After flirting with victory in the first two races on the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship calendar, brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor broke through in a big way Saturday, winning the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at the Long Beach street circuit.
In a classic Chevrolet vs. Ford battle, Jordan Taylor held off a hard-charging Joey Hand in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Ford EcoBoost/Riley to win by 3.3 seconds in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP owned by father Wayne Taylor.
It was a rewarding victory for the team after a heartbreaking defeat in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and a runner-up finish in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.
“I felt confidence the entire weekend,” said Ricky Taylor. “It was nice to have a nice package underneath us, and to be fighting between Corvette and Ford was nice to see. We also got first place points, so it’s the best we could get.”
It was a dominant weekend for Wayne Taylor Racing with Ricky Taylor also winning the TOTAL Pole Award in qualifying Friday. Ricky started the race from the pole and led throughout his opening stint, giving way to Jordan Taylor with 47 minutes remaining in the 100-minute sprint race. Running in the second position, Scott Pruett pitted the No. 01 Ford EcoBoost/Riley one lap later and Hand took over.
Hand inherited the lead on the pit stop exchange, but Jordan Taylor quickly pounced and took the top spot in Turn 1 with 44 minutes remaining. He led the rest of the way, although Hand closed the gap to within one second several times over the final 30 minutes.
The No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP team finished third, the third consecutive third-place finish to start the season for co-drivers Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante. Action Express Racing’s pair of Corvette DPs rounded out the top five with the team’s No. 31 Whelen Corvette DP of Dane Cameron and Eric Curran fourth and the points-leading No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi fifth.
The entire TUDOR Championship event was run under the green flag – including the race, qualifying and Friday’s two practice sessions.
The Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, April 19, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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