REED ENDS ROOKIE SEASON WITH ANOTHER TOP-5 FINISH

Source: Reed Motorsports
Date: 11/15/2001

(November 14, 2001) Mark Reed and the Food 4 Less Motorsports team went into the last race of the 2001 season last Saturday night with the opportunity to win three awards at the Winston West Series banquet in Thousand Oaks the following night. Reed only needed to take the green flag in the Jani-King 250 to win the Rookie of the Year honors. Additionally, he and his team were tied with Sean Woodside for the season ending Bud Pole award, and they were still within striking distance of Brendan Gaughan to win the 2001 series championship. They had already secured a second place finish in the points. As the checkered flag waved to end the race and the season, Reed crossed the finish line in 4th place. It was his 9th top-10 finish in the series this year. Gaughan won the race and successfully defended the series championship, but not without a fight from Reed.

The Food 4 Less Pontiac was the first car on the track for qualifying Saturday evening. Reed’s best lap of 18.904 seconds (95.218 MPH) was only good enough for the ninth starting position. Unfortunately for Reed, his competitor for the Bud Pole award (Woodside) was able to post a lap of 18.59 seconds, which was fast time for the night. “I knew it was going to be difficult for us to have a really fast lap since we were the first car to make a qualifying attempt”, said Reed. “Our goal all year has been to qualify in the top-10 and finish in the top-5. Although we didn’t win the annual Bud Pole award, we still exceeded our expectations by setting fast time at four of the events. Congratulations to Sean and the Walker Racing team on beating us by getting their fifth pole of the year.” Also, Reed’s average finish of 5.4 was the best in the series this year and an amazing accomplishment for him and his rookie team.

With the wave of the green flag to start the Jani-King 250, Reed wasted no time making his way to the front of the pack from his 9th place starting position. He was running in 4th place by lap-3, moved into 2nd on lap-5 and took the lead on the eighth circuit of the ½-mile oval at Irwindale Speedway. Reed remained in front until lap-30 until he was passed by the eventual runner-up, Brandon Ash and the #16 car of Brendan Gaughan. Reed pitted with the leaders after the caution flag waved on lap-111 for 4 tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to free the car up in the center of the turns. He came into the pits running in 7th place, but the crew got him back on the track in the 5th position. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the check valve in the filler tube, which didn’t allow the team to fill the gas tank on Reed’s initial pit stop. He had to come into the pits a second time, which relegated him to a position in the middle of the pack on the restart. Gaughan took the lead on lap-137, while Reed was running in 11th place. The caution flag waved again on lap-151, which allowed Reed to bring his car back down pit road for another 4-tire change, fuel, and a track-bar adjustment. “The chassis adjustment we made on the previous stop made the car worse instead of better”, said Reed after the race. Reed was in 14th place when the green flag waved to resume the race on lap-156. Even though he had moved into 5th place by lap-169, Reed took the opportunity to make his third and final pit stop under caution on lap-193. The Food 4 Less crew changed right-side tires, added a spring rubber to the right-rear spring, and sent Reed back onto the track in 8th place. “The car was still too tight in the turns”, said Reed. “The changes Jerry (Pitts) and the crew made to the car on the final stop really made a big difference.” Reed moved into the 5th position behind Eric Norris on lap-203 and eventually passed Norris on lap-214. The caution flag waved on lap-229 after the car of Davy Lee Liniger spun on the backstretch. This allowed Reed to close up on the rear bumper of Scott Lynch who was running third, but Lynch held off Reed’s challenge for the remaining 16 green flag laps. Gaughan won the race followed by Ash in second place. “Congratulations to Brendan, Bill, and the entire Orleans Racing team”, said Reed after the race. “We had a more consistent year, but they led the most laps and won the most races. They deserve to be champions.”

The last race of the 2001 season marked the end of Reed’s association with Food 4 Less. He will give up the ownership role next year to drive for Tim Buckley at Vintage Motorsports in cars which will be prepared by two-time Winston West champion, Bill Sedgwick. “I appreciate all of the support I received the last 2 years from the entire management team at Food 4 Less”, said Reed. “Based on our performance in our rookie season, it would have been nice to see what our team could have accomplished in the 2nd and 3rd season. However, I’m also extremely excited about the future of driving without the headaches involved with owning the team. If Food 4 Less had not come on board two years ago, this new opportunity wouldn’t have presented itself.”

Buckley and Reed will be making an announcement within the next few weeks regarding their 2002 schedule, but don’t be surprised if the schedule includes putting Reed behind the wheel of a truck for a few races in the Craftsman Truck Series in addition to selected events in the Winston West Series.

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