Queensland’s Steve Reed is one of the veterans of Australian drag racing, with a family that gives his team an extra edge when it comes to competing in one of the closest divisions in the sport – Top Alcohol.
When races are decided by just thousandths of a second at speeds well over 400kmh, each decision is crucial and it would seem that of recent times the Reed family has been making a lot of right ones.
Most recently Reed picked up a win at the Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway. It was a quick and consistent race car that produced the goods, as Reed reeled off passes of 5.69, 5.68 and 5.66 en route to the winner’s circle. There Steve was joined by his father Jim, a racing legend in his own right, and wife Debbie, who until recently was a feared driver herself in Top Alcohol. And it was even his birthday during the event to boot.
“You can’t start the season any better than a win with a very consistent car, team and driver,” Steve said. “It gave me the perfect birthday present of an ANDRA gold Christmas tree.”
The Allstar Batteries team put a lot of hard work into their off season to return just as competitive at the opening round in Sydney as they were at the season-ending Fuchs Winternationals in June, where Steve also claimed victory.
“The off season was productive, but time consuming,” he said. “Before we knew it the Nationals was approaching and time had run out to do some much needed testing.”
The team has stayed in contention for the championship, just eight points behind points leader Gary Phillips and is now eyeing the next round at the unique Adelaide International Raceway on February 23 and 24, where Top Alcohol competes over a 1000 feet distance.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in Adelaide again, it’s been a lot of years since we’ve been there,” he said. “The crowds are very enthusiastic and the atmosphere was always fantastic because the spectators are so close to the action.”