are 1999 models , and according to the build tags , were constructed just a month apart . Each truck is motivated by 632 c . i . power plants built by Mike Thompson Racing Engines .
Taylor routinely competes both vehicles at the same event , and has nearly put them both in the winner ’ s circle on the same day ! “ I ’ ve won the most races in the Super Gas truck , but haven ’ t done too awfully bad in the other one ,” he smiles . Taylor has won four NHRA national event – twice at Bristol – and was also victorious at the nationals in Atlanta and Gainesville .
Additionally , he ’ s collected five Lucas Oil divisional wins in Super Gas , finishing second in the world in 2016 and ninth in the world for 2017 . In 2012 , he picked up the NHRA Division 2 championship in Top Sportsman , and has been to the Jegs All-Star race twice , collecting a runner-up as his best finish . On the IHRA side , he ’ s likewise won four national events , and earned divisional championships twice , with a whopping nine victories in Division 2 . He ’ s finished second in the world , and placed third nationally on two occasions .
While winning races is the steadfast goal , Taylor will say with certainty it ’ s the life-long friendships in racing that he treasures most . “ We ’ re all
buddies until we get to the starting line , and then we ’ re back to being buddies again at the finish line !” he jokes .
As in many segments of racing , Taylor travels with a group of close friends , and in this group they ’ re also motorcycle fanatics , so they routinely take their bikes with them and ride in the mountains , on the parkways or whereever life and racing take them . “ Two years ago we went to the IHRA race in Memphis , and then took an additional two weeks to travel to Las Vegas .” John ’ s wife , Julie , and the other racers ’ wives in the group insist on getting to the track a day early so they can play golf together .
The fun times and great memories are vast , but for Taylor , none compare to the Gatornationals in
2014 . “ I ended up winning Super Gas on my 60th birthday , and both my daughters were there with their families , including our five grand kids . It was an awesome time ... my number-one memory !”
The support from family and friends have been vast over the years , and Taylor appreciates each of them . “ My wife and family have been real understanding , and I must also thank Jim and Debbie Perry , as Jim is essential in helping me race Top Sportsman .” Taylor is also quick to credit his longtime friends at Mike Thompson Racing Engines , Hoosier and FTI .
The team got off to a rousing start in 2018 at the Gatornationals , when Taylor dipped into the 6-second zone for the first time with the Top Sportsman truck . “ I got some nitrous help from Jeffrey Barker and also Greg Samuel from FTI , who assisted with a new converter . We clocked a 6.975 at 196.22 mph at 2,520 pounds . And my buddy Jim Perry also won Super Gas at the Gators in his S-10 truck for the third time !” Taylor grins .
“ We all have a blast whenever we go racing together and I plan to keep doing this as long as I can remain competitive . When I stop being competitive , that ’ s when I ’ ll take up fishing again !” he laughs . Either way , it sounds like a pretty good gig . DI
scheduled date in late March saw much better weather , although many teams had commitments elsewhere .
Pollage says he doesn ’ t plan on being away from the track on too many occasions this season , but when he does venture out it will be for the reason of promoting races , such as the Oklahoma Summer Nationals at Ardmore Dragway , a big-money bracket event that Pollage owns and co-promotes with Johnny Ezell .
Pollage ’ s deep roots within the bracket racing community played an important role in his broad education that eventually prepared him for the track manager position . Along with being a racer / promoter , Pollage is skilled in timing system operations , announcing , photography and even racing journalism . “ I grew up around bracket racing and I basically just came to the track , paid attention and tried to learn something new every weekend ,” he says .
When Pollage took over managing No Problem Raceway , he admits that the track didn ’ t necessarily need a complete overhaul , just some TLC in certain places . “ Other than fixing a few eyesores on the property I really didn ’ t need to do a whole lot , although I certainly believe our track prep has improved in the last six months .”
