At the Lucas Oil Nationals in the remote resort lakes region of northern Minnesota, Cory Reed suffered his first real setback as a Pro Stock driver, losing the last way any driver would ever choose: on a holeshot.

Qualified in the back half of the field for the first time in his new career, Reed drew the toughest possible opponent right now – Aaron Stanfield, the hottest driver in drag racing with the possible exception of Funny Car sensation Austin Prock. With the second-quickest run of the entire event to that point, a 6.60 that would have put him on the pole had he run it during qualifying, he fell to Stanfield’s slower 6.61.

“I still make mistakes sometimes,” Reed allowed. “I mean, really I haven’t been doing this that long. For some reason, I wasn’t totally sure I had it in 3rd gear when I went to do the burnout. I stopped, went back through the gears, and I was in 3rd. I didn’t even need to do that, and all of a sudden it was like, ‘Get going – don’t make him wait.’ I swapped feet really quick – no line-loc. Then Joey [Gladstone] dropped his radio and I started laughing in the car. Then, I’m like, ‘You just screwed yourself, this is taking too long, but it’s still not too late. Get it together. Drive the car right.’ “

He did – after the launch. Reed’s reaction time came up .093, and Stanfield got him on a holeshot with an unspectacular .040, well below his season average (and, for that matter Reed’s). The rookie kept the car right down the center of the groove and nailed every shift but couldn’t overcome Stanfield’s head start or the behind-the-line shenanigans that ultimately proved his undoing.

“After all that, most people would stage wrong or red-light or drive the car like an idiot,” Reed said. “I was like, ‘OK dude, just relax. Think logically. Don’t try too hard on the light, and make sure you get a good run no matter what.’ And I did. My focus wasn’t totally on cutting a light or winning the round like it normally would be. I just concentrated on hitting my shift points and keeping the car perfectly straight.

“Down the track, that was probably the best I’ve ever driven, but I was pressing down so hard on the clutch pedal on the line that no matter what, I was going to be late,” he said. “That was probably a .040 or .050 light, actually – not great, but not terrible. But when you press down that hard, you’re screwed, especially against somebody like Stanfield. That guy’s not going to leave you a chance.”