Dragstock VIII Win Start Of What Taylor Hopes Is Storybook Finish

The way Frankie Taylor sees it, his victory at Dragstock VIII is just the beginning of his dream finish.

The “Madman” and defending Pro Extreme world champion is thinking big, which is nothing new for the ebullient Texas native.

But after beat Jason Scruggs in a thrilling final before an overflow crowd at Rockingham Dragway, Taylor has his sights set on some major hardware in both PX and Extreme 10.5.

It starts at this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags V at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk and continues a month later at the three-day LenMar Motorsports World Finals VII, where the “Battle For The Belts” will be contested on Oct. 22 and world champions will be crowned a day later at Texas Motorplex.

“(At Ennis), we want to be top qualifier for both cars, win the ‘Battle For the Belts’ for both cars and then win the race on Sunday in both cars, and maybe win a championship. That would be a real big weekend,” Taylor said.
“We’ve got some real big goals, but we need to start by doing real well in Norwalk.”

Big wouldn’t begin to describe a weekend like that, as it would rank among the top of any accomplishments by any driver in American Drag Racing League (ADRL) history.

But you can’t blame Taylor for thinking and dreaming big; especially after a win he called one of the best of his career.

He gained his third career PX win by chasing down Scruggs with an impressive 3.622 at 210.47 miles per hour, delivering an impressive performance that made for quite the birthday present as well.

Taylor’s wonderful wife, Cindy, celebrated a birthday that day and Frankie delivered the ultimate gift.

“It’s a lot of pressure to do something like that for your wife,” Taylor said. “I just wanted to get that win for her.”

The win also felt good for Frankie, too.

Currently fifth in points in Pro Extreme and third in Extreme 10.5, Taylor has been magical at times this season, running a record 3.581 at Maple Grove in May and winning at U.S. 131 in Extreme 10.5 in July.

But Taylor had been unable to put it all together in PX in 2011 and was at times flustered by a series of holeshot losses to Todd Tutterow.

That all changed at historic Rockingham Dragway, where Taylor was in prime form all weekend.

He was the only driver in the 3.50s, qualifying his Jeffers Pro Cars Corvette in the No. 1 spot with a 3.597 and then delivering in eliminations.

Taylor beat points leader Jason Hamstra and then slipped past the red-hot Scruggs, who advanced to the finals a month after winning in Virginia.

Clearly understanding the magnitude of the moment, Taylor was overwhelmed with the win.

“This is the biggest race to win and to get it, words can’t describe it,” said Taylor, who also credited CN Blocks for the win. “The last couple races, Scruggs has been kicking butt, so to beat him when he’s doing that, it’s amazing. To beat him at the Rock, it’s an honor. He’s the man.
“He’s the guy we’ve always been chasing. I respect him and he’s someone I’ve always looked up to.”

Taylor credited his brother, Paul, with a top-notch tune-up that delivered multiple runs of 210 mph or faster.

A new motor combination worked out perfectly, though Taylor will need to be nearly flawless to chase down the incredible Hamstra in Pro Extreme and the dominant Dan Millen in Extreme 10.5.

Both will need to slip up – as will other drivers – for Taylor to have a shot, but the likeable Taylor has his sights on performing well in Norwalk first off.

Two big sponsors – the World Motorsports Breast Care Foundation and Houston-based Process Manufacturing Corporation – will be at Norwalk and Taylor knows it will take an outstanding performance to win in either class.

“Norwalk’s a good track. It holds a lot of stuff and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bunch of cars in the low 3.60s or even 3.50s. I just want to be the lowest,” Taylor said. “We could see a new E.T. world record, too, if the weather holds out. It wouldn’t surprise me and I hope I can do it.
“It’s going to be super-fast there. It’s going to be one of the biggest races of the year. With everything on the line, everyone’s going to have their stuff on kill, so we have to be ready.”

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)