Reid Wilson on Fan4Racing Radio, Monday, June 18, 2018, at 9:30 pm ET. Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Reid Wilson is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, June 18, 2018, at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
Young Motorsports took a huge step toward securing their future in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend in the M&M’s 200 at Iowa Speedway by running an expanded team with three new up-and-coming drivers. Austin Hill raced the No. 02 formerly driven by the team owner, Tyler Young while Reid Wilson was behind the wheel of the No. 12 and Tanner Thorson ran the No. 20.
Before the race, I sat down with Reid Wilson while he shared his thoughts about what is developing at Young Motorsports and his future with the team. He also shared his thoughts about being one of the first picks by one of our Fan4Racing crew members in our Fantasy Game. But more about that later.
Iowa Speedway is an opportunity for all three drivers to secure their NASCAR license to race at 1.5-mile tracks on the Truck Series circuit. Both Hill and Wilson raced at Martinsville Speedway earlier this year finishing ninth and 16th. The goal at Iowa was simply stated.
“We came out here just trying to get our license for 1.5-mile tracks, so the top priority is to just finish the race,” says Wilson. “The second priority is to finish the race. Then. third is to beat my teammates. But, mainly to finish the race and if we can keep the nose on it and cross the checkers, I’ll be happy.
“I’ve been really happy with the truck so far this weekend,” continued Wilson. “The OEM, Harrison truck is fast, it’s really stable and I’m really curious to see how it’s going to play out.”
Wilson has raced at Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and was looking forward to his Truck race on Saturday night. Although many of the drivers talk about the turn one bump at Iowa, for Wilson, his concern was in turn four.
“It’s a bit of a challenge to be able to get your line right (in turn one). You kind of want to be straight over it, you don’t want to have a bunch of load on that right front tire when you hit it because it can upset the car and just shoot it up the race track.
“I think we got the hang of it at least in second practice and then for qualifying second round, we just barely made it – which was part of my plan.
“But that’s honestly the least of my worries actually.” Turn four scares me the most, because you come out of there and the transition, the way it flattens out, sometimes your truck will just snap out from under you, without you even knowing how it happened. So, that’s what I’ve been looking out for. We’ve been really stable out of the corner, but it’s going to happen to a lot of guys tonight.”
Getting their license to race the 1.5-mile tracks will help the Young Motorsports drivers race at more tracks this season and their favorite 1.5-mile oval is the home track of Young Motorsports – Texas Motor Speedway.
So, now back to the Fan4Racing Fantasy Game. Although Wilson was one of the early picks by one of our Fan4Racing crew – who happens to be a close friend – Wilson says that he is probably not the best choice for this race.
“I’ve got one truck race and eight K&N races in the last two years. Maybe pick a KBM truck, maybe pick…I don’t know maybe Johnny Sauter; he’s pretty fast.”
His advice was spot on as Brett Moffitt won the race at his home track while Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers Noah Gragson and Harrison Burton finished second and third. David Gilliland and Johnny Sauter rounded out the top-five finishers.
Young Motorsports drivers Thorson and Hill finished 13th and 14th while Wilson had overheating issues, not of his own making and finished the race in 28th-place. He completed 109 laps of the 200-lap race and similar to his teammates was racing in the top-15 before overheating took him out of the race.
We’ll chat with Wilson tonight on Fan4Racing Radio about the next steps of his career.