A FEW years ago , Nick Taylor found himself at a crossroads . He could keep doing his HVAC work , buy a house and continue to live a comfortable life , or take a big leap and start his own business building race cars .

Taylor sacrificed everything , bet on himself and moved to Fort Wayne , Indiana , to start Mid America Kustoms , and it ’ s become a major success story .

Taylor ’ s business is thriving and with help of a growing YouTube channel , his racing is getting noticed , too . His half-green , half-white “ Mountain Dew ” Mustang has become a popular car on social media and Taylor has enjoyed plenty of victories on the track , including taking part in Hot Rod Drag Week this year and winning Horsepower Wars , the $ 10,000 Drag Shootout — all because of the risk he took three years ago .

“ I ’ ve had so many people helping me and pushing me , so it ’ s easy to put in the work when you have so many people supporting you ,” Taylor says . “ It ’ s hard owning your own business and you have to sacrifice a lot , but it ’ s been great . I never thought I would be successful doing it , but we just keep getting busier and that makes trying to take it to the next level easier .”

Taylor certainly isn ’ t afraid of putting in long hours at the track and at his shop , and that ’ s easily been the key ingredient for his success . His passion has always been racing , making his first pass in his father ’ s Chevelle when he was just 14 years old .

Now 27 , Taylor describes himself as laid back but also highly-motivated , and his creativity comes across in spades .

“ I have fun driving anything and I just love racing in all forms ,” Taylor says . “ I don ’ t ever really want to fit in . Two of my biggest role models , along with my dad , were Jesse James and ‘ Big Chief ’ [ Justin Shearer ]. They really inspired me to just follow your heart and try to be creative .”

Taylor is as hands-on as they come and his creativity has always been apparent , whether it ’ s with customer projects , “ Mt . Dew ” or putting a turbo on the roof of the car . The way Taylor sees it , the more he ’ s stayed true to himself , the more success has come his way .

“ Honestly , every time I go racing or go somewhere , I can ’ t believe I did it . It seems like the peak and then we keep working hard and keep going after it , and something else great happens ,” Taylor says .

– JOSH HACHAT DI

AS THE son of a successful engine builder , Mark Benston Jr . was destined to someday make his own name in the sport . He grew up around the high-horsepower cars powered by engines out of his father ’ s engine shop , Mark Benston Racing Engines , and he added driving talents to his resume through Jr . Dragster racing and bracket racing . He ’ s since parlayed his driving skills and mechanical abilities into success in Outlaw 10.5 and Pro 275 competition .

Benston , 29 , burst onto the Outlaw 10.5 scene as a driver in 2018 after car owner Buck Jarvis offered him the opportunity to drive his “ Show Mod ” ’ 69 Camaro . In 2019 , Benston set an Outlaw 10.5 quarter-mile record with his 5.81 at 245 mph at the World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway . The following year , he added eighth-mile records with 3.76 and 3.74-second passes .

After the Outlaw 10.5 class essentially disbanded over the 2020-2021 offseason , Benston switched over to Pro 275 and proceeded to win the spring Yellowbullet Nationals and a Strange Engineering Outlaw Street Car Shootout race at Cecil County Dragway . He also recorded the first 3.60 second-pass for a turbo car on 275 radials . The wins put Benston in championship contention , but the sale of the car to a new owner nearly took him right back out of contention .

“ Winning the first two races gave us a nice points lead , but in the class that we ’ re running here with Steve Gorman and Mo Hall , they ’ re some of the best in the business , so you know you can ’ t give those guys a whole lot of breathing room ,” says Benston , 29 . “ I had to show up at one race with [ Charles Short ’ s ] X275 car just so I could get points in July . I knew if I didn ’ t show up that it was going to give them an easy taking on me . We actually made it to the semis to keep up our points .”

Right after the “ Show Mod ” was sold , Dale Collins Jr . offered up his 2002 Camaro so Benston could finish out the season . The Benstons went to work converting the car over from a screw-blown Hemi combo to their preferred twin-turbocharged 481x setup , completing all wiring and fabrication work in-house . Two months later , Benston rolled into Cecil County for the fall Yellowbullet race in his third different car . He racked up more points , then , with a first-round win at the final OSCS race , Benston clinched the Cecil County Pro 275 championship .

“ It ’ s rather breathtaking for me because I ’ ve been doing this racing thing since I was 8 years old ,” Benston says of winning the title . “ Once I finally got the chance to drive , which is not something I ever thought I ’ d have the chance to do , I figured I ’ d take my shot at it . It ’ s been a lot of hard work to get here at this level .

“ All the people surrounding you are what makes you what you are . It makes things very rewarding for sure ,” adds Benston , who thanks supporters like Haltech , ProTorque , Precision Turbo , Menscer Motorsports , FireCore50 , Northstar Motorsports , and Mike Dent Complete Automotive . “ Buck Jarvis is the one who gave me the opportunity to start driving that ‘ 69 Camaro . Dale Collins allows me to drive the car I ’ m driving now . My dad pushes me and I push him back . It keeps things rolling . My wife , Erica , my mother , all my crew guys , between Tommy and Jimmy and Danny , Clark , the list goes on . Without any of them , I wouldn ’ t be able to do what I do .” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY COREY STAMPER , TARA BOWKER

110 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 172