Jim Reed Born: February 21, 1926
Home: Peekskill, NY
Jim
Reed, born February 21, 1926 is a former NASCAR driver from
Peekskill, NY. He completed in 107 events in his career, earning
seven wins and forty-seven top-ten efforts.
Reed debuted in 1951 and until
1957 earned modest results. He earned various top-fives and top-tens and
finally two poles in the 1956.
However, in 1958 Reed finally
broke through. He won from the pole at Old Bridge, leading every lap in
route
to victory. Amazingly, he broke through in his next start at Roanoke and
then again later in the year at Buffalo and at Belmar. With eight other
top-tens in the year, Reed finished 10th in points.
He topped that in 1959, earning
his way to a 9th place in points with three wins. Reed won at
Winston-Salem, Heidelburg Raceway and Darlington Speedway. He earned 9
top-tens in the fourteen starts that year.
After that, Reed only earned six
more top-tens in the rest of his career before retiring after the 1963
season.
Jim
Reed, A 5-time NASCAR champion,
dominated the Short Track division of
NASCAR in the 1950’s. He claimed the
championship in the division from 1953
thru 1957, for both driver and car
owner, a record that still stands as the
longest consecutive championship by any
driver.
Jim began racing after World War II at
the age of 21. He drove midgets,
sprints, modifieds and roadsters before
moving to the Grand National Division in
1949. From 1951 to 1963 he started 206
Grand National races, won 59 times, and
finished in the top ten 44 times. He
finished second in the prestigious
Southern 500 in 1956, fourth in 1957,
and won in 1959.
When NASCAR came North in 1949 Jim was
ready with a ’46 Ford Coupe and won the
first 100-mile 400-lap race on a ¼-mile
bank in Richmond, VA. In 1950 the
drivers complained about Jim still using
a straight-axle car, so the car was
ruled out the next year. Switching to a
’51 Ford Police Special Jim continued
his winning ways with 11 wins in 1953.
During these years his cars were driven
back and forth to the tracks, from
Canada to Georgia and as far west as
Ohio, wherever the NASCAR Circuit took
them. Jim bought a new ’54 Ford and
raced it 5 times; placing 1st,
2nd and other top 5 finishes but was not
happy with the car. He switched to a ’53
Hudson Hornet, winning 9 firsts and 2
seconds in 12 races, and the Short Track
Championship.
In
1955 a new Chevy Coupe was purchased by
Jim, the last new car he had to buy.
Mauri Rose, Chevy’s new racing engineer,
provided several cars and engines during
the rest of that season, the first cars
Chevrolet actually sponsored and used
for advertising. Jim delivered the Short
Track titles in ’55 and ’56 to Chevy and
finished 2nd at Darlington
and 5th at Daytona Beach in
’56.
Curtis
Turner #99, Jim Reed # 7, Lee Petty (Yes
it is!) # 35
In the Fall of ’56 Indy winner Peter
DePaolo, who headed the Ford race team,
lured Jim away from Chevy by offering to
build three cars for him. One was to be
raced on the west coast and the other
two were for the east coast circuits.
Jim flew cross-country to make the races
and won 6 short track races for Ford
before Chevy convinced the Automobile
Manufacturers Association to vote to ban
direct support of stock car racing. Even
without factory support Jim won the 1957
Grand National Short Track championship
in a Ford Fairlane.This was Fords’ first
championship.
Jack Smith #91 Spins, Jim Reed # 7
avoids him
1958 was an independent year (again)
using his two left-over 57 Fords. There
were many people tired of the Short
Track Championship going to New York,
and as a result the California points
were split from the National points so
Jim brought the West Coast car back to
the East. Several Grand National wins
and ½ dozen Short Track wins came in
’58.
1959
marked Chevy’s under-cover return to
racing, and a call to Ed Cole,
then-Chevy president, resulted in a trip
to the Factory to pick up a new
348-cubic inch Impala Coupe. With 6
weeks to get ready for Daytona’s new
track, Jims’ #7 finished 7th behind the
more powerful Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles.
