| Jim Reed | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 21, 1926 Marion, Illinois | ||||||
| Died | June 29, 2019 (aged 93) Peekskill, New York | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 106 races run over 13 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 9th – 1959 | ||||||
| First race | 1951 Race No. 19 (Altamont) | ||||||
| Last race | 1963 Race No. 35 (Old Bridge) | ||||||
| First win | 1958 Race No. 14 (Old Bridge) | ||||||
| Last win | 1959 Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
| |||||||
Jim Reed (February 21, 1926 – June 29, 2019) was a NASCAR Grand National driver.[1]
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 ($155,797.18 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. At Heidelberg Raceway, Reed won a race that took place on July 21, 1959, on a ¼-mile dirt track.[citation needed]
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]
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]