Back On Track; Reid Wilson Sets Sight On Tri-County Speedway

Topics:  Reid Wilson, Precision Printed Products 250

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
July 9, 2014

HUDSON, North Carolina (July 9, 2014) - - Steering his Reid Wilson Racing (RWR) ship back on course with a top-five performance at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway last month, Reid Wilson (@reidwison66) heads to Tri-County Speedway this week planning to keep it afloat.

Friday night’s running of the Precision Printed Products 250 presented by Caldwell Community College & 92.1 The Big Dawg will be a whole new experience for Wilson. An experience though he hopes to embrace.

Despite his 15 starts in the X-1R Pro Cup Series, Wilson has never made a start at the 0.4-mile paved oval, but the rising star isn’t worried. And why should he be?

With the guidance of short track specialist and crew chief Mike Herman Sr., the teenager enters this weekend’s race with confidence knowing that “Pops” as he’s known in the garage has plenty of experience at the tight and treacherous short track. Wilson hopes that experience will pay dividends and put him contention for his first X-1R Pro Cup Series win.

“I have to feel the track out on Friday, but I’m optimistic that it will be a strong night for our No. 66 Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits Chevrolet,” said Wilson. “I haven’t been to Tri-County, but “Pops” has, so there’s no doubt in my mind that we can go out there and have a strong night and see if this isn’t the weekend where we put ourselves in victory lane.

“It’s important though not to be over confident. The fields have been extremely tight this season and the competition has never been fiercer. The key to our success I think at Tri-County will be being able to compensate for the track’s changing conditions. If we do that, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

The 18-year old in his first full season of X-1R Pro Cup Series competition rocketed off to a strong start to the year, but unlucky breaks at Memphis (Tenn.) International Raceway, and the Motor Mile (Va.) Speedway attempted to send the team into a funk, but to no avail. Even the most recent race at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway tried to keep the team submerged, but sheer perseverance of Wilson and his team meant they were able to overcome the setback of a flat tire to score their third top-five run of the season.

“We were fast at Myrtle Beach,” the Huntersville, North Carolina native sounded. “Our No. 66 Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits Chevrolet was fast from the moment we unloaded, but unfortunately during the race we had a flat tire, which put us a lap down. Thankfully, we were able to get our lap back before the halfway mark and had to play catch driving from the back of the field. It could have been a lot worse. We’re poised to raise our posture once again.”

Following the race on Friday night, Reid, the N.C. ambassador for Alive at 25 will make an appearance with his No. 66 Bojangles’ Chevrolet Impala newly launch SafeTEEN Driving Academy, operated by the Safety and Health Council of North Carolina (http://www.safetync.org/drivingacademy/).

Before his duties at the track on Friday, Wilson will help Bojangles’ celebrate the opening of their 600th restaurant on Wednesday, July 9 in Charlotte. Wilson will make an appearance for autographs, while the team’s No. 66 Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits Chevrolet will be on display.

“It’s a busy week for sure, but I love it,” said Wilson. “It’s been a good summer so far with all of the off-track activities, but I’m looking forward to getting back to the track. We’re gaining some ground back in the championship standings, so we just need to stay upbeat and focused and the rest should work itself out.”

Speaking of the championship standings, Wilson now sits third, three points behind second-place runner J.P. Morgan and 29 markers being leader Caleb Holman.

“I have a feeling that the championship battle is going to come down to the last race of the season,” Wilson sounded. “We can’t predict what’s going to happen on the track, but if we just keep giving our all, we should be able to keep cutting the deficit and maybe, just maybe we can surprise them all.”

In addition to Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits, Cheerwine serves as an associate marketing partner on the No. 66 entry. Veteran short track specialist Mike Herman Sr. will serve as the crew chief for the racer, who in 2012 at age 15, was dubbed as one of “NASCAR’s future prospects to watch” by Motorsports Analytics.

The Precision Printed Products 250 presented by Caldwell Community College & 92.1 The Big Dawg is set for Friday, July 11 with a scheduled green flag shortly after 8:00 p.m.

For more on Reid Wilson, please visit ReidWilsonRacing.com or click on his Facebook page.

Wilson tweets too. Follow him @reidwilson66.

CONTACT:
NAME: Rita Wilson
PHONE: 704.892.3983
EMAIL: rita@reidwilsonracing.com