BUB REESE: 1942-2024
Photos provided by Roy Glenn | rglenn4@comcast.net
We lost another fine competitor in 2024. Bub Reese was well known here on the East Coast. Many years back, he was a member of the 1976 FAI F2D Control Line (CL) Combat team that competed in the F2 World Championships in Holland, so he was also well known in CL model airplane competition. He entered many CL events and was always respected as an outstanding pilot, and was the guy who would pitch in and help with most anything that needed to be done.
Bub also drove Top Fuel dragsters in the 1960s. He and his brother, Phil, raced in the Top Fuel dragster class as the Reese Brothers for approximately 5 years, during which Bub established a reputation of being one of the best drivers in the sport. He then went on to drive a Top Fuel dragster called the Wheeler Dealer. This was a first-class operation. He eventually got tired of all of the driving that was needed to go back and forth between the East and West Coasts. After the drag racing ended, his wife, Shirley, latched on to him and they made a team. He was not a guy who was quick to tell folks about his accomplishments, so most of us who flew model airplanes had no idea of his experience.
He had a pilot’s license. His full-scale airplane hung from the rafters of his machine shop, like a giant model airplane. Balancing crankshafts for race engines was the way Bub paid his bills. He was very inquisitive. This was why he had so much knowledge of mechanical things. His experience was still called upon to resolve issues with some of those who were still drag racing. They flew him to California at times to sort out problems.
In recent times, Bub was an excellent caregiver to Shirley. She was struck with lung cancer in the latter years of her life. She never let it stop her from doing the things she did with Bub. They were a good team. Eventually, modern medicine did cure her lung cancer, but the treatment took much of her vitality away.
Shirley passed in March 2021, so Bub had been without his right-seat navigator for the 3 years before he passed. He maintained that spark of life that is often missing when a person finds himself up in years and alone. We cannot replace him, but we will always remember the sparkle in his eye and his warm and friendly nature.
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