Honing in on his skills on 80cc bikes, Reed's amateur career started to take off in 1997 when he took the top spot at the Australian Junior Championship.

He emerged from the Australian junior ranks to compete in the then-premier 250cc class, bypassing the traditional stepping stone of 125cc racing.

[8] Reed travelled to Europe in 2001 to compete in the FIM World 250ccc Motocross Championships, riding for Jan DeGroot's factory Kawasaki team.

Reed was a revelation aboard his KX250, winning the Grand Prix of Lierop (Netherlands) and eventually finishing the year second to multi-time World Champion Mickaël Pichon.

[9] Reed won his first and only 125cc National victory at Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, and finished the third season behind James Stewart Jr. and Branden Jesseman.

In the final event of the season, Reed and Carmichael were tied for the points lead, resulting in the closest AMA Supercross championship in history.

Obtaining support from Yamaha, The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Thor, and Nike, even brought in McGrath's former team manager Larry Brooks to spearhead the new effort, dubbed L&M Racing.

Reed battled hard with his rival James Stewart Jr. during the 2009 AMA Supercross championship, with the pair coming to blows on more than one occasion.

[12] For the 2010 season, Reed joined new teammate Ryan Villopoto riding the KX-450F for the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team.

[13] Reed failed to finish during the round one final due to a collision with another racer's footpeg, breaking spokes in his front wheel.

In an open letter published on his website, Reed admits that becoming a new dad and also the death of his close personal friend Andrew McFarlane may be reasons people look to for his poor performance.

Reed embraced social media using Twitter[15] to publish hints as to the likely brand of bike and apparel that he would be using in the 2011 AMA Supercross series.

While competing at the seventh round of the 2012 AMA Supercross series in Dallas, Texas and going in an Epic Battle with Ryan Villopoto, Reed crashed and sustained numerous injuries including his left knee.

After the long hiatus, Reed returned to racing with his new bike and a new sponsor, Discount Tire, but he kept his TwoTwo Motorsports Honda.

On 23 March 2013, after the race in Toronto, Canada Reed announced that he underwent knee surgery on Tuesday, and missed one round of competition in Houston, Texas.

While competing at Round 6 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Reed crashed hard in the whoops on the Final Lap after clipping Ken Roczen's rear wheel as he tried to take over 3rd place and then suffered a shoulder injury.

Consequently, Reed was forced to drop out the remainder of the 10 rounds of the 2014 AMA Supercross Series while sitting second in overall championship points.

Chad Reed obtained the world record for the most career Monster Energy Supercross main event starts ever.

He sustained multiple injuries including a broken scapula, eight rib fractures, and a collapsed lung ending his 2019 Supercross season.

Reed has ridden for a variety of sponsors over his career, including: Yamaha Motor Company, Husqvarna, Monster Energy, Red Bull, Oakley, Fox Racing, Shift, Discount Tire, Boost Mobile, Pro Circuit, 360 Fly Camera, and Penrite.

[17] On 13 June 2011, Reed was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for service to motorsports as a professional supercross motorcycle rider at national and international levels, and to the community.