About The Driver

Article by Todd Telford of The Marin Independent Journal

Some mothers of teen-age daughters take up needle point. The only needle Debbie Taylor of Novato cares about is the one pointing to the redline on her tachometer.

This mom drives a 1973 Ford Torino on the dirt at Petaluma Speedway, flinging her Pure Stock ponycar sideways every few seconds during the weekly All Pro Series races on Saturday nights. It's a passion that catches many by surprise.

"Most of my friends are like, "You do what? You race? Are you nuts? With guys?" But a lot of people really don't know until they come watch you." Taylor said. "A few of my friends, I've taken out in the car for a few hot laps, and they're like, "Wow, no wonder you're so hooked on this."

Her car is painted in the red and white colors that made this model famous when it was driven in the "Starsky and Hutch" TV series in the 70s. But don't let the nostalgic paint job fool you, Taylor isn't in this for fun and frolic.

In her third season of racing in the Pure Stock class, she's currently fifth in points and within sight of third with the season finale coming up Sept. 29. Having finished fifth in points in her rookie season and fourth last year, third is what she's gunning for. Then perhaps skipping a position when all is said and done next year. There's one hurdle that has yet eluded her, a first main-event victory.

"That's my goal, I want to get at least on win," Taylor said "I've won a lot of heat races but I haven't won any main events yets. But I want to win the Championship next year so I'd better start getting those wins."

Debbie and her husband, Bill, own an auto repair shop, Taylor Automotive in San Rafael, and the racing bug bit her when she least expected it.

"One of our friends was racing and he came to us and said, "Will you build me a motor for my race car?" So we did, and then we started going and watching him to root him on." Taylor said.

The instigator was Norm Boeck of Novato, who actually was the first owner of the car she would eventually drive.

"One day he talked me into going out with him, he had a passenger seat, and I instantly fell in love," Taylor said "I had so much fun."

Soon, Bill Taylor saw destiny staring him in the face. He heard that another friend, Don Swartz of Novato, was selling his car, trailer, spares, even the fire suit for $2,500.

"He came home one day and said, "I bought you a race car today," I just kind of laughed and thought he was joking," Debbie Taylor recalled.

When she realized he was serious, reality started kicking in, "and then it was like, "Oh my God, do I really want to do this?" she said.

And since she started three seasons ago, she hasn't missed an All Pro race. However, that kind of commitment comes at a price.

"It's been kind of a problem," Taylor said, "We have a lot of friends and we're always busy doing something. now that I've started racing, my Saturdays are dedicated and I've missed out on a lot of things because of it. It's tough, ut I let everybody know it's my day, and if you want me to be there you have to do it on Sunday"

Taylor's Saturday routine has her focusing on racing from the morning on. She'll detail her car, load it on the trailer and leave by 1:30 p.m., even though the Petaluma Speedway pit gate doesn't open until 3, and she won't take to the track until after 6 p.m. She's a stickler for preparation.

Although she started racing for the fun of the actual driving, there's been some collateral satisfaction she didn't expect. "One thing that I think is really neat is that I have a lot of fans," Taylor said. "I get e-mails from people all the time wanting to know more about me or congratulating me or let me know that they come and support me every week.

"The very first time I realized how many fans I really had was when they had us park the cars by the start/finish line. They pointed to each car and who was driving it, and there were a few claps for each one. But when they got to my name, it was like everybody was screaming and clapping. It was like, "Whoa, I do have a big fan following, I didn't realize how many people watched me until then."

But her biggest fans are her family.

"My husband.... if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be doing this, let's put it that way." Taylor said. "He builds all my motors, works on the car two or three nights a week with me. There was one weekend that I went out on a Friday night and blew up my motor. The next morning we tore the motor apart and found we had to rebuild it, and he rebuilt the whole motor and had me racing that night."

Taylor's oldest daughter, Crystal, 16, would have no problem following in Mom's footsteps. She drives the car around the back of the lot at the shop in San Rafael, helps unload it at the track and works on the pit crew. She wanted to drive this year too, but she needs her regular driving license first.

And 11-year-old Niki is on the bandwagon, too, leading the cheers from the grandstands with other relatives and friends. Her mom's racing has even made Niki a bit of a celebrity.

"Last year I brought my car to my daughter's elementary school and did a presentation, started the car up for them," Taylor said of a well-received visit to Hamilton Elementary. "The kids were so exited. They couldn't believe that Niki's mom raced."