In RACER Magazine: Taylor Made

Does speed run in the genes? Based on the success of Ricky and Jordan Taylor, you'd better believe it. Latest proof is a Rolex 24 win with their father's Wayne Taylor Racing team.

Racing's genetics laboratory, that place where talent is inexplicably passed down from one generation to the next, is filled with mysterious concoctions. Some of its products are easier to grasp than others. The prime examples of father and son Formula 1 World Champions Graham and Damon Hill and the Rosbergs, Keke and Nico, make sense. One bloodline, one focus.

It's when we venture into the realm of father and sons – plural – where the science surrenders to guesswork. Only in the case of Wayne Taylor can we find an odds-defying example of an elite champion producing a pair of boys with at least as much talent as the guy responsible for them.

The likelihood of not one, but two sons keeping the Taylor name top of a single racing discipline was incredibly rare, and with the somewhat strange Florida-based upbringing of Ricky (born in the UK) and Jordan (born in Orlando) factored in, the outcome has been genuinely remarkable.

Between the steady influence from their South African parents – the yin and yang of a doting, but highly neurotic father in Wayne, and the calming presence of their mother Shelly – and a hyper aggressive-yet-focused Italian "uncle" in Max "The Ax" Angelelli, the Taylor brothers each somehow managed to absorb exactly the right blend of attributes.

The multi-continent child rearing experiment has paid off in many ways. Ricky (27) and Jordan (25) have become model citizens, developed into IMSA's most consistent tag team in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype category, and present endlessly fascinating character studies.

Ricky, serious and precise in his nature, is a behavioral copy of his mentor Angelelli. And then there's Jordan, aka "Rodney Sandstorm."

Jordan's sports car superfan alter ego has become one of IMSA's biggest social media attractions, and lives within the same brain that received all of Angelelli's professional training.

Outside the car, the younger Taylor's eccentricities – a ball of silliness and extroversion – temper his brother's businesslike approach.

“They definitely have their own personalities, and it’s cool seeing the interaction between Ricky and Jordan and the respect they have between one another,” says four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who shared the Rolex 24 at Daytona-winning Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R with the Taylors and Angelelli in January.

“Jordan is the cutup, likes to have fun and has a really witty personality,” muses Gordon. “ And Ricky, I see him as being really focused, which is more my kind of style at the race track. But they have a routine that works really well, and they both have tremendous talent.”

Like sports car racing savants, their opposing yet complementary roles make sense. Ricky, the pole winner and attack dog, is every bit “The Ax 2.0.” Jordan, working from his father’s playbook, has found his calling as the anchor in this fraternal driving relationship. Fireworks and fun, icy and calm, the Taylor brothers actually possess very similar personalities – it’s only the places and situations where those character traits are demonstrated that happen to differ.

“On top of banging out fast laps, Jordan’s really good at saving fuel, and when something has to happen with laps to go before the end of the race, Ricky seems to be the one who can get more out of the car than anybody,” their father says. “Together, it makes a really good combination. Not to take anything away from Jordan, but Ricky’s more like a Swiss watch the way he operates.”

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