Reynolds to sink teeth into Winton
Factory Ford driver David Reynolds is back in training after being laid low for 10 days following dental surgery.
Reynolds was unable to eat solids for a week after having his lower wisdom teeth removed and was on a range of drugs to cope with pain and an infection.
The 28-year old Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG driver raced the Coates Hire Ipswich 360 with an infection in his right lower wisdom tooth and had the surgery in early August at the recommendation of his father, who is a dentist.
“It’s the worst thing I have ever done I think,” Reynolds told v8supercars.com.au. “The pain was excruciating, I had an infection so it lasted a lot longer, I was as high as a kite on drugs and I couldn’t eat anything solid.
“I fainted after a few days because I wasn’t eating or drinking enough.
“I was walking around and doing things but I couldn’t talk or smile or laugh. That was for about five days. It’s a still a bit sore now and I don’t have full jaw movement yet.”
Reynolds returned to the gym yesterday (Monday) and is confident he will be fit for the next round of the Championship at Ford Performance Racing’s Winton home track in central Victoria.
“I should be sweet by then, I get the stitches out next week,” Reynolds said.
The pain will be worth it for Reynolds if he finally breaks through for his maiden V8 Supercars win at Winton.
Currently 12th in the Championship, Reynolds has crossed the line first this year in the first part of the 60/60 Super Sprint in Darwin, but that is not classified as a race win. Since then, after a slow start to the season, he has shown consistent top 10 pace.
“The start of the year was pretty bad but we have had good pace lately,” Reynolds said. “You always have to go out there and aim for poles and race wins. It’s the only way you can claw up the ladder.
“Winton is our home track and there is no reason we can’t go well there.”
Reynolds’ battle for a breakthrough win has come in a year where there have been different 10 winners and rookies Scott McLaughlin (Fujitsu GRM Holden Commodore VF) and Chaz Mostert (Wilson Security Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon FG) have already saluted, emphasising just how much the introduction of the new Car of the Future technical regulations have changed the rules of battle.
“The Car of the Past as I guess we call it now definitely had its niche driving style and you turned up at every track and you had to learn how to drive that car at that track,” explained Reynolds. “But this year everything is fresh, you can’t draw on the experience of racing somewhere for the last five years.”
Beyond Winton Reynolds’ priority is to secure his future at FPR. His current two year term is up this year and both he and the team have the option to exercise a new two year deal.
Reynolds is keen to go again and is confident the team is as well. However, the uncertainty over whether Ford will re-sign with FPR has been a factor in delaying the deal, an issue that applies to team-mate Will Davison as well.
“I am more than happy to stay where I am,” Reynolds said. “I am not really privileged to the conversations (between FPR and Ford) but I am being told it is all good, so no drama.
“We’ll hopefully sort it out over the next few weeks. “I’d like to stay, it’s a good team with a very good engineering group and a good bunch of mechanics.”
Reynolds said he was confident the engineers at FPR would continue to operate effectively despite the recent significant changes that have seen Campbell Little seconded to FPR customer DJR and Matt Nilsson leaving for the Holden Racing Team.
