After a productive testing session at Royal Purple Raceway on Monday, American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Pro Extreme star Frankie Taylor had a succinct message.
“We’ve been struggling the last couple months, but it’s back,” said Taylor, the 2010 ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion.
Whatever was missing during the first two months of the year – and there was still plenty of magic through the first two events – was found at Royal Purple Raceway during testing for Taylor’s PX car.He went 3.65 the day before he left for this weekend’s Penske Truck Leasing Inaugural Northeast Drags at Maple Grove Raceway, giving the excitable Taylor some good vibes heading into the ADRL’s third race of the season.
“Something like that makes us feel better and a lot more confident,” Taylor said.
Taylor also had some big sponsorship news as the ADRL visits historic Maple Grove Raceway for the first time in its history.
Nitro Fish will sponsor Taylor for the Northeast Drags, giving the Houston-area native even more motivation for a strong performance this weekend.
But the truth is Taylor was already motivated after not performing up to his own lofty standards through two races.
Running in two classes (Pro Extreme, Extreme 10.5) for the first time in his ADRL career, Taylor hasn’t finished the way he would have liked.
His qualifying numbers have been strong, but eliminations haven’t yielded the performances that helped make Taylor a world champion in 2010.
“We’ve been struggling in the elimination rounds, but I think it’s about to turn around,” Taylor said. “I wouldn’t say we’ve been struggling, but it hasn’t been as good as we’ve liked.
“But it’s about to get better.”
Taylor has enjoyed the performance of his XTF car, as he advanced to the semifinals last month at the Spring Drags.
But that finish summed up Taylor’s season, as he crossed the center line against a broken Billy Glidden, costing a chance for his first ADRL win in XTF.
In Pro Extreme, Taylor has been the No. 2 and No. 3 qualifier in the first two events, running in the high 3.60s to get there.
But he hasn’t finished the job, losing in the second round at each event.
Taylor, though, has an inkling that could change this weekend in his first ever trip – all 1,500 miles of it – to Maple Grove Raceway.
“We’re really looking forward to this race, especially after the numbers we ran today,” Taylor said. “Maybe the stars are aligning for us. Having two cars in the top five in points is a pretty good feat so far, but we need to put them both in the winner’s circle.”
Should that happen in the same event, Taylor would become the first driver to win in two classes at one event.
It’s been an arduous task to race in two classes, but Taylor insists it hasn’t bogged him down too much.
“It’s been a little rough sometimes when both are in the second round or whatever, but it hasn’t been too terrible,” Taylor said. “I’m hoping this weekend we’ll be working a lot, and we’ll have a lot of turnaround time.”
As for performance, Taylor being Taylor means his talking big and has high goals, most notably in Pro Extreme.
The ADRL’s quickest driver and holder of the ADRL world record at 3.596, Taylor predicts that record will fall during what is expected to be ideal conditions at a track known for its fast surface.
“Maybe the top four qualifiers will be in the 3.50s. If the air is good and the track is as good as they say, I could see it happening,” Taylor said.
“Maybe you’ll even see a 3.55. It could happen, but (KH Al-Thani) could get in the .50s, and so could Joey (Martin). I’m planning on doing it, too.”
(Photos by ADRL/Richards)
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