The Drag and Drive Community Mourns the Loss of Competitor Randall Reed
The drag and drive community has grown significantly since the first Hot Rod Drag Week in 2005, and every year, dozens of first-time participants join the community.
Unfortunately, we have some members depart the drag and drive community earlier than expected, and we recently learned that multi-time winner Randall Reed passed away in a single car accident earlier this week near his home in Texas.
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Reed jumped into the drag and drive with an appearance at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2017, competing in the popular Street Race Small Block Power Adder class. Reed put together an 8.549 average, which earned him a fifth place finish out of 49 entries in the class.
The following year, Reed returned to Hot Rod Drag Week to once again compete in Street Race Small Block Power Adder. But this time, the LS-swapped Fox Mustang snagged the class win with an 8.521 average.
Reed made it back-to-back wins at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2019, using a near-identical 8.520 average from the turbocharged Mustang to grab his second-straight Street Race Small Block Power Adder class victory.
With Hot Rod Drag Week in hiatus in 2020, Reed made the move to Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW) 2.0, where a solid 8.512 average came up just a thousandth of-a-second short to Aaron Shaffer, who captured the Limited Street class title.
Reed would double his drag and drive appearances in 2021, participating in the Midwest Drags first. In a tight class battle with fellow Mustang runner Tim Flanders, Reed produced a perfect 8.500 lap on day three at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, becoming just the fourth driver in drag and drive history to do so.
The perfect run proved a factor in Reed’s final average of 8.518, and that average held off the single turbo Coyote-swapped ’86 Mustang of Flanders by a mere .002 of-a-second for the class win.
The second drag and drive event appearance for Reed in 2021 was RMRW 2.0, and this time he was the top of the field in Limited Street, using an 8.55 average for the win.
2022 would mark the first of two appearances for Reed at Sick The Magazine’s Sick Week event, and the first one came with a rare Did Not Finish, as Reed was on the sidelines after day three.
At Reed’s second appearance of 2022, RMRW 2.0, Reed would once again be out of competition early, but this time Reed was on the sidelines before day two of the event was underway.
The 2023 edition of Sick Week would prove a bit better for Reed, as he produced a 5.12 average to finish fourth in the 235-spec tire Rowdy Radial class.
Reed would continue with the small tire Rowdy Radial class at RMRW 2.0 later in 2023, with a 5.44 average getting him second place.
Reed made his first appearance at Southeast Street N Yeet in late 2023, where a 5.134 average in the 235 Tiny Tire class earned him the third-place accolades.
Reed’s final drag and drive tally was eleven events, and finishing nine of them, a remarkable 81.8-percent completion rate.
What’s even more impressive for Reed was that he finished in the top five at every one of the nine events he completed, with a pair of second-place finishes, and four event wins.
Reed had taken a step back from drag and drive competition over the last two years to update the Mustang, including a 25.3 SFI-spec roll cage, and had even upgraded the single turbocharger to a larger unit, but sadly didn’t get a chance to fully exercise it.
Several drag and drive competitors have posted thoughts about Reed and his impact on the community, and we’ve included a couple of them below, from fellow Texas-based competitors.
“Randall was pretty much a one-man band,” said Jason Doisher. “He was interested in doing Drag Week, so he came and bought some new injectors from us. We quickly became friends; John Dodson and I helped with his program. He worked on the car most of the time himself, making changes and upgrades just like we all do; a very humble and inspiring person.”
“I still remember the first time I met Randall,” John Dodson reflected. “He was such a kind person that shared a passion for drag and drive stuff. Probably the most humble winner I have ever known. He will be missed by so many family and friends.”
“Randall was the quietest, most humble racer at the track,” said Aaron Shaffer. “I learned a lot from him when I was able to co-pilot for him in 2019. He was definitely a character once you got him to open up and will be missed.”
Finally, James Karger, who drove a nearly identical white Ford Mustang notch to Reed’s, and won Hot Rod Drag Week in the Street Race Big Block Power Adder class in 2018 and 2019, wrote the following on social media:
“RIP to one of the greats Randall Reed; not only a great guy, bad ass racer, talented builder, but also the other half of the Drag Week dominating #whitecoupemafia. You will be missed brother.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, 1320 Video, John Dodson, Aaron Shaffer and James Karger.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com