Few drivers enter the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks with more momentum than Jimmy Taylor. The Tennessee-based wheelman stunned the sport in recent weeks by unleashing doorslammer world-record performances: a jaw-dropping 3.387 seconds at 240.29 mph in the eighth mile and a blistering 5.114-second quarter-mile run. Now, with the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service set to kick off Dec. 5-7 at Bradenton Motorsports Park, Taylor arrives as one of the most intriguing threats in a loaded 80-plus-car Pro Mod field.
The Snowbirds will again serve as the opening chapter of the three-race Winter Series, and for Taylor, simply being part of that lineup carries significant meaning. After missing the field at all three races last year, he’s determined to prove he belongs in Pro Mod’s most exclusive fields come race day.
“Last year, I raced three races and didn’t even qualify,” Taylor said. “To qualify is definitely a huge deal. We ran a 3.645 and had to go home. I feel like we’re definitely getting in the show. I’m not as worried about qualifying this year because we’ve put so much work and time to get in.”
Taylor is also one of the drivers eligible for the new Elite Motorsports Million, a $1,000,000 bonus awaiting anyone who can sweep all three Winter Series events. It’s the most ambitious incentive ever attached to Pro Modified racing, and Taylor knows he’s entering the Snowbirds with the best-performing car he’s ever had. But he also recognizes there’s a long list of serious contenders standing in his way.
“The competition is definitely what draws me in,” Taylor said. “It’s the baddest group of Pro Mod guys to ever touch a steering wheel. I think it’s the biggest deal. It’s what everybody strives to be in. If you’re a Pro Mod racer, you want to be invited to the Winter Series. You’ve made it in the Pro Mod world if you’re invited to this race.”
Following the Snowbirds, the 2025/2026 Winter Series will continue with the U.S. Street Nationals presented by M&M Transmission, Jan. 23–25, 2026; and the World Series of Pro Mod, Feb. 26–28, 2026.
While Taylor is a relative newcomer to Pro Mod and the Winter Series, his tuner, Carl Stevens Jr., is not. In 2018, Stevens won the second World Series of Pro Mod when it was held at Bandimere Speedway outside Denver, Colorado. Though a variety of factors separate that race and the WSOPM at its new home on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Stevens brings experience and confidence to the table.
“I feel really good going into this three-race series,” Stevens said. “We went and ran the Yellowbullet Nationals in legal trim. We went 3.538 at 224 mph there. To my knowledge, I don’t think anybody’s been quicker or faster in a legal Pro Mod car, so we’re going into the Winter Series feeling like we’ve got a little performance edge here. We feel like we should be super competitive.”
For more info on the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service, visit www.TheWinterSeries.com. To purchase tickets for the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks at Bradenton Motorsports Park, click here: https://bit.ly/3LvZ4DR.
