Shawn Taylor Racing

Shawn Taylor Racing is expanding its operations this season for the Proline Cup Series. After a very sucessful part time campaign last season, STR plans to run the #82 Dodge fulltime, as well as the Cup return of Michael Kundakcioglu! With Mike comes the #56 and sponsors Hotwheels and Canadian Tire. STR is hoping to have both its cars in the chase. "Both drivers are very capable of winning a number of races" says the team manager. "I wouldnt be surprised if both drivers are ontop of the charts come the Finale [Atlanta]"

Taylor really looking forward to Speedweeks. Looks to "make own luck"
Daytona FL
Preseason testing for speedweeks is well under way. The shiny new paint schemes, the new crew chief combinations, the new season is in full force! Daytona Beach has been buzzing for the past week. This years speedweeks is expected to be the best yet. Proline officials have "let up on the reins" so to speak. The plate races [Daytona/Talladega] have always been the ones to fire up some tempers. This year, the officials have decided to give the drivers more control of their setup. Instead of NASCAR setting up the cars, just like every other week, the crews will turn the wrenches. Majority of the garage is enjoying this decision, but the true test will come on raceday. The shootout will be the unofficial final test, and if all goes well, the rules will remain the same for the rest of speedweeks, as well as Talladega in the chase.

The 82 team has been firing on all cylinders during testing. "I have been working with people throughout the garage, and I believe the 82 car can sweep both the shootout and the 500." Daytona and Talladega were not kind for Shawn last year, with him getting caught up in late race incidents both times. "I feel with the officials giving us more setup control, we will not be put in as much of a box as we have in prior seasons. I feel as through we can make our own luck and produce a much better result and kickstart the season off on the right foot."

The Molson Canadian Dodge is one of the many cars caught up in a huge multicar crash on the 21st lap of the Daytona 500 4/21/11.
/NASCAR Media


The 15 FOM Ford of Ian Hann pushes Taylor through the trioval in preseason testing.
/gettyimages

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Season Kicks Off. Taylor Kicking Self
Daytona Beach, FL

The Proline regular season is right around the corner. Speedweeks is well underway and if the shootout was any indication, it's anybody's race. Shawn was without an in shop teammate for this race, [Michael had other commitments to attend to and will hopefully be running come the 500] but he managed to find himself working with familiar faces. The FOM Ford Camp had a full list of entrees, and all worked well with Taylor. Many times throughout the race he teamed up with Emerson [4], Baker [9], Hann [15] and Mackay [50]. Lambert [53] and Taylor worked well together too, but come money time the Budweiser Chevy of Jordan Robson became his date for the dance.

Once the 19 and the 82 found each other, there was no looking back. Throughout the later stages of the race the tandem climbed from the back to the front quickly. On lap 60 things turned a bit ugly. Taylor clipped the trioval apron and JRob had little time to react. Both the 19 and the 82 spun through the infield, and the 33 of Adam Codol also got involved. No damage was done and all teams carried on. On the restart, Taylor got into the side of Hann and turned him into the trioval grass. No damage was done but he took a potential partner out. "I'm feeling really sour about that more than anything. I went for a hole that wasnt quite big enough. I know Ian will bounce back, and its only the shootout which was good." Once again Robson and Taylor got hooked up nose to tail and took to the front. with six laps remaining the two were leading the pack 1-2. Off of turn 4 Taylor got into Robson a little too hard and that broke his momentum, and a hard charging Mackay didnt lift and turned the 82 around. Again no damage was done but the potential for a good finish was ruined. The 82 Exide Batteries Dodge came home in 8th position.

"It was a fun race. I got a really good indication of what we have for the 500 next week. I'm looking foreward to putting the Sunoco Dodge in victory lane next week"

STR Frustrated But Satisfied With 500

Toronto, ON

The Daytona 500 was concluded more than 48 hours ago, and after weeks of preparation for the biggest race of the year, Taylor & Kundakcioglu are satisfied but frustrated at the same time. Shawn Taylor and the 82 team had prepared what Shawn thought was the car to beat. “All throughout speedweeks we were fast. In the shootout and testing leading up our race trim setup was bad fast; I knew Sunday morning both cars had a great shot to win.” Making his first Proline start comes ex CRI Racing veteran Michael Kundakcioglu. Both the 82 and 56 had the same setup under them. The engines fired and it was time to go.

Both cars qualified in the top 10, and Taylor managed to lead a number of the opening laps while Michael ran inside the top 10 for the first 25 laps. On lap 26 Mike radioed to his crew that he felt something wrong in the starring. Pit stops weren’t far so the crew told him to hang on till then when they would raise the hood and check the power steering. Less than a lap later, the 56 went straight head on into the wall and back down in front of traffic where he was hit hard by the #6 of Caleb Paul. Kundakcioglu’s car was terminally destroyed, but Mike walked away soon after the car came to a rest. His day would end prematurely and he ended up 16th.

