NHRA fans know Shawn Reed as a Top Fuel driver piloting a dragster tuned by Rob Wendland and aligned with Antron Brown Motorsports. What many don’t know is the “Top Secret” written across his car is more than a catchy moniker — it’s a nod to his 20-year career in drag boat racing.
“When you get into boat racing, like I did in the IHBA, the CDBA, IHBA, SDBA, all them logos are underneath ‘Top Secret’ on the back of my wing,” Reed said. “In boat racing, everybody names their boats. In 2005, I bought a capsule hydro Pro Mod and the name of it then was called ‘Secret’s Out.’ I renamed it from ‘Secret’s Out’ to ‘Top Secret.’ I ran the ‘Top Secret’ Pro Mod for 20 years.”
Reed’s move from water to asphalt may appear unconventional, but he said it was a natural transition for someone used to racing at 180 mph on unpredictable surfaces. Even so, his first pass in a Top Fuel dragster left him questioning his sanity.
“The funny thing is, you drive a 180 mile an hour boat for 10 or 15 years. It’s not going to be very difficult,” he said. “The first time I stabbed the gas on a Top Fuel dragster, I said, ‘No, I don’t really need to be doing this.’ It is an incredible amount of difference.”
He explained the difference in timing and feel between water and land is more drastic than most people realize. “From the clock sequence on water to the clock and just how quick it actually is on land — it doesn’t look quick when you’re standing behind the car, but when you’re sitting in the car, it’s all quick,” Reed said.
Boat racing rules allow a 125-foot rolling start due to the lack of brakes, with a 30-second countdown that transitions into a precise nine-count clock. That half-second increment clock dictates when a driver “deplanes” and hits the start line. “It’s a whole different ball game from water to land,” he said.
Asked if rolling starts would ever work in drag racing, Reed didn’t hesitate. “Oh my God, no,” he said. “We’d go way too fast. I mean, if we were still going a quarter mile right now, we’d be approaching 375 miles an hour. I’m sure of it.”
Despite his comfort in Top Fuel now, Reed said he still reflects on his time in drag boats with a sense of disbelief. “I see on the starting line right now and I watch some Funny Cars and the Top Fuel dragsters go and I’m like, ‘Them guys are idiots. Wait a minute. I do that.’ It never gets old.”
Reed still owns his alcohol capsule boat and has plans to compete with it soon. With the break in the NHRA schedule after upcoming races in Epping and Bristol, returned to his roots at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri.
That passion for racing — on any surface — has defined Reed’s career. “Yeah, it’s awesome,” he said. “I really do enjoy it. I love to compete.”
He admitted the journey has been challenging financially and technically. “I wish I had some more partners to help me through it, but it’s definitely been challenging to maintain all the right pieces and parts and all the stuff to make it go fast,” he said.
