Mechanical Issues Create Rough Road for Reif at PIR

Tanner Reif and his Bill McAnally Racing No. 16 NAPA Auto Care crew displayed their never-give-up attitude in coming away with a 14th-place finish in ARCA Menards Series West action on the winding road course at Portland International Raceway on Friday. The 17-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada, made multiple pit stops during the event as his crew went under the hood of their Chevrolet to try to cure a fuel pump issue.

Reif was sixth-quickest in practice earlier in the day before qualifying 12th in time trials. He faced a big mountain to climb, however, after getting a penalty for stopping on pit lane to adjust his steering wheel and being sent to the rear of the field for the start. He then slid off course and dropped back to the 21st spot on Lap 3. From there, he began a charge to the front, working his way through traffic around the 12-turn, 1.967-mile track.

His team made a strategy call to pit ahead of much of the competition, coming in on Lap 16 during the second caution. The move put the No. 16 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet SS in the lead pack after the field cycled through pit stops. That advantage evaporated, however, when they had to make a green-flag stop on Lap 28 with mechanical trouble that derailed their effort.

Reif ended up multiple laps down and focused on avoiding trouble on the track and getting to the finish. The No. 16 took the checkered flag in 14th.

“Our Chevrolet was super fast all day,” Reif said. “The NAPA crew put in a lot of work and made me a really fast car. We had a good race going until I made a rookie mistake at the beginning of the race – adjusting my steering wheel and getting sent to the back. We made it up to sixth, then had a fuel pump problem and had to pull in. We had to take care of the car until the end of the race because I wouldn’t gain any positions. Big thanks to John [Camaleri, crew chief] for making a great call on pit strategy. Earlier in the day, we had fun with the NAPA Portland group.”

Start / Finish: 12 / 14
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 155 pts. (-24)

Next Race: Friday, June 9, Sonoma Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 6: 30 p.m. ET on FloRacing (live) or CNBC (June 18)

Tanner Reif: @Tanner_Reif
NAPA Racing: @NAPARacing
Bill McAnally Racing: @BMR_NASCAR