1959
brought wins on all sized tracks. Most
notable was the Labor Day Darlington
Southern 500. This was before power
steering was used and with a track
temperature of 140 degrees. #7 was the
only car in the top 5 without a
relief driver. You don’t see that
happening today. Goodyear Tire chalked
up their 1st major win and that brought
a tire contract. Chevrolet Engineering
provided cars and parts only through
1961. Through 1963 it got a little lean
because of expenses rising and it became
increasingly more difficult to make a
profit without the Short Track division.
A wreck while driving a Ford in late ’63
caused broken vertebrae and in ’64
Chevrolet offered him a car but he
turned it down. He started the truck
dealership in 1965.
Jim was an outstanding driver and an
equally outstanding mechanic. He applied
his knowledge in the development of
horsepower with his education in the
fundamentals of handling and controlling
the race car, to let the car work for
him. He coupled his intelligence with
his driving skills and let the car work
for him. But, faced with the financial
hardship of an independent, Jim had to
make a decision – remain up North and
build a business or move South and race.
He decided to let his racing career
become part of Stock Car history and
devote his efforts to Jim Reed’s Truck
Sales and Service in Peekskill, New
York. Starting in 1965 using his racing
connections with GM, Jim opened a GMC
dealership in Peekskill, NY. In 1987 he
acquired a Mitsubishi Franchise that has
been so successful that the GMC was no
longer desirable and he sold it off to
be an exclusive with Mitsubishi. He has
been 1st or 2nd in sales mostly ever
since. Jim is very happy with the
product and his relationship with MFTA.
Jim Reed Truck Sales
5742 Old Albany Post Road
Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567
(914) 737 - 3990
Contact Us
Goodyear's first
big test against Firestone: At the
NASCAR Darlington event, driver Jim Reed
finishes first with a record speed -- on
Goodyear tires.
Jim
Reed, born February 21, 1926 is a former NASCAR driver from
Peekskill, NY. He completed in 107 events in his career, earning
seven wins and forty-seven top-ten efforts. 
to victory. Amazingly, he broke through in his next start at Roanoke and
then again later in the year at Buffalo and at Belmar. With eight other
top-tens in the year, Reed finished 10th in points. 
Jim
Reed, A 5-time NASCAR champion,
dominated the Short Track division of
NASCAR in the 1950’s. He claimed the
championship in the division from 1953
thru 1957, for both driver and car
owner, a record that still stands as the
longest consecutive championship by any
driver. 
In
1955 a new Chevy Coupe was purchased by
Jim, the last new car he had to buy.
Mauri Rose, Chevy’s new racing engineer,
provided several cars and engines during
the rest of that season, the first cars
Chevrolet actually sponsored and used
for advertising. Jim delivered the Short
Track titles in ’55 and ’56 to Chevy and
finished 2nd at Darlington
and 5th at Daytona Beach in
’56.
1959
marked Chevy’s under-cover return to
racing, and a call to Ed Cole,
then-Chevy president, resulted in a trip
to the Factory to pick up a new
348-cubic inch Impala Coupe. With 6
weeks to get ready for Daytona’s new
track, Jims’ #7 finished 7th behind the
more powerful Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles.
1959
brought wins on all sized tracks. Most
notable was the Labor Day Darlington
Southern 500. This was before power
steering was used and with a track
temperature of 140 degrees. #7 was the
only car in the top 5 without a
relief driver. You don’t see that
happening today. Goodyear Tire chalked
up their 1st major win and that brought
a tire contract. Chevrolet Engineering
provided cars and parts only through
1961. Through 1963 it got a little lean
because of expenses rising and it became
increasingly more difficult to make a
profit without the Short Track division.
A wreck while driving a Ford in late ’63
caused broken vertebrae and in ’64
Chevrolet offered him a car but he
turned it down. He started the truck
dealership in 1965. 
