Ford Performance Racing co-owner Rod Nash says that his driver David Reynolds has “changed a massive amount” since joining the team last season.
The 28-year-old broke through for his maiden V8 Supercars win on Sunday at Surfers Paradise, scoring victory alongside Dean Canto in his 122nd championship race start.
Reynolds had recorded four pole positions and two podium finishes before the victory and spoke post-race of his relief and finally breaking through.
The former Formula Ford and Carrera Cup champion joined the FPR fold under the Rod Nash Racing banner last year amid a contract dispute with former employer Kelly Racing.
Following a difficult tenure with Walkinshaw Racing that had seen him miss out on a full-time drive in 2010, Reynolds had shown enough speed with the Kellys to convince Nash of his potential.
Speed, however, isn’t everything, with Nash speaking openly on Sunday night about Reynolds’ complex character.
“He’s changed a massive amount from when he first came here two years ago,” Nash told Speedcafe.com.
“That’s not so much from a growing up point of view, but he’s just a really intense character.
“There’s two sides to him. He comes across with media and the fans as a cartoon, which is great because he’s a likeable guy.
“I’ve seen guys spraying champagne around a lot of times but I’ve never seen anyone spray three potplants around too (like Reynolds did after his victory)!
“That’s all harmless fun, but what it hides is the amount of work he’s done on himself with everything that goes into putting it all together for one lap or for a whole race.
“He’s always been good at qualifying, but it’s about putting it together when it matters and dealing with nerves.
“At Bathurst in the Shootout nerves undid him a little bit, but he’s getting better and he’s just got to keep working on it.
“There are some programs that he’ll go to over Christmas which will take him to another level again for next year.”
Nash acknowledged that Reynolds went through a form slump following a stand-out second place finish at Bathurst last year, but stressed that he never doubted that his driver would eventually be a winner.
A change of race engineers on the #55 car over the summer gave Reynolds a further challenge for the new season, which again started slowly before picking up.
“From our side it’s a matter of consistency,” said Nash of the future, having signed Reynolds to a new multi-year deal in September.
“I’m a firm believer in the fact that when you swap things around you’ve got to get used to everyone, which takes time.
“I’d like to hang onto him for some time because I’d put everything on it that he’ll be a championship winner in the future.”
