Fri, 16 Apr 2010, 01:56 AM Welcome Back

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Taliaferro and crew.

There were several things that made the recent O'Reilly Springnationals a special race for the drivers in the alcohol classes. First of all Bill Reichert picked up his first win of the season and, in the process, accumulated more round wins than any other driver in the history of the alcohol dragster class. He took over the top spot from Rick Santos and anytime you can move ahead of Rick in any category it's a special moment. Vern Moats also reached a milestone when he participated in the 250th race of his career, and that's just counting the ones in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Before that Vern was very active in the old Pro Comp class and, before that, he raced a variety of cars in a variety of classes. Still, 250 races in the alky funny car class is a bunch. There was another driver who celebrated a milestone of sorts in Houston and that was Mark Taliaferro. Mark, who hadn't competed in a national event since 1998, returned to the Top Alcohol Dragster wars and he did it in style. Even though he didn't win, Mark did serve notice that, just like when he raced in the '90's, he will be a factor at every race.

Taliaferro and son.

Mark Taliaferro is a forty-five year old husband, father and businessman who loves racing. Actually, he loves competing, whether it's on the track or on the golf course. "My son is a pretty good golfer," he said. "I like to go out with him but, believe me, I'm not in his league." His son is one reason why Mark hasn't been racing for more than a decade. "When I raced, the kids were just young and I felt like I might be missing out on some of the things that they were doing so I decided to take a break." That break lasted from the Houston race in 1998, his last national event at the time, until the Division 2 point's race in Gainesville earlier this year, but even though he wasn't racing, Mark knew that he would be back. "I always knew that I wanted to come back and race. I love the challenge and the competition."

Taliaferro in 1994.

In his first incarnation in the sport Mark raced a very competitive blown, alcohol dragster, a car that was built by Tom Conway and one that Mark tuned at the track. When he came back he knew that the first call he would make would be to that same Mr. Conway. "Tom has always been one of the best in the class," he said. "Even though he did mostly blown cars when we raced, I kept up with him and the sport and I knew that now he was making the injected cars run well. There was never a doubt that he would do our engines." In addition to Tom's tuning, Mark also called on Joe Monden to build his new car and that's a combination that's been proven to be very successful by other drivers in the class. "I wanted to put the best car I could on the track and I think we've done that with this combination." Of course, since he never raced an injected car before, Mark is learning that this combination can be very fickle. "We've only made a few runs on the car and we really haven't put two good runs back-to-back. It seems to have a tendency to smoke the tires right off the starting line and that's a problem that we have to fix." Right, you and every other guy who runs an injected car, Mark.

Taliaferro at Denver in 1997.

One of the biggest changes that Mark has noticed in the class since he last ran is the influx of the fuel-injected, nitro-burning dragsters. "I have to admit that when we ran we really didn't give the fuel cars much of a thought. The best cars in the class were the blown cars and the fuel cars always seemed to struggle." What a difference a few years make. "I will tell you two things. First, I knew that when we came back it would be with a fuel car, and second, I knew that it would be with Tom." Another thing that changed is the people in the class. "When we quit it was the first year that Duane Shields began racing and I think we raced Bill Reichert once. All of the other guys in the field this weekend began racing after we quit." Actually there was one other guy racing in Houston that Mark raced against and he raced against him in a final round and that would be Johnny Gray. Mark lost to Johnny at the Division 5 final in Denver in 1996 and that was just one of thirteen divisional finals that he went to. He did so well on the divisional level that he earned a pair of Division 5 championships and he also took his old blown car to a national event win at that same Denver track in 1997. "We did well in the short time we ran back then and I hope to do even better this time around."

Taliaferro in his new car.

As he embarks on his second career in TAD, Mark admits to having to go through a real learning process with the new car. "It's the same basic type engine but that's about the only thing this car and my old car have in common. From a driver's point of view this one is completely different. The blown car kept you very busy, revving the engine on the starting line and trying to hit your shift points. With this one you just hit the throttle and hang on." He went on to say that if you got in trouble with the blown car you could try to fix it. "If you shook the tires in the old car you could just punch another gear and try to settle it down. With this one, once it smokes the tires there's not a lot the driver can do. I really haven't learned how to drive this one yet, but I will." If past history is any indication it won't take Mark long to learn the nuances of driving a fuel car.

While he continues to learn Mark will also spend time with his two sons and his wife, Monica, as well as taking care of his business. "We're in the oil support business," he said. "I have to watch after the business and I still want to see my boys. One is in high school and the other's in college so we'll run a very easy schedule this year." As far as the future goes, Mark plans to increase his racing over the next few years and would like to put his new car in the winner's circle before the year is over. In Houston he qualified third and he made it to the second round before losing to Buddy Domingue. "It dropped a cylinder on that run and that's something else we have to work on." With his friends, who also helped him on the blown car, including his brother Mike, Randall McQueen and Rick Lewellyn, Mark is confident that they'll figure this new car out real soon. "It's a real challenge and we're looking forward to it. We want to run with the best teams out there and maybe win a championship." If his previous racing career is any indication, that championship may not be too far away.

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