Shawn Reed Racing Pre-Race Report: Charlotte 2

NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals

Event 16 of 20

zMAX Dragway

Concord, N.C.

Sept. 19 – 21, 2025

SHAWN REED

Driver of the Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel Dragster

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 5th (tied)

2024 NHRA Carolina Nationals Event Recap:

Qualified second; First round exit (defeated by Billy Torrence in E1)

Last Event (Reading):

Qualified fourth; Event champion (defeated Kyle Satenstein in E1, Shawn Langdon in E2, Clay Millican in E3, Doug Kalitta in E4)

2025 Statistics:

15 races; one event win

Career Statistics:

69 races; one win

Noteworthy:

• Captured his first NHRA Top Fuel victory last weekend in Reading, Pa. after recovering from an on-track incident, which left him sidelined for seven weeks

• Reed’s triumph at the 2025 Countdown opener vaulted him from 10th up to fifth place (tied) in the Top Fuel point standings heading into this weekend’s event

• Reed’s other 2025 successes include winning the PRO Superstar Shootout in Bradenton, Fla. earlier this year, and the IHRA Outlaw Series in Hebron, Ohio two weeks prior

  • Between his back-to-back IHRA and NHRA victories, Reed has yet to lose a round since his return

• Following a disappointing DNQ at the 2024 Reading event, last year’s Charlotte 2 race served as a turning point for the Shawn Reed Racing team, and they have been steadily adding to their momentum ever since:

  • In Charlotte, Reed recorded his best qualifying position of the season (2nd) during the event

  • He went on to record a semifinal finish at the following event in St. Louis, and posted round wins at two of the remaining three events on the 2024 schedule

Fan Events & Appearances:

• Friday, 1:00 p.m., NHRA Insider Live show with Brian Lohnes, Nitro Alley stage

• Saturday, 9:30 – 10 a.m., Autograph session with the NHRA Reading Nationals event champions, Mission Foods midway display

Quotable:

“We’ve got a great car, we’ve got a great team, and we know what this car can do. The Charlotte race was really a turning point for our team last season. We didn’t qualify at Reading and then we went to Charlotte and qualified second, went to the semis in St. Louis, qualified No. 2 in Dallas but had some bad luck on Sunday. We knew it was a bit of a stretch, but we were hoping to be part of the conversation by the time we got to Vegas last year. That was the goal, and the goal remains the same this year. You don’t have to light the world on fire, you just have to make clean, consistent laps down the track like we did last weekend. We’d like to make it to the final quad this weekend, get some final or semifinal points so we can get more round wins and stay up in the points. You don’t have to be a hero at every event, it’s tough to win one of these; trust me, I know! So, we’re going to Charlotte this weekend and we’re not stopping. This crew is wound up, they’ve stepped up, and I’m just so proud of these guys.”