REED JOINS VINTAGE MOTORSPORTS FOR 2002

Source: VINTAGE MOTORSPORTS
Date: 11/08/2001

Mark Reed has reached an agreement with Tim Buckley of Vintage Motorsports to become the team’s new driver for the 2002 season. Bill Sedgwick, who has been with the team since 1997, will assume the duties of crew chief and general manager of the team while Reed will focus on the driving and marketing parts of the business. “I am extremely excited to have Mark join our team”, said Buckley. “I have been very impressed with every aspect of what he has been able to accomplish with his own operation.” Reed has co-owned his team with his brother Matt for several years, but is now forced to shut the doors on their shop in Bakersfield, CA after being notified by their current sponsor (Food 4 Less) that the company would be getting out of motorsports after the 2001 season. “I appreciate Tim’s confidence in my driving ability”, said Reed. “This will be the first time in my career that I haven’t had the complete responsibility for running the team. I am also excited about the opportunity to work with Bill Sedgwick. Being a former two-time champion in the Winston West Series, I can learn a lot from him.”

Reed and Buckley reached a tentative agreement at the 24-hour Fitness 150 last month in Las Vegas and sealed the deal during a test session last week at Irwindale Speedway. “I just wanted to see how well Mark and Bill would communicate with each other before making my final decision”, said Buckley. “Based on our testing results, I think the chemistry is going to be just fine.” The Vintage Motorsports team has had three top-5 finishes in the Winston West Series this season, and currently are only one point away from finishing the season in 10th place. “We’ve had some strong runs on the short tracks this year, but have struggled on the speedways”, said Buckley. “With Mark’s ability to run fast on the big tracks and Bill’s talent for setting up a car to handle on the bullrings, I think we will have a strong driver/crew chief combination.” Reed set a new track record for the Winston West Series in April at California Speedway in Fontana and finished third last month on the 1 ½-mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Vintage Motorsports team has not yet finalized their schedule for the 2002 season. “I am considering the possibility of running Mark in a few NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races next year”, said Buckley. “Our final schedule will depend on our budget and the input from our sponsors.” From Reed’s perspective, he just wants to race. “I told Tim I would love the opportunity to run some races in the Craftsman Truck Series. I also indicated I was interested in competing again in the Featherlite Southwest Series race at Sears Point. Running for a series championship would be nice, but it doesn’t matter that much to me.”

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