Jeff Taylor goes back-to-back at NHRA Finals

A year after winning the Stock Eliminator title at the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Jeff Taylor returned to Pomona and won the Stock Eliminator title again to collect his 48th career win.

POMONA, CA – Jeff Taylor was victorious once again at the Auto Club NHRA Finals after defeating Kyle Rizzoli in the Stock Eliminator final round. Taylor once again borrowed the DeFrank family’s ’15 Camaro and parked it in the winner’s circle for the second consecutive season.

Running in the FS/B class, Taylor’s 9.131 lap placed him No. 36 on the qualifying sheet. The run was -.869 under the 10.00 FS/B index.

Taylor kicked off eliminations with a competition bye run as Mark Kirby was a no-show. He was .024 on the tree and ran dead-on his 9.10 dial-in.

Justin Jerome had the starting line advantage, .024 to .045, in the second round of eliminations but couldn’t convert. Taylor gave him the stripe causing Jerome to breakout by -.002. Taylor ran a 9.128 on his 9.11 dial-in to advance.

Jeff Taylor and Ryan Mangus squared off in the third round of eliminations. With a small starting line advantage, .033 to .049, Taylor was able to take the round win running a .019 over 9.159. Mangus posted a .026 over 10.826 in the loss.

In the fourth round of eliminations, Taylor lined up again Phil Mandella Jr. The two were .003 apart in reaction time, .032 to .035, and only .008 separated them at the stripe. Jeff’s .013 over 9.173 was just enough to slide past Mandella’s .018 over 11.078. This moved Taylor into the semifinals on Sunday afternoon for the second straight year.

In the semifinals, John Shaul grabbed the starting line advantage, .013 to .030, but Taylor chased him down for the win. This time Jeff took .011 stripe posting a dead-on 9.218 to Shaul’s three above 9.806.

The final round was a battle between two well-known Stock Eliminator racers: Jeff Taylor and Kyle Rizzoli. Rizzoli was chasing the championship title in Super Stock but fell short in the semifinals when he lost to Dan Fletcher. In the final, Rizzoli left the line -.024 early to give Taylor the automatic win. Taylor was .035 and ran a 9.216 on a 9.19 dial-in for the win.

This was Taylor’s seventh event win at the famed Pomona facility, his sixth win in Stock, and the 48th of his career. Congratulations to the Taylor and DeFrank families on their latest victory!

Click here for more NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman results from the Auto Club NHRA Finals.

Megan Bohannon is a 25 year old Super Comp racer from Louisville, Kentucky. She races a 2015 American Dragster with a 648 Oakley Motorsports Engine. Growing up at the racetrack, drag racing is all she has known and never plans to give up on it. Megan works with TB Promotions in promoting their races and keeping entries straight, as well as keeping their social media pages updated.

You can reach Megan on Facebook or email at megan@dragchamp.com

You can reach Megan on Facebook or email at megan@dragchamp.com