HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – A decade ago, Reid Wilson was a fresh face just starting out his journey into racing with a foray into the Bandolero class, hoping to be the next driver to make his footprint in the sport.
This weekend, Wilson’s journey will reach its highest peak yet, as he makes his NASCAR national series debut with Young’s Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway.
Wilson will pilot the No. 20 OEM2 Powered by TruNorth Chevrolet Silverado during the Alpha Energy Solutions 250, reaching the national spotlight for the first time with a team he’s quite familiar with, having previously worked with owner Tyler Young and his team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
After unveiling his truck for the weekend on Tuesday night at The Kilted Buffalo in Huntersville, Wilson stood back and marveled at the culmination of two years’ worth of effort to get to where he is now with Young’s Motorsports.
“I posted this about a week ago, but 10 years ago I would never have dreamed that any of this would be happening. That’s all it was (at that point) was a dream that this would happen,” said Wilson. “It’s just the first start, but hopefully we have a long way to go from here.”
“It’s really cool that it all came together and it’s all working out. I haven’t been as excited as I thought I’d be – not that I’m not excited – but I guess I’ll probably get excited after it happens. I need to make sure I do what I need to do and and bring the truck home in one piece. The guys have really put a great piece together and I’m excited to see what it’ll do.”
Wilson, a former Pro Cup regular, has been a dedicated force behind the scenes at Young’s Motorsports, working regularly in the team’s shop over the last two years in addition to making eight combined K&N East starts with the team over the last two seasons.
Scoring four top-10 finishes during that span was as much or more than Wilson could have hoped for, especially considering that he had a slim budget to work with when he first approached Young about a ride.
“At the beginning of 2016, we came to Tyler with … not much, to be honest with you. We didn’t have much to offer. But he had a big heart,” said Wilson of Young. “He took a chance on me, believed in me and gave me more than a team to work with – he gave me a place to call home.”
“The journey with Tyler … this will be the third year, but it’s been a great one so far. I feel like it was just yesterday when he and I started in K&N together … but it’s definitely going to be cool to see how this next part of the journey progresses. I couldn’t be more grateful for everything he’s already done for me to this point and can’t wait to see where we go together from here.”
Young was on hand for the unveiling of Wilson’s truck, alongside the rest of the Young’s Motorsports crew, and the driver-turned-team owner grinned as he watched his newest pilot soak in the moment.
“Reid supplies the entertainment, there’s no doubt about that!” said Young. “He’s fun to have around the shop and work with, and it’s been great to watch him grow since he came to us two years ago. He was one of our first development drivers that we brought onboard and I’m happy we can continue to help advance his career into the Truck Series this weekend.”