The field logged laps for the middle half of the race making a round of green flag pit stops. A late race caution let the entire field bunch back up and fuel mileage was out of the question. The biggest race of the year would be coming down to a 15 lap shootout; talk about wild. In almost a concrete copy of the shootout one week prior, the 82 Charger found its way to the rear bumper of the #19 Budweiser Impala, it was go time. As before, the two car team of Taylor and Robson worked their way to the front. Down the backstretch with 7 laps to go the two had a huge run on the leader at the time, Codol (33). Robson took the momentum and ducked below and took the lead, leaving Taylor stuck back in the high lane. Obviously frustrated, Taylor started pushing harder. Coming off turn two the 82 bumped the 33 wrong and turned him down the track and back into Shawn. A nine car pileup was the end result. “I thought for sure we were done at that point” said Shawn, “But the team worked like I've never seen them to get the car straightened out and we were good! We didn’t hit anything too hard with the front end, I knew we still had a chance” Taylor would restart the race with 4 laps to go in 15th place. “I got a great restart and squeezed my way through traffic. Within two and a half laps we were sitting in 2nd!” On the final lap Shawn found himself behind the 19 again, and on the backstretch attempted a slingshot move. It didn’t work to plan as the #25 of Chad Mikosz ducked under closely followed by the #9 of Nick Baker and #2 of Proline Champion Jake Poulin. The STR camp would end up in 5th and 16th respectively.

“Im frustrated because I still think we had the best car. But all things considered 5th place is great. I wish Mike could have had some better luck but I know he will bounce back. I’m looking foreword to Phoenix next week. It’s going to be anybody’s race”

Phoenix A Struggle from Day One For Taylor.

Toronto, ON

Over the off season, the crew at the Phoenix International Raceway went right to work at reconfiguring the track. From the early pre season testing, the STR crew was not comfortable. A single car team this week, Taylor didn’t have an in shop teammate to lean on for advice. Qualifying the Sunoco Dodge was towards the bottom of the grid. “I knew we didn’t have the best of qualifying setups, but I knew we could work our way up in the race” said Taylor. Once the green flag flew the 82 was neutral, until the final five laps before the competition caution when it really picked up. Soon after the entire field had a chance to work on their cars, the 82 was towards the bottom again. A huge multi car pileup threw the 82 to the back of the pack again, and he could never recover. A late race restart resulted in contact between the #53 and #82. After some heat-of-the-moment retaliation, the #82 car was left with a damaged car, and a dismal 13th place finish. “It was a struggle from when we unloaded, some stuff happened but I’m over it now. Hopefully this will be our one and only mulligan and we can get redemption at Watkins Glen next week”

Sparco Joins STR!
Toronto ON,
10/10/11

After a press conference held today at the STR shop, it was announced that Sparco would be jumping aboard the #56. "I am very pleased to have another great sponsor like Sparco onboard. Mike and I have both been around the brand since our karting days. I look forward to our relationship with them."

Iight now Shawn, you gotta stop showing up on me. Nice Paint!

Found in a drawer in Shawn Taylors office at the STR shop; It appears that the Molson brand has been with him longer than many anticipated!


Press Release
Watkins Glen NY

After suffering a terrible loss, Shawn Taylor will be piloting a plain black #82, in honor of his late Grandmother, at Watkins Glen this week.

Watkins Glen Leaves STR Disappointed-Again.
Toronto ON

The Watkins Glen garage has been vacant for some time now. Teams are hard at work testing and preparing for the next race in Kentucky. Watkins Glen was a race that was circled on the STR calendar. Both Mike and Shawn were very confident going into the weekend that they could both come home with a podium finish. “A 1-2 would have been a dream come true. The guys at the shop put that extra TLC into our road course program, we both wanted to showcase their hard work with strong runs” said Taylor when teams arrived to the track. Following a big personal tragedy for Taylor, Molson which was originally going to sponsor the car, opted to resign and run an all black scheme, in memory of Shawn’s Grandmother who passed away earlier in the week. Taylor Qualified P1, with a new Proline Track record at 1.10.133. Michael took it easy and started P11. Both teams races would be stopped early. Taylor got a tap going into the busstop from #2 Jake Poulin, the eventual winner. That put him behind the 8 ball and could never get back to the front. Soon after fourth gear let go on the dodge, ending his chances at a great finish. Taylor would rally back for a 6th place finish. Much of the same would be for Mike; 3rd gear let go on him not long after. Mike brought it home in 8th place. “We need to figure our transmission issue out. That’s the second week in a row I’ve lost a gear, and the first for Mike. I know we’ll get it resolved though”


Shawn Taylor sits backwords in the bus stop as the field scrambles to avoid


Michael battles three wide on a restart with the #68 [Lawrence] and #50 [Stroski]

Both STR cars will be sporting pink at Kentucky, for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Taylor looking for smooth run in New Hampshire.

