Shawn Reed Racing Post-Race Recap: Bristol

Jun 18, 2025
3 min read

Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Event 8 of 20

Bristol Dragway

Bristol, Tenn.

June 6 – 8, 2025

A Resilient Reed Sets Sights on Virginia After Challenges in Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 8, 2025) - Shawn Reed, the pilot of the Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel dragster, remains focused on the future as he looks ahead in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series following a challenging weekend at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. While Reed demonstrated remarkable driving skills in qualifying as he powered through tire spin and tough track conditions, a first-round win was not in the cards for the team this weekend. However, they are leaving Bristol with new data and valuable experience as they continue to push forward.

With inclement weather causing delays and a tricky track surface during the opening round of qualifying on Friday, Reed smoked the tires about halfway down the left lane. The Shawn Reed Racing team was ready to come back strong in the second opportunity of the day, but Mother Nature had other plans. Just before Top Fuel was to take to the track, the skies opened up and unleashed heavy rain, causing an early end to the day’s racing action.

Qualifying on Saturday didn’t begin the way Reed would have liked. Still, in the second pass of the day, the former multi-time drag boat champion managed to power through some early tire spin to clock a 4.047-second pass at 282.78 mph, landing him in the No. 11 spot on the 14-car eliminations ladder.

Reed’s position in the bottom half of the ladder meant that he did not have lane choice against No. 4 qualifier Clay Millican. Aboard his 12,000 horsepower Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel machine, Reed faced Millican from the right lane - a lane that appeared to plague the ultra-competitive category all weekend. Reed smoked the tires at the starting line, giving Millican the win.

“There’s not much to say,” said Reed. “There was a lot of rain, and the track wasn’t great. But that’s something we’re still learning - how to get down these hot, greasy tracks. We probably should have tuned for a four flat. That right lane was tricky. No one was getting down it. We’ll buckle up and go to Virginia and make some hay. This team is resilient. This is a long season. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I said that a lot last year, and I’ll say it again. There are a lot of ups and downs. You sometimes learn a lot more from your losses than your wins. We’ll just keep going and see if we can make some progress.”

Next week, Reed will return to his drag boat roots when he participates in the KDBA Summer Thunder on Lake Lucas in Wheatland, Mo. Then the Reed Trucking & Excavating team will head to Virginia Motorsports Park just outside of Richmond for the NHRA Virginia Nationals, June 20-22.

Qualified: No. 11 (4.047 E.T. at 282.78 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:

E1: 8.822 E.T. at 97.27 MPH defeated by Clay Millican 4.119 E.T. at 222.22 MPH

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):

1 Tony Stewart 700

2 Shawn Langdon 624

3 Antron Brown 558

4 Justin Ashley 538

5 Doug Kalitta 533

6 Brittany Force 490

7 Steve Torrence 450

8 Clay Millican 385