Dean Wilson will fill in for Chad Reed on the Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports Team while Reed recovers from injury.
In a release from the Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports Team that was issued Wednesday, February 19, Chad Reed will sit out the rest of the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross Series to recover from his injuries and prepare for the 2014 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship that gets started in May.
Reed underwent surgery to repair the injuries he suffered at the San Diego Supercross nearly two weeks ago. The former Supercross champ tried riding a week later at the Dallas Supercross but was unable to finish off the night because of the injuries, which included at least three broken bones in the shoulder area.
The team will have, however, a rider filling in for Reed for the remaining East Coast rounds – Dean Wilson, who currently competes in the 250 West Series on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Team, managed by Mitch Payton.
The two teams reached an agreement that will allow Wilson to compete on Reed’s Kawasaki KX450F in select East rounds. Wilson has 450-class experience but has never ridden a 450 in Supercross.
“For me I’m ready to heal up and get back into training and focus my time and energy on getting ready for outdoors,” said Reed. “I’m excited for Dean because it is the team’s long-term goal to have multiple riders on the team and Dean’s name has been kicked around the semi for a long time. This is our first chance to see how it goes with another rider in the mix. Not only is Dean a good friend, but is also somebody who I respect for his talent. I’m excited for the chance to work with him and not dwell on the fact that I’m out of the championship. I’m excited to put a headset on and go to the races as team owner and try to see what we can do and have fun with Deano.”
“Joining Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports is going to be an awesome experience for me,” Wilson said. “Obviously I know Chad pretty well and I got the phone call last Saturday after he decided that he wasn’t going to be racing. It was a pretty cool phone call to get that he wants me to race his bike! I’ve wanted to do the 450 rounds on the East Coast just to keep racing, because I feel like I’m riding pretty well at the moment. Mitch [Payton] and Reid [Nordin, Kawasaki race team manager] were really supportive of this move, as well as the other team sponsors. I just want to mix it up with the boys and have fun. There is no pressure so it should just be some good racing and some good experience for me.”
Payton is also happy with the deal.
“We’re very happy that Chad has reached out to Dean to fill in for him while he is recovering. Both Chad and Pro Circuit are really good friends, as Dean and Chad are also,” Payton said. “We believe Chad’s team is organized and ready to do battle and we think this will be good for Dean to get experience in the 450 class. Coming off his West Coast [swing] it is good to keep him out there racing and getting seat time.”
Reed said that he plans on attending most of the remaining Supercross rounds as team owner and coach for Wilson.
