Wed, 19 Nov 2025, 18:00 PM Shawn Reed Looks Back on Whirlwind Sophomore NHRA Season

Courtesy of Allison McCormick, ABM Communications

In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals
Event 20 of 20
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip
Pomona, Calif.
Nov. 14 - 16, 2025

Photo from the 2025 NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas

POMONA, Calif. - Shawn Reed, the multi-time drag boat racing champion and owner/driver of the Shawn Reed Racing Top Fuel team, began his second full-time season competing on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series circuit with specific goals in mind. He had his sights set on winning his first NHRA Top Fuel race and finishing the year ranked higher than 10th place, Reed's final 2024 position.

Reed definitively achieved those goals, but the success didn't always come easy. Before powering to his career-first NHRA Top Fuel victory in Reading, Pa., in September, Reed sat sidelined for nearly two months as he recovered from an intense crash at his home track near Seattle, which left him with multiple broken ribs and an amputated left index finger.

The Reading triumph was one of three for Reed in 2025. Led by crew chief Rob Wendland, the Reed Trucking & Excavating team also picked up victories at the pre-season PRO Superstar Shootout in Bradenton, Fla., and the IHRA Outlaw Series race in Ohio the weekend before returning to NHRA competition in time for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Other season highlights included resetting Reed's career-best speed multiple times (currently 335.23 mph) and qualifying in the top half of the field at all but three events. For their efforts, the team finished the year ranked seventh in the final NHRA Top Fuel standings.

"Unfortunately, NHRA canceled the event today, so onto the banquet for some good times, and then we'll get right back to it and regroup for next year. It'll be quite the off-season," Reed said. "We had a pretty good year, and I'm happy overall. Obviously, the wreck in Seattle and missing a few races was not ideal, but we entered the Countdown in 10th and we're leaving in seventh, and I'm proud of that. We won some races and have a lot of positive momentum heading into 2026. We're looking to come out of the gate swinging next year, and maybe we'll set a new goal of finishing in the top five."

Up next for Reed is the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Awards Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 17, at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif., where he will be recognized among his peers for placing in the Top Fuel top 10.

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Final Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):  
1  Doug Kalitta     2637
2  Shawn Langdon    2493
3  Justin Ashley    2474
4  Brittany Force   2445
5  Tony Stewart     2394
6  Clay Millican    2365
7  Shawn Reed       2320
8  Antron Brown     2305
9  Steve Torrence   2297
10 Josh Hart        2215

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