BROWNSBURG, IN – The Shawn Reed Racing Top Fuel team will run the full 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule with Shawn Reed and Ida Zetterström sharing driving duties of the Reed Trucking & Excavating dragster throughout the season, it was announced today. Reed will scale back from full-time touring and compete on a limited basis to devote more time to his business, while Zetterström, a multi-time European drag racing champion, will serve as the team’s fill-in driver in his absence.

Reed, who scored his first NHRA Top Fuel victory in 2025, will open the season at the NHRA Gatornationals where he will also compete in the NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout. The event-by-event driver schedule for the remaining 19 races will be announced at a later date.

“Last year was one for the books, that’s for sure,” Reed said. “Started with the PRO Shootout win. Obviously, Seattle was not ideal, but we came back bigger and badder than ever. We went out, won the IHRA race in Ohio, the first NHRA Countdown race in Reading (Pa.), continued to qualify well, and ended up finishing the year ranked eighth, a personal-best for me. Continue reading →

POMONA, CA – 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. Continue reading →

Pomona, CA – Last year, Reed earned his first ranked finish when he closed out the year in 10th place after his first full-season campaign. He has been vocal about his goals for his sophomore season, which included: winning his first NHRA Top Fuel race (achieved in Sept. near Reading, Pa.) and improving upon his 10th place ranking. He starts the weekend occupying the No. 8 position

Shawn talks about Pomona, “I’m looking forward to the last race in Pomona, getting through it, going rounds but already looking forward to the off-season and what’s to come for this team in 2026. We will not stop improving and our goal remains the same: win a championship, period. We will come out strong and that’s a fricking promise. I’m pissed at my performance, and I owe this team. I will be better, we will be better, and this team will be in the hunt in 2026.”

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 8th Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS – After a solid qualifying outing that placed him in the top half of the field for the 13th time in 16 starts this season, driver/team owner Shawn Reed was poised for a long day of going rounds on Sunday at the NHRA Nevada Nationals. A rare misstep in the first round of eliminations, however, caused the team to bow out early, and they will head to the season finale in Pomona, Calif., having maintained their No. 8 ranking.

Reed opened the weekend with a good, clean pass, taking his Reed Trucking & Excavating dragster down The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 3.881 seconds to place him sixth. In the second session, crew chief Rob Wendland stepped on it even more, tuning Reed to a 3.737 E.T. at 329.10 mph. He was up in smoke early during the third session but came back with another solid pass of 3.779 seconds to close out qualifying. Starting from the No. 4 seed, Reed drew No. 11 qualifier Tony Schumacher as his first-round competition. Against Schumacher, Reed was on a good run early but slowed to a 3.959 while his opponent clocked a winning 3.794 E.T. to advance. Continue reading →

Las Vegas – “Looking forward to Vegas this weekend after too many days off. The team is excited and focused, and we expect to move up another position in the standings at a minimum. It’s going to be a great race Halloween weekend and we’re looking for a strong finish at these last two events to close out the season,” explained Shawn.

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 8th

2024 NHRA Nevada Nationals Event Recap: Qualified eighth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Travis Shumake in E1; defeated by Brittany Force in E2)

Last Event (Dallas): Qualified second; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Kyle Satenstein in E1; defeated by Steve Torrence in E2)

Continue reading →

ENNIS, TX – Shawn Reed continued his impressive Countdown to the Championship campaign at the Texas NHRA FallNationals, blasting to a career-best speed on Sunday after earning his best qualifying position of the season. The Top Fuel standout started race day strong before a tough second-round matchup ended his run, but Reed and the Reed Trucking & Excavating team, led by crew chief Rob Wendland, left the Texas Motorplex with plenty of momentum heading into the final stretch of the playoffs.

Reed started the Stampede of Speed on a high note on Friday afternoon with a run of 3.774 seconds at 328.76 mph, the second-quickest pass of the session, which earned him two valuable bonus points. He backed that up with another impressive lap on Friday evening under the lights and lasers of the Motorplex sky, delighting the packed grandstands with a 3.685 E.T. at 333.56 mph, earning another two bonus points in the process. A solid 3.835 E.T. at 326.73 mph followed in the third session on Saturday, and in the final qualifying opportunity of the weekend, Reed dropped a cylinder early on and had to click it off. He qualified No. 2, a season-best starting position, on the strength of his Friday night performance.

