Jim Reed (racing driver)

Jim Reed (February 21, 1926 – June 29, 2019) was a NASCAR Grand National driver.[1]

Jim Reed
Born(1926-02-21)February 21, 1926
Marion, Illinois
DiedJune 29, 2019(2019-06-29) (aged 93)
Peekskill, New York
NASCAR Cup Series career
106 races run over 13 years
Best finish9th – 1959
First race1951 Race No. 19 (Altamont)
Last race1963 Race No. 35 (Old Bridge)
First win1958 Race No. 14 (Old Bridge)
Last win1959 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
7 47 5

Career

Reed has raced 16,335 laps[1] (and successfully led 1,472 of them)[1] – the equivalent of 14,017.3 miles (22,558.7 km) from his beginnings 1951 to his final NASCAR season as a driver in 1963.[1] His total career earnings are $16,299 ($136,114.37 when adjusted for inflation).[1] Reed's biggest win came in the 1959 Southern 500 driving a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Reed finished the highest in championship standings in 1959 (9th place overall) and the lowest in 1963 being 139th place overall for the year.[1] His average career start was 12th and his average career finish was 16th.[1] A wreck while driving a Ford late in the 1963 Grand National season caused a broken vertebra; Reed eventually retired from NASCAR. People who suffer from broken vertebrae usually end up paralyzed, deceased, or both. At Heidelberg Raceway, Reed won a race that took place on July 21, 1959, on a ¼-mile dirt track.

Reed performed the best at short tracks and restrictor plate tracks; finishing 11th on average while finishing in 34th on average while driving on tri-oval intermediate tracks.[2]

Later life and death

In 1965, Reed left the motorsports scene to start a truck dealership.[3][4] While it started out as a GMC dealership, the business eventually moved on to selling Mitsubishi and UD trucks.[3][4] Sales have mostly been either the first or second best in the Peekskill, New York region.[3][4]

Reed died in his sleep on June 29, 2019, succumbing to a heart attack.[5]

References
  1. Jim Reed racing information at Racing Reference
  2. NASCAR Statistics for Jim Reed Archived 2013-05-21 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  3. "Jim Reed Trucks". Archived from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  4. "Jim Reed". Legends of NASCAR.
  5. "Our Founder and NASCAR Legend Jim Reed Passes Away at 93". Jim Reed Truck Sales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
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