Cory Reed had big dreams.

From the age of 14, he began riding dirt bikes with the idea of being a star.

The journey was full of countless thrills – he was racing as a pro at 19 in arena cross - but too many spills over the years.

Reed competed two seasons in arena cross and actually collected enough points to get his supercross and motocross license.

“I got hurt a bunch of times and didn’t do as good as I wanted to do,” Reed said. “I was getting real tired of getting hurt and dealing with the process of getting knocked down and having to rebuild yourself and then having to go faster. It started becoming apparent to me that no matter how good I got I wasn’t going to make a living at it how I wanted.”

Along the way, Reed broke his back, his elbow, wrist, ankle, separated his shoulders, lacerated his kidney, and knocked himself out four times. That never-ending medical chart prompted Reed to leave the dirt bike arena at age 20.

“I came home and started going back to college and I got really bored,” Reed said. “I called my mom and I was a little bummed out and she asked me why I didn't try George Bryce’s Pro Stock Motorcycle School. So, I thought sure, I'd give it a try.”

George Bryce also is the owner of Star Racing and has won six NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championships.

Reed was no stranger to NHRA racing. His stepfather Jim Whiteley, a two-time Top Alcohol Dragster world champion, introduced Reed to the sport years earlier and he actually competed in Junior Dragsters at one time. Reed’s mother, Annie, drives a Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Jim and Cory’s brother, Steven, pilot Pro Mod cars.

“I ended up liking the Pro Stock Motorcycle school a lot,” Cory said. “It was such a different experience. Leaving the starting line was such an incredible feeling. The first time I did a dry hop and let go of the clutch, and my hand blew off, I was like that’s bad a**. I could do this for a while. It’s not boring.”

Reed acknowledged the side-by-side racing of Pro Stock Motorcycles appealed to him almost instantly.

“It was so nice to drive a Pro Stock Motorcycle and not have to compete against 39 other dudes on the track for one corner or having to worry about somebody taking you out over a jump,” Reed said. “It’s nice to have the tracks the same everywhere you go. They are smooth and you stay in your own lane and everybody else is good enough so that you just have to worry about racing your own race. It’s a lot less stress and my family is there with me (in drag racing) which is awesome. I barely got to see my family when I racing dirt bikes.”

In 2016, Reed embarked on his rookie season in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class, while competing for Bryce at Star Racing on a Buell in the NHRA ranks.

“It’s been a little rough at times, but we’ve definitely turned things around, and I’m getting better every race,” said Reed, 23. “I’m getting more comfortable and things just seem to be falling into place.”

Although Reed had plenty of experience on a dirt bike, the Pro Motorcycle was a completely different animal.

“The biggest difference for me was learning the patience you need to ride a Pro Stock Bike,” said Reed, who has been living in Jersey City, New Jersey since July. “On a dirt bike, you are just more aggressive and you have to manhandle the bike more. A Pro Stock Bike, you definitely have to be manhandling it, but you have to do it in a way that’s smooth and doesn’t affect stuff. I had to learn to do this specifically and not try to mix in things from dirt bike racing. In Pro Stock Bike, you can’t just be all out and be aggressive and yanking the bike around. That just disrupts it and makes things not very good. Everybody knows the smoother you are on a Pro Stock Bike, the faster you go.”

Reed heads to the U.S. Nationals (Aug. 31-Sept. 5) 13th in the point standings and he has compiled a 4-6 round record, and he’s keeping realistic goals. Indy is the final race of the regular season before the 6-race Countdown to the Championship begins.

“The very short-term is trying to make it into the top 10 and making the Countdown, and the only way to do that is by winning rounds, and it’s going to be really cool to race at Indy,” said Reed, who will be competing for Star Racing again in 2017. “I want to win a race and I want to build a foundation for next year.”

Bryce clearly sees a bright PSM future for Reed.

“Cory is a natural talent,” Bryce said. “Every single race, he has just gotten better, and better and better. He has a high ceiling and he’s climbing up the stairs right now and I don’t see the top. He’s going up at a rapid rate, and he’s just now getting experience and he has a good chance to win rookie of the year.”

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