Already a national event finalist in one professional category, Cory Reed reached the Sonoma final in just his second start ever in Pro Stock. Reed, who came within a round of winning Maple Grove in 2016, his first season astride a 200-mph Pro Stock Motorcycle, came within a whisker of winning, falling 6.54 to 6.55 to Aaron Stanfield, who’s won more races this year than Greg Anderson or Erica Enders or anyone in Pro Stock.
“The car ran good and I was driving decent,” Reed said. “It was just one of those days when everything goes your way. Between Joey and me, we’ve always had good luck here. Joey won his first NHRA national event here [in 2022], and I guess it’s one of those tracks that just seems to like us.”
Powered by a KB-Titan 500-inch big-block and crewed by his trusted allies from their two-wheel glory days, Gladstone and Dave Kuschke, Reed claimed his first Pro Stock round-win when veteran Deric Kramer’s car went silent right off the line, sending the sleek, immaculate J&A Service Camaro to a runaway 6.53 win. Teammate Eric Latino was the next to go, falling on a holeshot, 6.58/208 to 6.56/208 in the quarterfinals.
“It’s not like I was cutting .020 lights or anything,” Reed said. “It was more like .040s and .050s, actually, but I wasn’t floating the pedal or trying too hard and upsetting the chassis. I had that pedal slammed to the floor and wasn’t trying to squeeze it and cheat, making it push back and release too soon and upsetting the car. You’ve got to get right on that threshold, where it’s not kicking back.”
Superior starting line driving carried Reed through the semifinals, too, when Jerry Don Tucker turned it red – right when Reed really needed a break. “I didn’t know he red-lighted,” he said. “It didn’t really feel like I was late, but when you see the other guy out there that early, you think he Tree’d you and start cussing yourself. Then I looked up and saw the scoreboard, and it’s a good thing he went red because after I got behind I short-shifted and only ran a .64.”
Reed picked back up to a 6.55 in the final but fell to Stanfield’s slightly quicker 6.54. “I just wanted to prove to myself that Seattle wasn’t fake, that I can really do this,” he said. “That guy’s hard to beat, a savage. If he does this long enough, he’ll be one of the best to ever do it. To be honest, I was already a fan of his before I started doing this. He’s a badass – that whole family is.”