- Taylor Shows
Speed at Crandon
Belvidere, IL (September 6, 2011) - Over his career
Scott Taylor has had a great deal of success at
Crandon International Off-Road Raceway, and the
Belvidere, Illinois native was looking to add to his
list of accomplishments during the forty-second
edition of the Labor Day Classic. In recent weeks,
Taylor has been working hard to get back to the
basics on his #8 Miller Welders RoushYates
BFGoodrich Tires Ford F-150. The team's podium
finish at Charlotte was the first indication that
their philosophy was on the right track, and after
rebounding from a hard practice crash at Bark River,
Scott Taylor was looking forward to the familiar
setting of Crandon.
- The "Fall
Crandon" event had four races on the schedule for
the PRO-2WD trucks. Friday afternoon had the rained
out Round 4 on the schedule, as well as Saturday's
Rounds 9 and Sunday's Round 10, and the AMSOIL Cup
finale on Sunday. If would be a busy weekend for
Taylor Racing.
Friday afternoon's Round 4 saw Scott racing in and
out of a podium finish for the entire round of
racing, eventually finishing fourth.
The regularly scheduled Round 9 saw Scott make a few
minor changes to the chassis set-up and was
confident that a top three finish would be in his
future. Once again the Miller Welders Ford was in
the running for a top finish when the right rear
tire lost air pressure a couple laps from the finish
reducing the truck's speed. At the checkered flag,
Scott came across in sixth place.
After replacing the transmission and performing
other driveline maintenance, the #8 Ford F-150 was
ready for Sunday's Round 10. Then intermittent rain
showers tried its best to stop the day's race
program. After a thirty minute delay, the rain
subsided, but the 1.75 layout was a quagmire. TORC
race control deemed the show must go on, so Fay
Statenzy waved the green flag and Scott Taylor was
the first truck to Potowatomi Turn One. The
BFGoodrich Tires put all the RoushYates horsepower
right to the ground and along with Scott Taylor's
driving skills, the Miller Welders Ford opened up a
seven second lead. The gap to second place stayed
constant all the way to the halfway mandatory yellow
flag lap. When racing resumed, Scott once again
distanced himself from the rest of the field.
Then with two laps to go, his right rear tire lost
air pressure. Then the tire eventually
disintegrated, leaving the Miller Welders Ford to
finish the final lap on three tires. This greatly
reduced the truck's race pace and after losing
several positions on the race track, Scott Taylor
finished in fifth place.
Once the mud covered truck reached the Taylor Racing
pit area, the team thoroughly evaluated the
maintenance needed to get the truck ready for the
AMSOIL Cup. The biggest concern was the time needed
just to clean the race truck in order to inspect the
vehicle before any serious work could begin.
With only three hours before the AMSOIL Cup, the
team realized it would be impossible to make the
start.
"We really had a good truck this weekend," noted
Scott Taylor. "After Friday's finish, I knew what
the truck needed to get to the front. We were on our
way Saturday and especially on Sunday when we had a
tire failure. Then one of the hardest decisions I've
made in a long time was not to run the Cup race.
That race you and your truck better be at 100% or
it's not worth racing. I knew if we got to the
lineup in time, the truck wouldn't be properly
prepped. It was a tough decision, but it was the
right decision."
Next Race: September 14-15 at Chicagoland Speedway
in Joliet, Illinois.
Taylor Racing thanks all their supporters including:
Miller Electric - Mastercraft Safety - BFGoodrich
Tires - Automatic Transmission Designs – AMSOIL
RoushYates Engines, Ford Trucks, Russ Wernimont
Designs, King Shocks, Walker Evans Racing, MSD
Ignition, Autometer, K & N Filters, Justice
Brothers, Boatec, and Phil's Inc.
Taylor Racing has marketing opportunities available
for the 2011 TORC season. To contact Taylor Racing
please email:
stitchesbytaylor@comcast.net
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