Pollage has 3 key elements in his managing arsenal and strives to excel in each of them . “ I believe that attitude , appearance and appreciation are vitally important when managing
a track ,” he surmises . One thing he does steadfastly insist upon is insuring his racers that No Problem Raceway will guarantee the advertised purse . “ I ’ ve been on both sides of this issue and I understand the variances involved with how a racer wants to be treated versus what must be done for business , but guaranteeing the purse is something I feel very strongly about ,” insists Pollage .
In addition to a virtual year-round opportunity for racing , No Problem Raceway is also home to the Red Line Sports Bar . Located just behind the starting line , it features a fully functional sports bar with pool tables and televisions . “ Lots of our racers stay overnight at the track and the sports bar keeps people entertained and provides them a place to go and hang out after the final round of competition has ended .”
The 2018 season marks the 18th year of this facility , and Pollage and his entire staff are excited to provide the best facility they can for their racers . DI
May 2018 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 61
are 1999 models, and according to the build tags,
were constructed just a month apart. Each truck
is motivated by 632 c.i. power plants built by
Mike Thompson Racing Engines.
Taylor routinely competes both vehicles at the
same event, and has nearly put them both in the
winner’s circle on the same day! “I’ve won the
most races in the Super Gas truck, but haven’t
done too awfully bad in the other one,” he smiles.
Taylor has won four NHRA national event – twice
at Bristol – and was also victorious at the nation-
als in Atlanta and Gainesville.
Additionally, he’s collected five Lucas Oil divi-
sional wins in Super Gas, finishing second in the
world in 2016 and ninth in the world for 2017. In
2012, he picked up the NHRA Division 2 cham-
pionship in Top Sportsman, and has been to the
Jegs All-Star race twice, collecting a runner-up
as his best finish. On the IHRA side, he’s likewise
won four national events, and earned divisional
championships twice, with a whopping nine
victories in Division 2. He’s finished second in
the world, and placed third nationally on two
occasions.
While winning races is the steadfast goal, Tay-
lor will say with certainty it’s the life-long friend-
ships in racing that he treasures most. “We’re all
buddies until we get to the starting line, and then
we’re back to being buddies again at the finish
line!” he jokes.
As in many segments of racing, Taylor travels
with a group of close friends, and in this group
they’re also motorcycle fanatics, so they rou-
tinely take their bikes with them and ride in the
mountains, on the parkways or whereever life
and racing take them. “Two years ago we went
to the IHRA race in Memphis, and then took
an additional two weeks to travel to Las Vegas.”
John’s wife, Julie, and the other racers’ wives in
the group insist on getting to the track a day early
so they can play golf together.
The fun times and great memories are vast, but
for Taylor, none compare to the Gatornationals in
2014. “I ended up winning Super Gas on my 60th
birthday, and both my daughters were there with
their families, including our five grand kids. It
was an awesome time...my number-one memory!”
The support from family and friends have
been vast over the years, and Taylor appreciates
each of them. “My wife and family have been
real understanding, and I must also thank Jim
and Debbie Perry, as Jim is essential in helping
me race Top Sportsman.” Taylor is also quick to
credit his longtime friends at Mike Thompson
Racing Engines, Hoosier and FTI.
The team got off to a rousing start in 2018
at the Gatornationals, when Taylor dipped into
the 6-second zone for the first time with the Top
Sportsman truck. “I got some nitrous help from
Jeffrey Barker and also Greg Samuel from FTI,
who assisted with a new converter. We clocked
a 6.975 at 196.22 mph at 2,520 pounds. And my
buddy Jim Perry also won Super Gas at the Gators
in his S-10 truck for the third time!” Taylor grins.
“We all have a blast whenever we go racing
together and I plan to keep doing this as long
as I can remain competitive. When I stop be-
ing competitive, that’s when I’ll take up fishing
again!” he laughs. Either way, it sounds like a
pretty good gig.
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
scheduled date in late March saw much better
weather, although many teams had commitments
elsewhere.
Pollage says he doesn’t plan on being away
from the track on too many occasions this season,
but when he does venture out it will be for the
reason of promoting races, such as the Okla-
homa Summer Nationals at Ardmore Dragway,
a big-money bracket event that Pollage owns
and co-promotes with Johnny Ezell.
