we’re running in the Winston West Series”, said Reed. “The car really turned out nice. It’s been a while since we’ve built a car where everything is brand new. The crew did a great job. I also want to thank the guys at Victory Circle for all of their help”.
Reed and the Food 4 Less team are at Irwindale Speedway today testing the new car to make sure everything works and all of the bolts and fittings are tight. Any testing at Mesa Marin would have to have been at least one week prior to the race. “It works out fine for us to test at Irwindale”, said Reed. We will run the Southwest Series race there on April 21st. It also gives us an opportunity to test our Winston West car we will run in the Food 4 Less 250 there on May 12th.
Reed always looks forward to racing, but that is especially true when the race is at Mesa Marin. “There is something special about racing in your hometown”, said Reed. “Not many drivers have that opportunity. It’s great to have local friends and family at the track cheering for you”. Reed’s circle of friends in Bakersfield continues to grow with the popularity of his sponsorship involvement with the local FoodsCo stores. “We had our race simulator car at the three stores in town last weekend”, said Reed. “Every time we do appearances we gain additional fan support from the employees and customers”. Reed hopes all of his local supporters have something to cheer about at the end of the race on Saturday night. “We know our way around this track”, said Reed. “If we can stay out of trouble in the first part of the race, we should be a factor for the win”.
