Jim Reed (February 21, 1926 – June 29, 2019) was a
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
driver.
[Jim Reed racing information](_blank)
at Racing Reference
Career
Reed has raced 16,335 laps
(and successfully led 1,472 of them)
– the equivalent of from his beginnings
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
to his final NASCAR season as a driver in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
.
His total career earnings are $16,299 ($ when adjusted for inflation).
Reed's biggest win came in the 1959 Southern 500 driving a 1957
Chevrolet Bel Air
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1975 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, ...
. Reed finished the highest in championship standings in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
(9th place overall) and the lowest in 1963 being 139th place overall for the year.
His average career start was 12th and his average career finish was 16th.
A wreck while driving a
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
late in the 1963 Grand National season caused a broken
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
; Reed eventually retired from NASCAR. 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.
NASCAR Statistics for ''Jim Reed''
at Driver Averages
Later life and death
In 1965, Reed left the motorsports scene to start a truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
dealership.Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
and UD trucks.heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Jim
1926 births
2019 deaths
NASCAR drivers
People from Marion, Illinois
Racing drivers from Illinois