Photos by Robert Richard
By one thousandth of a second, doorslammer world record holder Jimmy Taylor claimed the provisional No. 1 qualifying position Thursday night at the U.S. Street Nationals presented by M&M Transmission at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Taylor’s 3.555-second pass at 224.77 mph earned the $5,000 Pro Line Racing “Off The Trailer” Bonus during the opening Pro Mod qualifying session of the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service.
“It’s insane that so many cars are already in the .50s,” Taylor said. “The bump’s definitely going to be in the .50s before it’s over with, but we’ve got another good run [Friday] night. I think the bump will be a .59 before it’s over with. I’m impressed. Everybody has just gained so much speed from the last race, even with the holidays and everything else. It’s crazy.”
Taylor edged Jason Harris, who qualified second with a 3.556 at 211.33, just one run after Harris had won and qualified No. 1 at the opening race of the three-event Winter Series earlier this month.
Harris entered the session leading the Winter Series standings and attempting to complete the Jerry Bickel Race Cars Clean Sweep Challenge, which would award a new Pro Mod rolling chassis if he qualifies No. 1 at all three Winter Series events.
The opening Pro Mod session underscored the continued escalation of performance in the category, as 20 drivers dipped into the 3.50-second zone during Thursday’s qualifying.
Taylor, who finished second in qualifying at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks in December, returned to Bradenton focused on improving early-session execution. Working with tuner and engine builder Carl Stevens Jr., Taylor delivered the quickest run of the night on his first attempt.
Though three qualifying sessions remain before the official No. 1 qualifier is determined, Taylor secured the Pro Line Racing “Off The Trailer” Bonus, which is awarded to the provisional No. 1 qualifier after the first session regardless of engine builder.
“That feels good, I ain’t gonna lie,” Taylor said. “Just to qualify No. 1 on the first pass against a field like this, it’s just phenomenal. We couldn’t be happier with it. It’s just amazing to be No. 1 out of all these cars, and going up against people that I’ve watched my whole life? Pretty wild.”
Harris ran in the final pair of the Pro Mod session driving his “Party Time” Harold Denton tribute ’69 Camaro. In addition to the Clean Sweep Challenge, Harris is also pursuing the Elite Motorsports Million, a $1 million bonus awarded if a driver can win all three Winter Series events.
Canadian Justin Bond qualified third with a 3.563 at 211.83, followed by Billy Banaka in fourth with a 3.565 at 210.77. Two-time NHRA Pro Mod world champion Stevie “Fast” Jackson rounded out the top five at 3.569, while Frank Falter IV held the 32-car bump spot with a 3.632.
In Pro 10.5, retired NFL standout Fletcher Cox took the provisional No. 1 position with a 3.895 at 189.36 in his nitrous-fed “Training Day” ’69 Camaro. Carson Baker qualified second at 3.914, followed by Canada’s Nick Agostino at 3.930.
FuelTech Radial Outlaws provisional No. 1 qualifiers included Lyle Barnett in Pro 275, Jamie Stanton in Limited Drag Radial, DJ McCain in X275, and Steve Romeo in Ultra Street. Qualifying continues Friday with Pro Mod sessions at 9 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., followed by radial sessions at 11:15 a.m. and 4 p.m.
