Fuel Curve Countdown. The Nation’s Top 10 Pro Mods, Frankie Taylor

Pro Mod Madness! Our Fuel Curve Top 10 List, #5 Frankie Taylor

Editor’s Note. This is a ten-part series we will run once per week introducing the Top 10 Pro Mod race cars in our opinion. Series author Steven Bunker knows a thing or two about drag racing, especially Pro Mods. His grandfather Bob Bunker was one of the premier racers in supercharged, steel-bodied, quarter mile door cars which were the precursor to the class. Check back each week as Steven counts ‘em down!

#5 – Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor

pro mod madness The Nation’s Top 10 Pro Mods, Frankie TaylorHis name says it all – the “Mad Man”. There’s a reason he got that nickname and it’s not only because he looks like a Mad Scientist. Taylor has a deep-rooted history in the Pro Mod ranks dating back to the mid-90s. He has raced it all, and won it all, from the old Super Chevy days to local outlaw events.

Taylor now competes on the big stage with the eighth-mile PDRA series in the Pro Extreme category. Taylor is always a threat and isn’t afraid to put it all on the line or try new things. His name has been alongside many records and the Mad Man has won multiple championships. He set a record on a used and borrowed set of tires, tested his car in the rain and dabbled with some outlaw quarter-mile stuff while posting a 5.47 ET on the boards with less than 10 quarter-mile runs under his belt! Taylor likes to spice things up to. He has match raced everything from a fuel altered to a NHRA top alcohol funny car and most recently a jet car (in which he beat them all).

It seems there’s nothing the Mad Man won’t try and he never backs down from a dare. Frankie Taylor carries the original persona of Pro Mod racers who started the class – always looking for more and never backing down from a challenge. Taylor does more with less while balling on a budget. We like that. Paired with his multiple accolades during an extensive Pro Mod career, he is solidly placed in our top 10 list.

Tune in next week for #4 on our Top 10 Pro Mods

Complete list:
#10 – Danny Rowe
#9 – Todd Tutterow
#8 – Lizzy Musi
#7 – Troy Coughlin
#6 – John Zappia

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A lifelong car kid, Steven grew up around drag strips – his name may sound familiar because his grandfather is Bob Bunker, a Pro Mod pioneer who piloted the “Folsom Flash” ’55 Chevy from the ’70s through the ’90s. Steven’s father, Bob Bunker Jr., heads up Bunker Motorsports and is a regular in the West Coast racing scene, building chassis and race cars for more than 30 years. With genetics like that, it’s no wonder Steven has a passion for both cars and motorsports. In addition to helping his father and honing his fabrication skills at Bunker Motorsports, Steven began shooting photos at the drag strip and capturing the action with his Canon camera. He is now artfully crafting stories around the awesome machines at the shows, as well as the men and women behind them. When he's is not on the road covering events, he spends his downtime out on the water fishing, building his 1962 Chevy Nova, or cruising his 1987 GMC Suburban.