Momentum Adds Greenville-Pickens To Reid Wilson’s K&N Schedule

Story By: RITA WILSON / REID WILSON RACING – GREENVILLE, NC – When the checkered flag waved at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway nearly two months ago, Young’s Motorsports driver Reid Wilson dazzled in the Jet Tools 150, earning a sixth-place finish.

Thanks to his superb start to the season, Young’s Motorsports and TrüNorth® Warranty Programs have added Saturday afternoon’s Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 to Wilson’s schedule hoping to keep the momentum rolling and contend for their first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) victory.

“I’m really proud of how things went at New Smyrna,” said Wilson, driver of the No. 66 TrüNorth® Warranty Programs Chevrolet. “In 2016, our K&N debut with Young’s Motorsports went OK, but not liked we wanted to. During the off-season, the team really worked hard on the car and we were able to go there and run competitively and get a top-six finish. It felt really good.”

Poised to make just his sixth career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start Saturday, Wilson eyes his fourth career top-10 at the track where he scored his first top-10 finish last April. While track conditions have changed slightly with a repavement of the historic race track, Wilson thinks he can pick up where he left off from New Smyrna.

“The good thing is we have a good baseline setup for Greenville-Pickens this weekend,” added Wilson. “Last year, we were able to get our car going – but passing was premium. We’ve learned so much since then and we hope to turn our top-10 finishes into top-five runs. Greenville would be a great place to do that.”

With patience, the Young’s Motorsports’ team feels they can put their driver in Victory Lane. Andrew Abbott, crew chief of the No. 66 TrüNorth® Warranty Programs Chevrolet says he has seen his driver mature so much over the past 12 months and that maturity has equaled results on the race track.

“Reid doesn’t have the opportunity to race every weekend, so he treats every race like it’s his last,” said Abbott, who also oversees Young’s Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series program. “He’s focused, he’s asking questions and when it comes to the race car at the track – that’s all that matters. He motivates the guys, while still flickering out his personality from time to time that makes us all laugh. Can’t wait to get to Greenville-Pickens this weekend.”

If the team’s first career top-five finish isn’t motivation enough for a good run on Saturday night, the team currently sits sixth in the championship standings with just nine points separating them from first.

Even Wilson’s partner TrüNorth® Warranty Programs, the most comprehensive warranty protection for North American truckers is taking notice.

“We’re getting a lot of great engagement from the truckers we serve who are following Reid’s racing action. We’re proud of his performance,” said TrüNorth® CEO Kirk Eskridge.

Off the track, Wilson has been making headlines too.

Wilson was recently named No. 58 in MotorsportsAnalytics.com’s ranking of the top 75 NASCAR Cup Series prospects prior to the 2017 racing season. Such NASCAR stars like Erik Jones, Daniel Suárez, William Byron and Daniel Hemric top the list.

“Reid hasn’t competed regularly in a NASCAR ladder division, but when he does appear, he’s proven formidable,” stated David Smith, founder of Motorsports Analytics.

In addition to Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Young’s Motorsports will field an K&N East entry for Wilson at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Memphis International Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the season-finale at Dover International Speedway respectively.

Young’s Motorsports and Wilson are also working to expand their horizon and compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) this season. Young’s Motorsports is already a mainstay in the NCWTS fielding the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet full-time.

“Ultimately, that’s our goal,” said Wilson. “If everything comes together like we hope, we’ll put a race on the schedule with Tyler later in the year that makes sense for me and TrüNorth™ to have the best finish possible.”

Continuing to push their support to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Wilson and the Young’s Motorsports team will host kids from the MDA Western Carolinas.

The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (150 laps / 75 miles) is the second of 14 races on the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. Practice begins for the one-day show on Sat., Apr. 8 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Group qualifying is set for later in the day at 4:15 p.m. The race will take the green flag just after 7:00 p.m. that night. The event will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on NBC Sports Network with an airdate on Sat., Apr. 15 at 9:00 p.m. ET.