NOTHING WOULD COMPARE

National Hot Rods are considered to be the pinnacle of Short Oval Non-Contact racing, and so it seems appropriate to talk to a driver, 152 Shaun Taylor to be exact. Shaun has always been involved with Short Ovals, with his Mum and Grandparents taking him to his first meeting aged 3, and like most, being hooked straight away! Shaun says “Hot Rods were always my favorite”.

Waiting to go out on track – Peter Barber Photography

Before racing National Hot Rods, Shaun says he was “desperate to race so started in Bangers aged 19 not having a clue, but had a win on my 3rd meeting and carried on doing around 10 meetings a year before going into Rookie Rods and then onto Stock Rods before moving into Nationals. The sheer speed of a National is unbelievable and such a buzz to race. The cars are hard work to drive. I’ve often thought about changing formula but just think nothing would compare to a NHR”. He continues by saying “they are proper racing cars and far more technical than I think people realise. I think with the right promoting NHR could be so much bigger sport.”

We’re curious to find out what a normal week preparing the car for race day includes, Shaun tells us “it's like having another job”, “…i don’t work in motor trade and am not self-employed so its evenings and weekends I have to work on the car, and with a young family can be very hard”. Without a dedicated team to help Shaun he wouldn’t be able to race, it’s “a real team sport”. Shaun believes they spend 40 hours a week on the car, and do everything themselves to save money, apart from the engine. However, there’s a “real sense of achievement knowing we’re doing it as a team of friends”.

Shaun ready and waiting to race – Peter Barber Photography

Sadly a season full of engine troubles has lead to Shaun missing out on 4 meetings, including the last to World Final qualifying rounds, meaning they haven’t qualified for the World Final race. “We are absolutely gutted”, says Shaun. Despite this, he believes the World Final meeting could do “shake up”, and have a non-qualifiers Wildcard race on the Saturday afternoon, with the World Final race under the lights Saturday night leading to a better atmosphere.

Like us, Shaun feels that Oval Motorsport needs more coverage and that the “National Hot Rod racing should have a wider audience with TV and promoted to people outside oval racing”. Shaun tries to do his bit with his website, shauntaylormotorsport.com, and on his YouTube channel with some cool onboard videos, but finishes our interview with “we need more people through the gates

We thank Shaun for his time and wish him the best of luck for his future racing! And make sure to check out his website and YouTube channel.

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