Scott Taylor (racing Driver)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Scott Phillip McGraw Taylor (born September 15, 1955) is an American former professional
off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing D ...
driver from
Belvidere, Illinois Belvidere is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. Known as the 'City of Murals', Belvidere is home to several public art installations througho ...
. His off-road racing career began in 1974 with buggies and his career peaked in the premiere two-wheel-drive truck class called Pro2. He retired from driving after the completion of the 2013
Traxxas TORC Series TORC: The Off-Road Championship (TORC) was an American short course off-road racing series. It tours throughout the United States featuring professional four and two-wheel-drive Trophy Trucks along with a Pro Light class. TORC was founded by off-r ...
(TORC) Heavy Metal race at Crandon. Taylor won championships during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s in the series that sanctioned off-road racing in the Midwestern United States. He racked up championships in Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (SODA),
SCORE International SCORE International (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) is an off-road racing sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. Founded by Mickey Thompson in 1973, SCORE International was purchased from Sal Fish in late 2012. and is run ...
, ESPN PRO Series,
Championship Off-Road Racing Championship Off-Road Racing (usually abbreviated CORR) was a sanctioning body for short course off-road racing in the United States. It formed in 1998 and went bankrupt in 2008. Its Midwest races were supplanted in 2007 by the Traxxas TORC Serie ...
(CORR) and
World Series of Off-Road Racing The Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) was an American off-road racing series. The series began in 2007 and it ended after the 2008 season. Classes WSORR sanctioned classes from Trophy Trucks down to grassroots racers. Feature cla ...
(WSORR). Taylor won six consecutive Pro 2 championships in CORR between 1999 and 2004. He was the first two-wheel-drive truck winner of the Heavy Metal Challenge (now
AMSOIL Cup AMSOIL Inc. is an American corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin that primarily formulates and packages synthetic lubricants, fuel additives, and filters. Company founder Albert J. Amatuzio developed several synthetic motor oil formulations th ...
) world championship race at
Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County Po ...
in 2002; he repeated the win in 2008. Taylor raced with
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
vehicles for much of his professional career and he joined the "Ford Rough Riders" group near the end of their five-year promotion in 1995. While a professional driver, he used
Roush Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
engines (later Roush- Yates engines).


Racing career


Early career: 1970s and 1980s

Taylor began his involvement with motorsports as a child. In a 2012 interview with the
Rockford Register Star The ''Rockford Register Star'' is the primary daily newspaper of the Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area. The fifth-highest circulation newspaper in Illinois, the Register Star takes its name from the 1979 merger of two predecessors, the '' ...
, he said "I was hopping up my dad’s lawn mower to make it mow faster when I was 6 years old." He began racing off-road Volkswagen buggies in 1972, one year before he graduated from high school. Taylor began his off-road racing career in 1974 at the Indian Summer Sprints at the
Lake Geneva Raceway Lake Geneva Raceway (also known as LGR) was a motocross, demolition derby, off-road racing, stock car, and kart racing racetrack in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, US. It was billed as "Wisconsin's Busiest Racetrack." The track closed on December 31, 2 ...
near his hometown Belvidere. In 1979, he won the 4x4 Unlimited Memorial Day Challenge of Champions Showdown. Taylor won the 1980 Florida 400 Challenge of Champions Showdown. In 1981 he won the
Montreal Olympic Stadium Olympic Stadium (, ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O ...
four-wheel championship and he repeated the win in 1982. Taylor changed to unlimited buggy for 1983 and he won the
SCORE International SCORE International (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) is an off-road racing sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. Founded by Mickey Thompson in 1973, SCORE International was purchased from Sal Fish in late 2012. and is run ...
Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riversid ...
Class 2 championships in 1983 and 1984. He also started racing off-road trucks in 1984. Taylor ended the decade by winning the 1989 SODA Class 7s championship for the mini-pickup trucks.


