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Reaid with New Team, But Still Posting Proud Finishes with Late Models at Five Flags

By Chuck Corder

Short-track racing fans learned a few moons ago that T.J. Reaid could hold his own in a late model ride.

With a win and a chassis-full of top-fives, the success Reaid’s enjoying in 2012 has been nothing short of brilliant.

But it’s not newfound. The 22-year-old Reaid, after all, did catch the eye of one of NASCAR’s elite — even drove a Kyle Busch Motorsports late model for a few years.

Now with the vaunted Elliott Racing team, Reaid has been one of short-track’s finest this season, boasting a top-10 in all 10 races he has started.

“I’m excited getting to work with these guys,� Reaid said of his Elliott crew members. “I’ve known ’em for a long time, going back to the ASA (Late Model Series) days. The deal with Kyle, that was a lotta pressure, but I learned how to handle that.

“I’m more excited than anything going into this deal. I knew their stuff was good. At the first race at Speedfest, all I was looking for was a good solid top-five finish and we bring home a top three. It kick started the season.�

Included in that sparkling schedule is a pair of runners-up in the last two Blizzard Series races and a third in the season-opening Allen Turner Pro Late Model series at Five Flags Speedway.

Reaid will miss this Friday’s second PLM 100 running at Pensacola’s high banks, but figures to be a feared contender in both the Blizzard and Allen Turner series for the remainder of the year.

“Down there, it’s all about patient,� Reaid said. “A lotta guys down there are fast the first part of the race but fall off at the end. We tend to give up a little at the beginning, but you can’t get yourself too far outta contention.�

His latest trip around the famed half-mile, asphalt oval came at the Rubber and Specialties 100 — the third of five Blizzard Series races — on May 25.

Reaid hung in the middle of a 31-car pack for most of the race before following teammate and race winner Chase Elliott across the finish line.

“That place, we’re getting the hang of it,� Reaid said of Five Flags. “Running all the races I’ve ran down there, plus teaming up with Elliott Racing, we’ve hit on a pretty good thing. It says a lot about the equipment and the capabilities of the equipment. They’ve got a pretty good setup.�

Quite the understatement. Chase Elliott, all 16 years of him, has won in his last three trips to Pensacola.

That stretch includes the 44th running of the Snowball Derby last December and the season-opening Blizzard race in March.

Reaid’s quick to point out, though, that fans shouldn’t expect to be seeing double.

“My driving style is a lot different than Chase,� he said. “They’re still learning what I like and we’re incher closer to getting more wins. I’m looking forward to the next couple of races down there at Five Flags. I bet we get a win before the season is up.�

While Reaid won’t be here come Friday, the Elliott team will still be represented courtesy of young Mason Massey.

All of 15, Massey got his first taste of Five Flags at the PLM opener in March where he finished a respectable eighth.

“He got out and ran hard, but used his stuff up,� Reaid remembered of Massey’s inaugural turns. “He was bummed after the race, but I told him he was just learning the ropes down here.�

Reaid should know.

At 22, T.J. Reaid ought to be considered a savvy veteran of Five Flags Speedway.

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