If you're going to race on the edge, it only makes sense to find someone whose reputation is sterling when it comes to toeing the thin line. 

When Alex Laughlin decided he was going to venture into the volatile world of Radial vs. The World competition it made perfect sense to retain a Madman to call the shots. 

Not only has Laughlin found a tuner capable of making him go quick and fast, but also has a penchant for being entertaining as well. 

"Oh gosh, there’s never a dull moment for sure," Laughlin said with a chuckle. "I absolutely love racing with Frankie. You know, that’s part of it. I love racing alone, but the friendships and camaraderie and how much fun we get to have at the race track and going out to eat at night and what not, it’s just, it’s definitely a good place to be."

Taylor, who has raced and won in virtually every outlaw Pro Modified configuration, admits being outside of the cockpit and in front of the car has required some adjustment. 

"It’s a little different, but it’s a lot of fun," Taylor admitted. "We have a good time with Alex. His Dad’s usually here, we get to poke fun at him but he’s not here this weekend, so I get to charge extra." 

Usually, when Taylor was driving, he had his brother Paul there to handle the headaches while he sat focused inside of the car. This time, the Madman has had to deal with it all, including an ornery starter for the team's supercharged Corvette. 

"We went to start the car [in Q-1], it wouldn’t start," Taylor explained. "We ended up swapping the leads around, and it started. What the heck? The battery, it wouldn’t turn the motor over. Then I was like how did the batteries go dead in a matter of two minutes of it sitting here?" 

"So once we swapped the leads over, it started up. Then we were like shocked that it started, I was reaching over to see if the starter was going to work, and I hit the button, and it started right off, now we’re screwed. So it’s kind of different being outside the car, where inside the car you’re just like sitting there like I wonder what that was all about."

Laughlin drove to a conservative, but qualifiable 4.086 elapsed time. And for Taylor's efforts of fighting the fickle starter, Laughlin smiled and described the run as a "turd."

“That was a turd," Taylor said, as he smiled in confirmation. 

The stinky run, as the Texans called it, established a baseline which enabled them to step it up later in the day to a 3.966 second elapsed time. It's an impressive feat when you consider Laughlin is racing with essentially a Pro Modified chassis with a Pro Modified engine on radial tires measuring 10.5-inches in width. 

"We weren’t going out trying to set the world on fire because we watched several guys yesterday and then today knock the tire off on the starting line," Laughlin said. "Ultimately if you do that you don’t learn anything except that you knocked the tire off. So we needed to make a pass A to B, and so we had it super rich, didn’t have any of the lean outs turned on. We just made kind of a little turd run, to be honest, and it popped up with 4.08 on the board, and I thought well that’s definitely better than I expected. 

"It’s a good baseline. It’s going to be hot, and so I’ve got a good tuneup now for a hot track like it will be on Sunday, race day."

In the end, Taylor has been the right one to steer Laughlin's ship. 

"He’s unique, but he’s kind of like my dad too because he’s real high strung and talks real fast and waves his hands around a lot, so I’m kind of used to it," Laughlin said.