1990s

Taylor continued in Class 7s and won the 1990 championship. His full-sized trophy trucks career began in 1991 with his first season in Class 8. Class 8 had the premiere two-wheel-drive trophy trucks which generated about 800 horsepower. He returned to Class 7s in 1992 and won championships in 1992 and 1993; he became a factory driver in 1993. In 1994, he dedicated himself to just Class 8 racing; he won the championships in 1994 and 1996. Taylor won the 1997 SODA Class 8 points title over future
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
drivers
Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great ...
,
Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American former professional racing driver who has competed in off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing, stock cars. He is the grandson of Las Vegas Valley, Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaug ...
, and five-time champion
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...
. In 1998, Taylor joined most of the SODA drivers by switching sanctioning bodies to CORR. Taylor took second in the 1998 CORR Pro-2 championship to off-road racing rookie and multiple-time
motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
champion
Ricky Johnson Richard Bernard "Ricky" Johnson Jr. (born July 6, 1964) is an American former professional motocross, off-road truck and stock car racer. He competed in AMA motocross and Supercross during the 1980s and, won seven AMA national championships. H ...
. In the 1999 CORR Winter Series, Taylor ended the decade by dominating the short series. He dominated the final race and won the series' championship with 253 points - 36 points higher than Dan Vanden Heuvel.


