{"id":104634,"date":"2026-02-03T13:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T21:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=104634"},"modified":"2026-02-03T14:29:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:29:23","slug":"reed-and-zetterstrom-team-up-for-2026-nhra-top-fuel-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/reed-and-zetterstrom-team-up-for-2026-nhra-top-fuel-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Reed and Zetterstrom Team Up for 2026 NHRA Top Fuel campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Shawn Reed overcame a lot in 2025 – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shawn Reed\u2019s 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season featured mountains and valleys for the former multi-time IHBA drag boat racing champion. Despite a huge accident at his home race near Seattle, WA last July that caused the driver to lose his left index finger, he returned to action, won an IHRA race and then slammed himself into the Winner\u2019s Circle in Reading, winning an emotional first NHRA race on his return to the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n

Reed ended the 2025 NHRA season in eighth place, the owner\/driver racing in all five of the Countdown to the Championship events. The sixth event, the season finale was cancelled when torrential rains ruined the in-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip racetrack. \u201cLast year was one for the books, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Reed pronounced as he contemplated his upcoming 2026 season. \u201cStarted with the PRO Superstar Shootout win (in Bradenton, FL). Obviously, Seattle was not ideal, but we came back bigger and badder than ever. We went out, won the IHRA race in Ohio, the first NHRA Countdown race in Reading, (PA), continued to qualify well and ended up finishing the year ranked eighth, a personal best for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed\u2019s 2026 campaign, however, will look different, as he needs to devote added time to his business concerns in the Seattle, WA area. The team owner has decided to compete on a limited basis this year, with Ida Zetterstrom sharing driving duties for the season. Zetterstrom, who is a multiple European drag racing titleholder, will continue her NHRA career as the team\u2019s fill-in driver in Reed\u2019s absence from the circuit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reed\u2019s dragster has been quick and consistent – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAs much as I\u2019d love to pick right back where we left off, the reality is I need to focus more of my time and attention on my business, which requires me to be back in Washington (state) more often than our race schedule allows.\u201d While he\u2019s intent on not losing the momentum built over the past two seasons of [near] full-time action, \u201cIt was important to me that we continue to run a full season. Adding a second driver was the logical choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d heard Ida might be available and, lucky for me she was. I\u2019ve watched her race and have always been impressed with how she carries herself both on and off the track. She\u2019s a proven talent and I\u2019m excited to see what she can do behind the wheel of our Reed Trucking & Excavating dragster.\u201d Zetterstrom made her debut with Joe and PJ Maynard\u2019s JCM Racing team at Brainerd in August of 2024, where she attained a semifinal result; she has competed with JCM on a limited basis since that time, so the Shawn Reed Racing opportunity presented itself at an ideal time in her American career.<\/p>\n

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Joe Maynard is stepping back from Top Fuel team ownership – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maynard conveyed his intention to step away from team ownership, discussing his plans with Zetterstrom at the close of the 2025 racing season. \u201cJoe and I met after the season to discuss the future of JCM, and he let me know that he would be taking a step back from team ownership,\u201d Zetterstrom noted. The winner of National Dragster\u2019s<\/i> \u2018Best New Talent\u2019 2024 fan vote stated her appreciation of the Maynard family\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful for everything Joe and PJ have done for me and for the opportunity to race in the U.S. these last two years. My ultimate goal is still to secure\u00a0 <\/span>full-time ride, and being able to stay visible by making appearances in Shawn\u2019s car throughout the year will go a long way toward achieving that. My schedule this year will be based on both Shawn\u2019s work schedule and the budget I bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good news for both Reed and Zetterstrom is that their brain trust remains essentially intact, led by Rob Wendland and his assistant crew chief Ryan Elliott. They\u2019re preparing for the possibility of running not one, but two cars as the season progresses. \u201cI can\u2019t put a number on how many races we\u2019ll each run just yet,\u201d Reed emphasized, \u201cas we\u2019re still working through that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rob Wendland tuned Reed to the PRO Shootout victory last February – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe truth is, I want to run as many races as possible and so does Ida; we\u2019re each working hard to make that happen. My hope is that we\u2019ll be able to put Ida in a second car at some point. We have the parts and pieces for it; we just need the funding. In an ideal situation,\u201d he mused, \u201cI\u2019m fielding two cars with Ida running full-time in a second dragster, but for the time being, she\u2019s pounding the pavement so that she can be behind the wheel of my car at as many events as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShawn and I have the same shared vision of me ultimately running full-time in a second Shawn Reed Racing dragster,\u201d Zetterstrom stated. \u201cBut until that happens, I\u2019m excited for the opportunity to get in a car that is known to perform well and be consistent. The fact that this team will be out there at all the races is a big deal, because I know that every time I strap in, I\u2019ll be in a car that\u2019s ready to go out and win.<\/p>\n

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When she hasn\u2019t been driving, Zetterstrom has worked in the TV booth – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI value this highly,\u201d she said, \u201cboth for the sponsors and for me to have the best chance of advancing in the class. This is a great step towards the future and the goal of finding enough partners to put together a full campaign and, one day run for a championship. I\u2019m truly honored that Shawn and [wife] Andrea are trusting in me to drive their car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shawn Reed starts the 75th anniversary NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season in the 57th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals, traditionally held at Gainesville Raceway on March 6-8. Reed will also take part in the Top Fuel Callout, as one of eight racers vying for the race-within-a-race trophy and money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Team owner Reed has decided to compete on a limited basis this year, with Ida Zetterstrom sharing driving duties for the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":104637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3465,3470,5029],"tags":[9445,10112,9966,7,5473,6568,10076,73],"class_list":["post-104634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-news","category-racing","tag-ida-zetterstrom","tag-joe-maynard","tag-mission-foods-drag-racing-series","tag-nhra","tag-pacific-raceways","tag-shawn-reed","tag-shawn-reed-racing","tag-top-fuel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Shawn-Reed-at-the-hit-min.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-rdE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104634"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104644,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104634\/revisions\/104644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}