Alex Jordan Dil 820

Chevrolet Teammates Taylor, Bowman Swap Daytona Secrets

By Jeff Olson

What does a racer do between races? Help out his teammates, of course.

That’s exactly what Jordan Taylor did this week when he met with fellow Chevrolet driver Alex Bowman at Chevrolet Racing’s Driver-in-the-Loop simulator near Charlotte. The goal was straightforward: Help Bowman prepare for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race on Daytona International Speedway’s road course, a circuit with which Taylor is familiar.

Taylor, who teams with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, has raced at the DIS circuit 17 times during his 13-year career, including twice this season. Last month, Taylor and Garcia won the GTLM class in the IMSA WeatherTech 240 At Daytona.

Like Bowman and other drivers preparing for Sunday’s GoBowling 235, Taylor said he has no idea what to expect when he watches Bowman start 27th in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

“(It) will be exciting,” Taylor said. “Having no practice and when the green flag drops, it’ll be exciting to see what happens on those first few laps. Looking at our 24-hour race, it’s about survival, and it will be the same thing for them. It will be about surviving to get to the end just because no one has experience there. They’re going to have to be a little easy at the beginning, but maintaining decent track position will be key.”

The layout for the Cup race features one distinct difference from the course Taylor knows well. A chicane has been added, making it a 14-turn, 3.57-mile circuit. But it’s Turn 5 at which Taylor was able to offer Bowman the most help.

“His entry in (Turn 5)  was quite different than how I was approaching it,” Bowman said. “Some of the braking zones were a little bit different. … Having his knowledge is super helpful. He’s a really good guy, and I appreciate his help.”

While the layouts are similar, the cars aren’t. Brakes especially are a concern for the Cup drivers, as is the possibility of changing weather conditions.

“The two cars are very different,” Taylor said. “The Corvette C8.R is designed more for this type of racing where the Cup car is obviously designed for the ovals. So when it comes to a road course, it doesn’t handle that quite as well with braking performance, traction and overall grip level. From a driving point of view, it was fun to drive both.”

Taylor will return to racing Aug. 21-23, when he’ll co-drive with Garcia in the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. The two lead the standings in the GTLM class heading into the fifth race of the 2020 season.

In the meantime, Taylor will cheer on his fellow Chevy drivers as they attempt to tackle the unknown at Daytona.

“It’s all up to them on how they get around there,” Taylor said. “There aren’t too many similarities in driving style, but the way you drive the track is going to be similar – the tendencies, the trail-braking, which curbs you want to use and which ones you want to avoid.”