2000s and 2010s

Taylor battled Evan Evans for the 2000 Pro-2 championship. In the fourth last round, he started eighth after the top eight trucks were inverted. He rose up to fifth by the end of the final lap and finished second behind Evans. Evans held the points lead going into the third last race. Taylor won the third last round and regained the points lead by three points. The final two races were held on the same day on a wet track. Taylor finished second, three spots ahead of Evans to hold an eight points lead. Later that day, the water coolant in Taylor's truck poured out the overflow in the second lap and he ran the rest of the race with no coolant. The engine was able to continue without coolant and Taylor finished fifth to win the 2000 CORR Pro-2 championship. Miller Electric became a secondary sponsor for Taylor's truck in 2001. The CORR Pro-2 championship battle was tight, Taylor was within five points of Evan Evans heading into the final two rounds at Crandon. He ended up winning his third straight championship. Jeff Frana took over as Taylor's crew chief in 2002. He continued to use
Roush Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
engines and had
Mobil 1 Mobil 1 is a brand of synthetic motor oil and other automotive lubrication products. Originally developed by the Mobil oil company, it is now globally marketed and sold by ExxonMobil. Mobil 1 engine oil was introduced in 1973. The brand range no ...
,
BFGoodrich BFGoodrich is an American tire brand. Originally part of the industrial conglomerate Goodrich Corporation, it was acquired in 1990 (along with Uniroyal, then The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company) by the French tire maker Michelin. BFGoodrich wa ...
and
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
as primary sponsors. Taylor became the first Pro-2 driver to win the Governor's Cup at Crandon in 2002 and he was presented the trophy from
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
Governor
Scott McCallum James Scott McCallum (born May 2, 1950) is an American businessman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd governor of Wisconsin, ascending from the lieutenant governorship when Tommy Thompson resigned in 2001 to ...
. He was the honorary grand marshal for the 2002 world championship weekend parade at Crandon. In the Saturday race, Taylor pulled out to the lead by the first turn and
Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great ...
tangled with Dan Vanden Heuvel giving Taylor a large lead. After catching and following Evans for two laps, Taylor clipped him and was black flagged. He left the pit box too early and was penalized again which led to him finishing fourth. The final points race happened the next day. Taylor raced to third place by the first corner and kept swapping second with Evans. Taylor finished second and won his record fourth straight Pro 2 championship. The Borg Warner World Championship Manufacture Challenge race (now
AMSOIL Cup AMSOIL Inc. is an American corporation based in Superior, Wisconsin that primarily formulates and packages synthetic lubricants, fuel additives, and filters. Company founder Albert J. Amatuzio developed several synthetic motor oil formulations th ...
) took place later that afternoon pitting the two-wheel-drive Pro-2 trucks against the faster 4x4 Pro-4 trucks. The five fastest Pro-2 trucks started ahead of the other thirty competitors and Taylor was fourth by the first turn and he quickly moved up to second place behind
Carl Renezeder Carl Renezeder (born April 16, 1964) is a retired American off-road racer for Team Renezeder Racing. As of the end of the 2016 season, Renezeder has won 125 short course national events he has competed in Lucas Oil Off Road Racing (LOORR), Champ ...
. The Pro-4 drivers Curt LeDuc and Johnny Greaves caught Taylor and Renezeder. Taylor passed Renezeder and LeDuc slowed putting Taylor three seconds ahead of Greaves. Greaves blew a tire and Taylor won the race becoming the first two-wheel-drive winner. Taylor won his fifth straight CORR Pro-2 championship in 2003 after winning six of thirteen CORR races; he finished in the top five in each event. After winning the Pro Precision Gear Driver of the Year, Taylor was nominated by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association All-American Team in the At Large category. At that point, he was the winningest driver in CORR history having 34 wins in 93 starts. In 2004, Taylor was leading Walker Evan's son Evan Evans by 18 points going into the final two-race weekend. The track was wet and slippery on the Saturday race and Taylor finished fourth, two spots ahead of Evans. In the final round, Taylor finished in second place, one spot in front of Evans, to win his sixth consecutive Pro-2 CORR title. Taylor started off 2005 by pulling quickly into third place at I-96 Speedway; he raced up to second and passed Kevin Probst's truck for the win near the end of the final lap. The final two-race weekend happened at the temporary Otay Ranch circuit in
Chula Vista, California Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh-most populous city in Southern California ...
. On in the second turn of the first lap of the Saturday race, a mechanical problem in the oil pump stopped oil from flowing through the engine. Taylor shut the engine off and mechanical DNF ended his chance at winning the championship. On the Sunday race, Taylor led for the first eleven laps before falling back after blowing a rear tire on lap 10 then later blew the other rear tire; he had to drive slower and finished third. Taylor finished third in the final points behind
Carl Renezeder Carl Renezeder (born April 16, 1964) is a retired American off-road racer for Team Renezeder Racing. As of the end of the 2016 season, Renezeder has won 125 short course national events he has competed in Lucas Oil Off Road Racing (LOORR), Champ ...
and Dan Vandenhuvel. Taylor was one point behind the points leader heading into the final points weekend in 2006. On the Saturday round he had to back off the throttle to avoid a crash and he was eighth in place. He passed several trucks by the sixth lap before a broken rear axle hub ended his day; he finished 14th in the 20 truck field. On the Sunday race, Taylor passed into the lead before a
torque converter A torque converter is a device, usually implemented as a type of fluid coupling, that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the ...
failure on lap seven ended his day; he finished 12th in the race and fourth in the points. He had four wins and eight top 5 finishes. In 2007, Taylor raced in CORR and its new rival series
World Series of Off-Road Racing The Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) was an American off-road racing series. The series began in 2007 and it ended after the 2008 season. Classes WSORR sanctioned classes from Trophy Trucks down to grassroots racers. Feature cla ...
(WSORR). He won swept both WSORR events at the series' first weekend at Steele County Fairgrounds. Taylor won the inaugural WSORR Pro-2 championship by winning six of thirteen events. For 2008, Taylor primarily competed in CORR along with selected WSORR events. Taylor and his crew had problems with their new truck and engine during the first half of the season. In the ninth CORR event at
Sears Point Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, California. The road cour ...
, he got a new Roush-Yates engine and used it to finish third for his first podium finish of the season. Taylor started fifth in the Sunday event and passed his way to fourth at the midway caution. As he dove under the top two trucks for the lead, he slid and the vehicle broke ending his day; he was credited with a 19th-place finish. He competed in WSORR during the September Crandon weekend and won the Saturday Pro 2WD event. On Sunday he finished third in the Pro 2WD race. He returned to the track later that day for the 14th annual BorgWarner World Championship race as the only driver to compete in all fourteen prior events. Taylor dominated the race and the top three finishers were all two-wheel-drive trucks for the first time in the event's history. He finished the 10 laps around the circuit in 15 minutes and 6 seconds. It was the second two-wheel-drive win in the race's history. CORR folded before the next event at Primm; Taylor had finished eighth in the season points. With CORR and WSORR meeting their demise during the off-season, the
Traxxas TORC Series TORC: The Off-Road Championship (TORC) was an American short course off-road racing series. It tours throughout the United States featuring professional four and two-wheel-drive Trophy Trucks along with a Pro Light class. TORC was founded by off-r ...
(TORC) took over as the sanctioning body in the Midwestern United States in 2009. Mike Kasch continued as the team's long-term crew chief and Dustin Pence took over the duty of preparing the truck for racing at their shop. He started out the season by finishing sixth in the
Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...
Pro-2 race. The finishing order from that event was used to determine the starting positions in the next round. Six truck were inverted giving Taylor the pole position.
Ricky Johnson Richard Bernard "Ricky" Johnson Jr. (born July 6, 1964) is an American former professional motocross, off-road truck and stock car racer. He competed in AMA motocross and Supercross during the 1980s and, won seven AMA national championships. H ...
and Rob MacCachren pressured Taylor for the entire event but Taylor held the lead to win his sixtieth Pro class race since 1999. Taylor had the fastest lap of the race (38.605 seconds) to earn the Oakley Bomb award. Later that season, Taylor and his family were the grand marshal for the Friday parade at the September Crandon World Championship weekend. He had new primary sponsorship from Miller Welders and won the Sunday world championship event. He led the entire race, broke the track 2WD track record, and won another Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest lap. Taylor finished sixth in the final season points with three wins and three Oakley Bomb awards.


