Sun, 27 Sep 2009, 01:16 PM Taylor Finds His Mojo in Medford

Courtesy of Randy Fish

Dennis Taylor set two goals going into Medford, Oregon, with his K&N Filters / Plumbing Concepts Funny Car. One was to prove his valvetrain problems were corrected, and the other was to move into the Top 10 in NHRA Division 6 points. The first goal was realized on Friday during qualifying as Taylor sped to a 5.89-second lap at 240.64mph, to secure the fourth position. Subsequent teardown uncovered residual effects of the breakage issues from his previous two races, so a fresh engine was installed for eliminations.

Saturday, temperatures reached into the low-90s as forecasted and the track temperatures hovered near 115. In Round One, Dennis was on his game against Sean Bellemeur, a driver who's well known for great starting line reactions. Taylor put a few hundredths in the bank (.063 to .099) on the launch and outran Bellemeur's quicker 5.84 by getting to the stripe first with a 5.87.

Round two went off just after 4:30pm and Dennis was up against Jason Rupert, who was subbing for Ken Webster in the Syn Oil Funny Car. Taylor noted, "I was a little late off the line, but the car made a hard move down low. It was moving around so much, I almost lifted, but it settled down and trucked right on through for the win." The scoreboards read 5.852/230.06 to a losing 5.95.

On the other side of the ladder, number-one qualifier, Brian Hough, received a bye run in the second round to set up the final, but the match was over in 100 feet, as Taylor spun the tires hard. Dennis commented, "We knew the final would be tough. Brian had the field covered by a tenth (of a second) and he tested here for the last two weeks to prepare. We went for it and since we didn't have lane choice, the track didn't hold the power. We congratulate Brian and his team for winning the Division 6 championship. They ran great all weekend." Taylor closed adding, "Once again, my guys did a great job and both of our goals were met. I have to send special thanks to Lithia Nissan (of Medford), for supplying a brand-new Nissan Armada support vehicle, and also, the Rogue Regency Hotel in Medford. We'll go home and gear up for the last two national events of the season."

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