If it’s a weekend April through September, you’ll find Guy Taylor on a dirt race track scoring points in a Pro Late Model event. The Pro late Model class is made up of crate engine cars. A crate engine is a ready-to-install, aftermarket engine delivered in a crate.
Guy says the engine of his Pro Late Model is simply a stock, General Motors motor. On one-fourth to three-eight mile tracks, he can go as fast as 85 miles per hour. He went fast enough last year to place third in national championship points in his class. His goal is to take the number one spot.
INB is helping out by being one of his 2016 sponsors. Guy says it’s easy to spend $200 – $300 a night on trailering the car to racetracks in Macon (near Decatur), Lincoln or Jacksonville then actually participating in the race. Beside fuel, there’s the pit pass which covers insurance and what you could call an entry fee. While he notes the racers are competing for top prizes, the purses are pretty slim, with first place winners usually getting about $500.
Guy doesn’t race for the money, he says. He was even quoted by LuvRacin.com as saying, “You can make a small fortune in racing by starting with a big fortune!” No, it’s not the money. Guy races because he grew up racing. His dad, Dick Taylor – a much-respected racer himself and owner of Dick Taylor Collision Services in Springfield — had Guy and brother, Matt, on the track in go-carts as kids.
Let’s just say Guy never looked back. While he’s not at home for more than 20 weekends a year, he’s at “home” with his racing family. “We’re tough competitors on the track, but if anyone ever needs anything, we’re there for one another,” he says. And Guy’s actual family is right there with him, too: Matt races. His dad is crew chief. And his fiancée is there to cheer him on.
Guy loves the family involvement, and is working with the local raceways to help raise awareness of the sport. “We were recently at a Decatur mall, and there was a lot of interest. But the stands used to be packed. We’re not getting that kind of attendance today.
“When a family goes out to the race, it’s a neat thing,” he continues. “There’s not just the race, but fans can come down to the pits afterwards. The kids get to sit in the cars.”
One event that draws bigger than normal crowds is the annual NASCAR night at the tracks. “Some of the big names in NASCAR show up and race against us.” Guy says commercialization made NASCAR popular. “The races are on TV,” he explains. “Dirt racing is just starting to go there through the, MAVTV (The Motorsport Network).”
To help with both awareness and to help cover his costs, Guy and his team began selling t-shirts this year. You can connect with Guy regarding the shirts through his Facebook page.