2010s and retirement

Taylor continued racing in TORC in 2010. At the final weekend at Crandon, Taylor had a podium spot on the Saturday race until his truck broke late in the race. On Sunday, he used the land rush start to begin the race in third place by the middle of the first lap - a spot that he maintained throughout the entire race. In 2011, Taylor competed at all of the rounds except the final weekend at Cycle Ranch near
Floresville, Texas Floresville is a city in Wilson County, Texas, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, its population was at 7,203 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Wilson County. The city is also part of the San Antonio metropolitan sta ...
. Highlights of the season including finishing second at the Sunday race at RedBud MX and he took second on the Saturday race at
Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
. Taylor ended up seventh in TORC Pro 2WD points. During the 2012 season, Taylor announced that 2013 would be his final season. He only raced in four TORC weekends that season at Crandon, Bark River, and
Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is an inactive tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is currently own ...
and he led the Sunday race of the first Crandon weekend (June) until the final lap. Taylor would end up with podium finishes at all three tracks. Taylor finished second at Crandon, third at the Saturday Chicagoland race, and fourth and third at Bark River. Taylor finished ninth in points after competing in seven of fourteen races. In 2012, Taylor said, "I’m going to do a real cool farewell tour next year with garments celebrating all the sponsors that have been with me. I still love racing, but after 40 years, it’s enough. There are other things I want to do in life." Taylor made his final start in the Heavy Metal Challenge race at the September Crandon Weekend.


Businessman

In 1984, Taylor opened Taylor Off-Road Racing in Belvidere. The company manufacturers racing parts.


Personal life

Taylor raced as a privateer racer with a limited budget and his family is a part of his pit crew. His wife Kellie is the team coordinator; He has two daughters Hannah and Karlie.


Awards

Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County Po ...
awarded him the 2012 Jack Flannery Award. He was the second recipient of the award.


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Scott 1955 births Racing drivers from Illinois Living people Off-road racing drivers Sportspeople from Belvidere, Illinois