“ Why would I want to buy race fuel at $ 15 a gallon when I get more performance out of E85 ?”
moved to the strip in pursuit of a safer venue in which to answer the age-old question , Who has the fastest car ? And Taylor has claimed that title on more than one occasion . “ The sport has really blown up to the point that some events have 20,000 spectators ,” he said .
Fast cars have been a part of Taylor ’ s life since he bought his first performance vehicle , a BMW M3 . “ I moved on from that car to a Porsche 911 turbo , which I believe was the first flex-fuel Porsche in the world ,” he recalled . “ The first event I entered with that car , I got there , filled up with ethanol , and raced with my fiancée in the passenger seat and my luggage in the back . Most of the other racers trailered their cars in . I won the event and drove home .” After more performanceboosting adjustments , Taylor and the car would set a half-mile Porsche speed record at 219 mph .
Though his cars have changed , and his speeds have increased , one factor has remained constant : Taylor has always raced with E85 .
“ Frankly , I started running ethanol because race fuel is hard to get and expensive ,” he explained . “ Why would I want to buy race fuel at $ 15 a gallon when I get more performance out of the E85 I can buy at the pump for $ 2.50 ? As my knowledge increased , I learned about all the other performance and environmental benefits of ethanol fuels . I ’ m not the only one . A lot of roll racers are now running ethanol in the half-mile events .”
Sponsorship is new to Taylor , who has always been self-funded . “ It ’ s great that American Ethanol is onboard for two events this year ,” he said . “ Everyone I ’ ve worked with there has been real , down-to-earth — good people .”
FALL 2017
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