It doesn’t matter whether Gary Taylor runs another sprint-car race.
He’s already lived his dream.
Taylor, a Snohomish High School grad, found himself finishing second last summer in a World of Outlaws trophy dash in Albuquerque, N.M., behind the great Steve Kinser and ahead of legend-in-the-making Danny Lasoski.
“It was the highlight of my racing career,” Taylor said in a phone interview this week.
In fact, Taylor was ahead of Kinser before a yellow flag came out on the last lap. On the restart, Kinser shot by him to win. Still, Taylor ended up lining up next to Kinser during the Outlaws’ four-abreast formation to begin the feature.
“That was, like, the coolest thing,” Taylor said. “I grew up watching Steve Kinser. He’s still The Man in sprint-car racing. To line up next to him, that was pretty amazing.”
There are those who say Taylor’s road to racing sprint cars in the Midwest has been pretty remarkable as well.
Taylor had been making the local rounds, racing at Skagit Speedway and in the Northern Sprint Tour. But he wanted to race more than the Pacific Northwest weather allows.
He also wanted to race against and learn from the best. He has.
Besides getting a firsthand look at Kinser, Taylor has been able to ask WoO standout Paul McMahan why McMahan was able to smoke him out of the lead in a race in Denver.
“I’m still a little shy when it comes to going up to Kinser and some of those guys,” Taylor said.
Taylor now lives and works in Denver, driving for longtime car owner Harry Conklin, an octogenarian who still runs Harry’s Transmission in the Mile High City. Taylor met Conklin through fellow racer Kenny Lewis, who recommended Taylor to Conklin.
After Taylor began racing off and on for Conklin, flying to and from Denver, Conklin told Taylor he could race for him full-time if he’d move to Denver. In Spring 2003, that’s what Taylor did. He now drives sprint cars and midgets in three circuits.
“For hobby-level racing, it’s about as good a ride as you can find,” Taylor said. “He’ll research equipment and ask if it’s something we need. If we say we need it, he’ll go buy it. It’s really a great deal.”
Taylor has won a winged sprint-car feature and one non-winged this season. Last season, he finished second to Lewis in the track’s midget points championship.
On Saturday, Taylor pulled off a victory in a 360 winged feature at Rocky Mountain National Speedway and could have notched another win in the midget feature. He won the heat race and led the feature with two laps left, but he hit an infield tire, mashed the front end and had to limp into the pits.
“I just made a boo-boo and gave away the midget deal,” said Taylor, who has five top-five finishes this season.
Taylor’s goal is to race fulltime. At 22, he still has time to land a World of Outlaws ride and even beyond.
But Taylor also is a realist. The urge may hit him to marry and have a family in the coming years, he admits. Where racing would fit in then is anyone’s guess.
For now, though, Taylor’s life is gravy.
“Racing is something I’ve been doing since I was 6 years old,” Taylor said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I weren’t racing. It’s all I’ve ever done and thought about.”
Jefferson off to lead: Jason Jefferson’s victory in the Oso Lumber 125 NASCAR Northwest Series race Saturday at Evergreen Speedway was his second in two starts this season. The Yakima driver leads the series with 360 points, followed by Garrett Evans with 320 and Brandon Riehl with 315.
John Bender of Monroe is fifth with 300.
Jefferson has a great chance to extend his lead May 29, when the tour makes a stop at Yakima Speedway, Jefferson’s home track.
Evergreen Speedway: John Zaretzke of Maltby tries to notch his fourth victory in five weeks when the NASCAR Weekly Super Stocks Series resumes Saturday at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe.
Defending super stocks champion Tom Moriarity has not yet won a race this season, but also has not finished worse than third.
Also on the schedule will be competition in the bombers division, the FEAR Super Figure Eights, the FEAR Extreme Figure Eights and the Hornets.
In addition, the Go ‘Til Ya Blow race features cars with their engines drained of lubricant and a brick placed on the throttle in a contest to see which car will last the longest before the motor blows.
SOVREN races: The Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts will have its 2004 Spring Fling Saturday and Sunday at Pacific raceways in Kent.
The Seattle-based group, which has 300 members throughout Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, will begin qualifying at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Racing begins at 1:25 p.m. Practice is at 9:05 a.m.
Racing continues Sunday, starting ay 11:10 a.m. Practice sessions are scheduled for 9:05 a.m.
SOVREN races three types of cars: Pre-War (before 1941), Vintage (1941-61) and Historic (1962-69).
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