Brett Taylor came home and proved his mettle.
The western Canadian driver and reigning NASCAR Pinty’s Series rookie of the year looked every bit the well-rounded stock car driver on Wednesday night at Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
RECAP + RESULTS: LP Dumoulin, Andrew Range take Twins 125s
In just his second full-time season and 24th career start, Taylor earned his first podium with a third-place finish in the second Bayer Velocity Prairie Thunder Twin 125. The result was no fluke either, as Taylor took his EHR No. 46 and qualified fourth based on his fastest lap from the first twin.
In that first twin, he finishes sixth.
He dueled with the likes of DJ Kennington and LP Dumoulin in
the night cap — proving he absolutely has what it takes to get the job done on
the Canadian national tour.
It’s just a surprise that his three top-10s this year have come
on a short track, as opposed to the road courses he developed his skillset on
while racing in the GT division of the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs in
his native Alberta.
So where did this particular effort come from?
“Where has this been the past three seasons,” Taylor said with a laugh on the podium after the race on Wednesday. “I’ve been digging for it and I feel like I’m ready for this. I’m ready to run up front with these guys. I’m excited.”
It’s also worth noting that the results come amidst a mid-season change from CBRT to EHR.
READ MORE: Alex Tagliani suffers miserable night in Bridge Town
On one hand, Taylor didn’t mind the run of cautions that
allowed him to catch back up with Ranger and Kennington after he held off
Dumoulin, but on the other, the 35-year-old felt like he had a better long-run
car and believes he could have caught Ranger had the race stayed green.
“I wish it had stayed green longer,” he agreed. “I
felt like I was faster than DJ and LP that way. Bunching us up that way, DJ is
really good about pinching on restarts. If the car is eight feet wide, he will
give you 7”11 on the bottom to pass him. So I had no room without putting both
of our races in jeopardy. He’s a classy racer to race against.
“To finally be up there with these guys, like DJ, this
was an amazing run.”
It’s a run Taylor hopes continues on Saturday at his home short track — Edmonton International Raceway in Alberta.
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