Dennis Taylor Bakersfield wrap up

Taylor Goes Red at Shakersfield

ANAHEIM, CA — Bakersfield’s Famoso Raceway hosted this weekend’s Pacific Division 7 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, where Mother Nature provided a challenge to both men and machines. Friday afternoon’s first qualifying session greeted Dennis Taylor and his Plumbing Concepts crew with bright sun, 95 degrees, 9-percent humidity, and a new concrete/asphalt surface that was baked to 138 degrees. Reports claimed the track was smooth, but traction was an unknown quantity for the alcohol cars, which were scheduled to qualify Friday and race through eliminations on Saturday. In Taylor’s first attempt, a safe tune-up yielded a 6.03-second run. Dennis noted, “It moved around on us and I had to work to make a full pass, but at least we had a starting point.

Conditions were similar for the second try, though track temps had dropped to 115. Crew Chief, Ora Vasquez, got a bit more aggressive as Taylor reeled off a 5.88 at 245.70 mph. By the time 9:30pm rolled around, the final session promised better results, since the air temp was a balmy 81 degrees and the track cooled to 105. Dennis and the boys got after it, stopping the clocks at 5.79/247. That secured the number five position in an eight-car field. In total, 14 contestants made qualifying attempts.

On Saturday, the Plumbing Concepts team prepped to tangle with Doug Gordon. Explaining the run, Dennis said, “We’ve raced these guys several times and we always go for broke. I figured I needed a holeshot, since our cars were almost identical in performance. Unfortunately, I left too soon (-.014) and we both had violent tire shake. Gasparrelli suffered the same problem, though conditions improved in later rounds.” Taylor knows if you don’t red light every so often, you’re not trying hard enough.

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Contact: Randy Fish
Email: zoomrf@earthlink.net