After another rough week both personally, last week on track and in the garage after everything, the STR garage has quietly been preparing for the New Hampshire race. "I'm just hoping I can get a smooth solid run without anything crazy happen. I know the fans have said the racing is exciting but the "having at it" is costing all of the teams money race cars, and points. I'm not sure if we will be able to get a win or not, but a top five will be a win to us" said Taylor after arrival to the track. Michael Kundakcioglu will be absent from the field due to a band practice. He will be back the following week.

Does he play the clarinet.

More Disapointment for STR. Looking for Lucky Break.

After two more dismal weeks for Taylor, some goals are changing. Going into the season, Speedweeks went great. The 82 had one of the fastest cars in Daytona Beach. After Daytona things started to go downhill. "We have had some terrible luck all season. We had a car to beat at Daytona, but we couldn't cap it off. At The Glen we had a transmission failure, and Kentucky I got in over my head in the last lap. Other than those three races, the other three have been down right disapointing. At this point we just want to make the chase and contend for the championship".
Taylor struggled all weekend at New Hampshire, finishing in 8th place after many troubles throughout the day.



Homecoming Not Good for the 82
When the series went north of the border, the STR shop had high expectations. It was the Grand Prix of Trois Riveres, the tight narrow street course located in Quebec Canada. However the high expectations would not be matched. "I knew we had a top three car easily, with just how well I know the track. We missed the setup right from the start, we ended up putting our Glen setup with our GP3R tranny. The setup was not made for the tight corners and heavy breaking of Three Rivers, we just burned the rear tires off it" Taylor ended up in 9th place after all was said and done. "I was hoping it would start raining because everyone had rain tires ready. I think with my open wheel experience we would have won easily.

Next time we should run that race in the rain just to see

Perhaps. I wish I had my setup better lol. Even if I didnt win I would have loved to dog fight for the top 4 like we were for a few laps. T'was fun!

Sure was! Need more road courses for Proline!

Jordan Robson wrote:

Sure was! Need more road courses for Proline!

Hell.

Fucking.

No.

Taylor Gets Results At Last!

Toronto, ON.

After not having a top five since a 4th at Daytona, Shawn Taylor and the rest of the STR team were really getting frustrated with the results and cars they were having. "Before I felt we were putting too much effort in and getting off from the get-go and it would kill us all weekend. Other than Daytona and the two roadcourses, we havent been in contention for wins too much". The 82 unloaded with last seasons fourth place finishing Richmond car, the first oval car to be carried over from last season. "I'm proud with how we ran, we didn't qualkify well but we had a fast car. We ran in the front and led a bunch of laps." A late race pit decision cost the 82 the win, however he would manage to finish in the 2nd position behind Solstice Poster-boy Jordan Robson.

The pitstop that decided the race


The STR team looks forward to the next race in Fort Worth. Shawn Taylor got his lone Proline win last season at Texas. They are bringing the same car and hope for similar results.

Stole your pic for a sig Shawn lol

Y U NO INCLUDE ME IN YOUR SIG

I FIX IT 1 MOMENT PLZ

<3

Broken Shoulder & Concussion face Taylor After Last Lap Crash.

Charlotte NC

Shawn Taylor, driver of the #82 is listed in stable condition. A late race tangle with the #9 of Nick Baker caused the 82 to spam head on into the wall, knocking the brake caliper off the right front tire. The car then careened down and hit the inside wall at an estimated speed of 168mph. Taylor was air lifted to the near by Charlotte Memorial Hospital where he regained consciousness. No word on if he will run Martinsville or not, but any chase hopes got their final nail hammered in the coffin. Taylors crew chief had this to say moments after the accident.

"That F***** #9 tried to pass us in the G** d*** grass and ran straight into the back of us. He killed our Superspeedway car at 'Dega and now that f***** is running off with the title. I'm fed up with him."

He later apologized for the slam on Nick Baker.

Nick Baker defends himself:
After getting slammed by Shawn Taylor (#82)'s crew chief, Nick Baker had a message to the media and to the entire 82 team.

"What happened at Talladega was an accident and I felt bad about it and made my apologies. As for last night, that was Shawn's own fault. When you block people on a dogleg, shit's gonna happen, I chose not to let off, not to give in and lift. I stood in it, and Shawn turned himself off of my nose. When you block, you get turned. He had every right to block me, I had every right to keep in the gas."

Baker said he had apologized, but after some thinking, he said he found he did absolutely nothing wrong.