“Reaid Improves 17 Positions in a Stacked Field of Talent at Watermelon Capital”
Reaid, the 22-year-old former All-American 400 winner, bided his time in the CRA Super Series event at the Cordele, Georgia track. He moved from his 22nd-place starting position into the top-15 when the halfway break jumbled the field at lap 100. Still desiring more from his number-41 machine, Reaid and his Jim Barfield-led crew from Bill Elliott Racing made the necessary adjustments at halfway to move into the top-five when the checkered flag flew.
“We just paced ourselves all day and missed what seemed like about a dozen or so wrecks all day,” said Reaid. “We put ourselves in position to race up front at the end. Where we were at halfway, it was a no-brainer to take four tires. If we would’ve had a caution with maybe 10 or so to go, I don’t know if I would’ve had enough for Kyle (Busch, winner) or Bubba (Pollard, second-place), but I feel like I could’ve gotten around David Ragan and Casey Smith (third and fourth, respectively). But that’s one of those ‘if’ deals. All in all, it was a really good weekend for us. It was great to get a top-five finish so we can go on to The Rattler in a month or so.”
The 22nd-to-fifth run in a stout field of short track champions and NASCAR superstars like Kyle Busch, David Ragan and Johnny Sauter is impressive. Considering Reaid did it in his first run for a new team in a brand of racecar foreign to him, the result is even more notable.
“We went down to Cordele the Sunday before to try to test and it rained. The whole next week was hit or miss with the rain and we weren’t able to work together before the race, so I really feel like it was an outstanding weekend.
“I went into the weekend kind of blind. I had never driven those (Grand American Race Cars chassis) cars before and didn’t know what to expect them to do. We had to make a couple changes as far as driver comfort for me, but to come out of the deal with the car in one piece and a top-five was definitely like a win for us.”
Reaid’s first start as part of the Bill Elliott Racing team came as a breath of fresh air after not achieving the success he hoped for in 2011. After winning races over the past few seasons with his own family team and then with Kyle Busch Motorsports through 2010, Reaid was shut out of victory lane in 2011. With a new, focused-on-fun, approach, Reaid is hoping to parlay the strong SpeedFest run into a trip to victory lane in 2012.
“It definitely was a lot of fun this weekend,” added Reaid. “Last year, running for KBM, there was a lot of pressure. You’re sitting in the best seat. Kyle showed it again yesterday by winning the race. Now I’ve gotten back to having fun.
“The Bill Elliott Racing team is definitely a first-class operation. I can see now why they’re tough everywhere they go. Every guy there works beyond their potential. They enjoy doing it and we had a lot of fun. I’m definitely looking forward to working with Jim (Barfield, Reaid’s SpeedFest crew chief) and Ricky (Turner, crew chief for Reaid’s teammate Chase Elliott) and all the rest of the guys more this year. They seemed really pumped at the end of the race and I think that’s a good start to the year for us.”
Reaid’s fifth also gives the young racer momentum for what he hopes will be more opportunities to drive for the BER team in 2012.
“We’ve got The Rattler scheduled for sure with them. I’d like to do the rest of the big races with them. Then in the races where Chase runs or when they’ve got other people scheduled, roll our car out there just to stay in the seat and not get rusty.”
The Rattler will take place March 2nd through 4th at South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama.
For more information on TJ Reaid, visit www.tjreaid.com.
- 51 Sports Press Release