Eliminations kicked off with explosive drama, as first-round opponent Kyle Satenstein had a fiery engine explosion shortly after launching that sent him careening into Reed’s lane. Fortunately, Reed powered to a 3.717 E.T. at a career-best 338.83 mph to avoid any issues. The adrenaline was still flowing when Reed took to the starting line to take on four-time world champion Steve Torrence in the second round, as he left first against the Texan. The Reed Trucking & Excavating dragster started hazing the tires around half-track, though, and Reed had to watch as Torrence drove past him. Continue reading →

Ennis, TX – Reed clinched the No. 2 qualifying position at last years event which was his career-best starting point (tied with Charlotte 2, 2024) and reset his career-best E.T. (3.676 seconds) last year.

“I’m looking forward to getting back after it in Dallas after a week off. Our hopes are high, even after a couple of slim losses that kicked us back in the points a little bit. We know what we need to do to try and get back in that top five spot, which would be a win-win for Shawn Reed Racing,” explained Reed.

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 9th

2024 Texas NHRA FallNationals Event Recap: Qualified second; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Tony Stewart in E1; defeated by Clay Millican in E2) Continue reading →

MADISON, IL – Still riding the high from his first NHRA Top Fuel victory during the 2025 Countdown to the Championship playoff opener in Reading, Pa., earlier this month, team owner/driver Shawn Reed was looking to keep the momentum rolling this weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. His Rob Wendland-led team was strong during qualifying, earning a starting position in the top half of the field for the 13th time out of 15 events, but faced a tough draw in fellow Countdown-challenger Shawn Langdon during round one of eliminations. Against Langdon, the Reed Trucking & Excavating team gave it a good run but were outpaced by their opponent and will now look to the upcoming Dallas race to continue to add to their points total as they attempt to climb the NHRA Top Fuel standings.

Reed opened the weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis by taking his 12,000-horsepower machine on a 3.764-second ride to place him eighth after the first qualifying round. In Friday night’s field-setting session, Reed kept the candles lit from start to finish to clock a 3.703 E.T. at 332.10 mph and move up four positions to fourth. Reed’s machine was up in smoke early during Saturday’s first session, but he closed out qualifying with another quick and consistent pass, laying down a stout 3.793 E.T. at 328.94 mph, which held up to be the best run of the round. For their efforts, the Shawn Reed Racing team earned the No. 4 qualifying position but faced Langdon from the No. 13 seed, setting up a monster first-round matchup. Continue reading →

Madison, IL – Reed enters the third of six playoff races ranked seventh in the Top Fuel standings after winning the NHRA Countdown opener in Reading, Pa. earlier this month.  He’s enjoyed his best outing of the year at the 2024 St. Louis even where he qualified in the top half of the field (6th) and recorded his first semifinal finish of the season.

As a part-time resident of Defiance, Mo., Reed considers the St. Louis facility to be a home track and had this to say about the race, “Looking forward to racing in my second hometown – St. Louis, Missouri – this weekend. We are coming off a tough loss in Charlotte by one-thousandth-of-a-second, but still, this car continues to improve and has gone down the track almost every time over these last three weeks. Our heads are high, there’s lots of rounds of racing left, and we plan to improve.”

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 7th Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – One week after powering to his career-first NHRA Top Fuel victory, privateer team owner/driver Shawn Reed was eliminated early on Sunday at the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals. Since making his return to NHRA competition following an on-track incident over the summer, Reed and his Reed Trucking & Excavating team have been on point, posting run after consistent run down the racetrack. Their impressive string of recording full pulls continued into Sunday at zMAX Dragway during the second of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff events, but despite their efforts, the team narrowly missed out on continuing their streak of setting off win lights.

Reed’s weekend in Charlotte began by clocking a 3.810 E.T., the fifth-quickest run of the opening qualifying session. He made his quickest pass of qualifying – a 3.754 E.T. at 330.72 mph – on Friday night under the lights and then followed that up with two more solid runs on Saturday, including his 3.767 pass during the third session, which held up to be the third-quickest run of the round and earned him three bonus points. Continue reading →