Po ������é�����ɽ��́ݥѡ���ѡ���Ʌ���ЁɅ��)��������չ������啐���������х�Ёɽ���������)�ɽ�����Ս�ѥ���ѡ�Ё�ٕ��Յ����ɕ��ɕ�����)��ȁѡ���Ʌ���������ȁ��ͥѥ���������ݥѠ����)������Ʌ��Ƚ�ɽ��ѕȰ�A��������́ͭ���������ѥ����)���ѕ�����Ʌѥ��̰�����չ���������ѽ�Ʌ���)�����ٕ��Ʌ��������ɹ���ʹ���q$��ɕ܁����ɽչ�)�Ʌ���ЁɅ���������$���ͥ����䁩��Ё�����Ѽ�ѡ�)�Ʌ�����������ѕ�ѥ��������ɥ���Ѽ����ɸ�ͽ��ѡ���)��܁�ٕ��ݕ�������t����ͅ�̸)]����A�������ѽ����ٕȁ���������9��Aɽ��)����I���݅䰁��������́ѡ�Ёѡ���Ʌ��������e�)�����ͅɥ�䁹������������є��ٕɡ�հ�����Ёͽ��)Q1�������х��������̸��q=ѡ�ȁѡ������������)��ͽɕ́���ѡ���ɽ�����$�ɕ���䁑����eЁ�����Ѽ)�����ݡ������а���ѡ�՝��$����х���䁉����ٔ����)�Ʌ����ɕ����́���ɽٕ�����ѡ�����Ёͥ�����ѡ̻�t)A���������̀́��䁕������́�����́��������)��͕����������ɥٕ́Ѽ��ፕ�������������ѡ�����q$)�����ٔ�ѡ�Ё��ѥ�Ց��������Ʌ�����������ɔ�)���ѥ����ɔ�٥х��䁥����х�Ёݡ�����������)���Ʌ����t������ɵ�̸͕�=���ѡ����������́�ѕ���)���ѱ䁥�ͥ�Ё������́����ɥ�����́Ʌ���́ѡ�Ё9�)Aɽ�����I���݅�ݥ����ՅɅ�ѕ��ѡ����ٕ�ѥ͕�)���͔���q'�eٔ�����������Ѡ�ͥ��́���ѡ�́���Ք����)$�չ����х���ѡ��مɥ����́��ٽ�ٕ��ݥѠ���܁�)Ʌ��ȁ݅��́Ѽ�����ɕ�ѕ��ٕ���́ݡ�Ё���Ё��)�������ȁ��ͥ���̰���Ё�ՅɅ�ѕ�����ѡ�����͔)�́ͽ��ѡ����$������ٕ����ɽ���䁅���г�t���ͥ���)A�������)%������ѥ���Ѽ���٥��Յ��啅ȵɽչ��������չ���)��ȁɅ������9��Aɽ�����I���݅䁥́��ͼ������Ѽ)ѡ��I���1����M����́ �ȸ�1���ѕ�����Ё�������ѡ�)�х�ѥ����������Ё�����ɕ́���ձ�䁙չ�ѥ�����������)��ȁݥѠ������х���́����ѕ��٥ͥ��̸��q1��́������)Ʌ���́�х䁽ٕɹ���Ё�Ёѡ���Ʌ�������ѡ��������)��ȁ����́���������ѕ�х����������ɽ٥��́ѡ��)��������Ѽ���������������Ё��ѕȁѡ��������ɽչ�)��������ѥѥ�����́�������t)Q��������͕�ͽ����ɭ́ѡ����Ѡ�啅ȁ���ѡ��)�������䰁����A�������������́��ѥɔ��х����ɔ���)��ѕ��Ѽ��ɽ٥���ѡ�����Ё��������ѡ�䁍�����ȁѡ���)Ʌ���̸)$�$�$)$�$�$�$)$�$�$)5������)Ʌ�%�����Ʌѕ�����)���ȁ����$�����ԁ́Ёȁ��Ё��������