Jim Reed was a five-time NASCAR champion who dominated the short track division in the 1950s, winning the championship consecutively from 1953 until 1957. Reed began racing at the age of 21, driving everything from midgets and sprints to modifieds before moving to NASCAR in 1949. His career stats include 59 wins in 206 Grand National starts, with a 1956 win in the prestigious Southern 500. After suffering a broken vertebrae in a 1963 wreck, Reed retired from racing and opened a GMC dealership in Peekskill, NY.
This 2011 Johnny Lightning 1959 Chevy Impala pays tribute to Jim Reed’s racing career. Reed drove his share of Ford’s during his career, but in 1959 Reed was provided a brand new 348-cubic-inch Impala Coupe by then Chevy president Ed Cole. He did race the #7 car, but it’s likely his own dealership (which he did not open until 1965, after his retirement from racing) was added to the livery at a later date.
Johnny Lightning | 2011 | 53727WP | Forever 64 R14 | Jim Reed’s 1959 Chevy Impala | metallic blue with white top, white and red graphics
The Race Case JL 