Sat, 24 Jan 2026, 10:35 AM Jimmy Taylor Stays No. 1 as U.S. Street Nationals Records First All-3.50-Second 32-Car Pro Mod Field

Courtesy of Drag Illustrated Photos by Luke Nieuwhof

Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service Race 2 of 3
U.S. Street Nationals presented by M&M Transmission
Bradenton Motorsports Park
Bradenton, Florida
Jan. 22-25, 2026

BRADENTON, Fla. - Pro Mod racers at the U.S. Street Nationals presented by M&M Transmission made history Friday night at Bradenton Motorsports Park as the bump spot fell to a 3.597-second pass, establishing the first-ever all-3.50-second 32-car field. Though numerous drivers improved during the two Friday qualifying sessions, Thursday's provisional No. 1 qualifier Jimmy Taylor held on to the top spot with his 3.555-second pass at 224.77 mph from Thursday's opening session. Pro Mod will run one more qualifying session Saturday morning to set the field for Saturday evening's first round of eliminations at the second of three races in the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service.

Friday qualifying at the U.S. Street Nationals also featured two qualifying sessions for the FuelTech Radial Outlaws Racing Series drag radial classes - Pro 275, Limited Drag Radial, X275, and Ultra Street - and Pro 10.5. True 10.5 ran one shakedown session as well to prepare for Saturday's first round.

Jimmy Taylor, Pro Mod provisional No. 1 qualifier

Taylor, who's no stranger to setting records, is confident in his ability to hold on to the top spot through Saturday's final qualifying session. After his leading 3.555 at 224.77 in the opening session on Thursday, he added two more 3.50-second passes on Friday - a 3.583 at 216.83 and a 3.570 at 222.77 in his twin-turbocharged Xtreme Racing Engines '69 Camaro tuned by 2018 World Series of Pro Mod champion Carl Stevens Jr.

"Carl's got this car where it's very consistent right now," Taylor said. "I mean, we ran so many .50s passes here this weekend; we haven't had anything but .50s passes. We learned a lot today in the heat on the first run. I feel pretty good. With Carl in my corner, I feel like we've got as good a shot as any of them at going all the way."

Should Taylor maintain his No. 1 spot, he will derail Jason Harris's attempt at the Jerry Bickel Clean Sweep Challenge. As the No. 1 qualifier at the opening race of the Winter Series, the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks, Harris is the only driver contending for the Clean Sweep Challenge, which will award Harris a brand-new Pro Mod rolling chassis if he qualifies No. 1 at all three Winter Series events.

Jason Harris

Harris is currently breathing down Taylor's neck in the No. 2 spot with a 3.556 at 211.33 in his Harts Charger-boosted "Party Time" '69 Camaro. As the winner of the Snowbirds, Harris is also contending for the Elite Motorsports Million, which offers an unprecedented $1 million bonus to any Pro Mod driver who wins all three Winter Series races.

"We definitely came into this race knowing that we're going to have a big target on our back, but we came in with the same outlook and the same mindset we did for the last one - just qualify good and take each round," Harris said. "And with the way it qualifies, the chip draw is the game changer. You could have a lot of easy draws or you can have a lot of hard draws, but I think if you get in this field, you're a real tough competitor, and you deserve to be here. Everybody that qualifies is going to be gunning for each other, no matter where you're at, one to 32. You've just got to take it round by round."

Eighth-mile doorslammer veteran Randy Weatherford made one of the biggest moves of the day when he threw down a 3.558 at 211.16 in his Harts Charger-boosted WS Construction '69 Camaro to jump up to the No. 3 spot. Eric Gustafson in his ProCharged Coast Packing Company "Lard Machine" '69 Camaro matched Weatherford's E.T. but at 211.06 to move into fourth. Justin Bond, driving Scott Tidwell's Harts Charger-equipped '69 Camaro, sits fifth with his 3.563 at 211.83 from Thursday.

Carson Baker, Pro 10.5 No. 1 qualifier

Over the course of four Pro 10.5 qualifying sessions, newcomer Carson Baker steadily improved in his ProCharged Polaris Offroad '24 Camaro, ultimately taking over the No. 1 position in the final session. Tuned by Jamie Miller and racing out of the Fireball Racing camp, Baker powered to a 3.884 at 195.79. Thanks to the random chip draw format, he'll take on No. 2 qualifier Jerry Morgano in the opening round of eliminations.

"I haven't been doing this that long, so it's freaking amazing," said Baker, who earned a custom No. 1 qualifier baseball bat from Victus Sports. "I started out at NPK [No Prep Kings]. This is the biggest event I've ever been at. I've watched it the last two years from home. Now, next thing you know, we're racing it. This is the greatest event I've ever been to. This is awesome. It's just so much fun."

Morgano, who now calls Bradenton his home track, ended up No. 2 behind Baker with his 3.894 at 207.05 in his turbocharged, small-block "Copperhead" '02 Cobra. Fletcher Cox, who recently retired from a Hall of Fame career with the Philadelphia Eagles, locked in the No. 3 spot after leading the first three sessions with a 3.895 at 189.36 in his nitrous-assisted "Training Day" '69 Camaro.

The FuelTech Radial Outlaws Series No. 1 qualifier awards went to Lyle Barnett in Pro 275, Jamie Stanton in Limited Drag Radial, DJ McCain in X275, and Steve Romeo in Ultra Street, who all went to the top spots in the first session and held them through four sessions. Barnett, who's also competing in Pro Mod, ran a 3.678 at 206.54 in Tommy Youmans' Harts Charger-boosted "Salvage Title" Mustang. Stanton, who made the trip down from New York, held off a series of 3.80-second players to keep the No. 1 spot in LDR with a 3.876 at 191.27 in his ProCharged '02 Camaro. McCain, who earned the 2025 Radial Outlaws X275 season championship, continued to be a class leader in his nitrous-fed "Vecna" C6 Corvette with a 4.116 at 173.43. Romeo stayed consistent in his impressive ProCharged '67 Chevelle, but it was his 4.402 at 158.52 from Thursday that kept him on top of the Ultra Street sheet.

The U.S. Street Nationals will continue Saturday starting with Pro Mod final qualifying at 9 a.m. Radial classes eliminations are set to begin at 11 a.m. Pro Mod, Pro 10.5, and True 10.5 will kick off eliminations at 5 p.m. Eliminations will continue Sunday.

General admission tickets are available for Saturday are $40 and $35 on Sunday. Active military and children ages 12 and under get in free. VIP packages are also available. Fans can watch the race through the official event livestream on www.FloRacing.com.

For a detailed schedule, tickets, and other event info, visit www.RaceBMP.com.

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