A third-generation drag racer, Taylor Strange grew up immersed in the sport, as his grandfather raced at the outlaw George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip in Arkansas and his father carried the family tradition forward. Strange is also a driver, but his most rewarding moments in the sport have come as a crew member helping family-based team succeed in drag racing’s highest levels.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #197, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in November/December 2025.
Strange started out driving a Jr. Dragster when he was eight years old, the minimum age at the time. He excelled in the half-scale cars, ultimately winning an NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League national championship at the 2005 Western Conference Finals at Bandimere Speedway outside Denver, Colorado. Another career highlight also took place at Bandimere, but more on that in a moment.
After Jr. Dragsters, Strange drove a few different cars in heads-up, index, and big-money bracket racing events. He also rode pro motocross for some time, but when he suffered a serious injury, his father urged him to focus on drag racing on four wheels.
In the meantime, Strange went racing with longtime family friend Mike Bowman. He was just a teenager when he started taking on some of the engine maintenance on Bowman’s iconic Chevelle. He learned more as Bowman progressed, competing in West Coast Pro Mod events and later NHRA Pro Mod races before jumping into the No Prep Kings scene when it was hot. That evolution included different engine combinations, from big-block Chevys to Brad Anderson Hemis.
“The progression of it is an ongoing learning experience,” Strange says. “You think you know something, and then they put something else in front of you. It’s always something new, which is a huge part of why I like doing what I do.”
Strange was a crew member on Bowman’s team when the California native earned a milestone victory at the inaugural Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod at Bandimere in 2017. A doorslammer veteran, Bowman wasn’t exactly an unknown, but he mowed through a field of primarily full-time NHRA Pro Mod teams to earn the $100,000 winner-take-all prize, propelling himself into the Pro Mod spotlight. “That was a huge accomplishment and something special to be a part of,” Strange says.
Later, Strange became friends with the Mills family, including 2023 DI 30 Under 30 honoree Kallee Mills and her parents, Dewayne and Tara. He now works for the Mills family full-time, operating within their business, Mills Truck & Tractor Service, during the week and going racing on the weekends.
With the Kallee Mills Motorsports team, Strange has been a part of Mills’ rookie season in Mid-West Drag Racing Series Pro Mod, where she picked up her first career win, set impressive career-best numbers, and finished third in the championship points standings. She’s also won some N/T 275 shootouts.
“Seeing them win back-to-back where we’re at right now, that’s important to me because they’re like family,” he says. “Seeing them succeed and being a part of it is awesome. There are a lot of people in this world that would do anything to be standing where we are. To be on winning programs and watch people you care about succeed – there’s nothing that beats that feeling.”
Strange hasn’t given up on his own goals as a driver. He’s spent the later part of the 2025 season preparing his own car to compete in the Drag Illustrated Winter Series at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Driving his Haas-built ’89 Beretta powered by a five-inch-bore-space nitrous engine and riding on 28×10.5 slicks, Strange will compete in the invite-only True 10.5 class at the three Winter Series races. “We just went our personal best on the tire in testing to get ready for the Snowbirds,” he says. “The goal is to have one of the fastest small-tire cars in the country, and I think we’re well on our way. We’ll see where we stack up with some of these big-name guys on small tires.”
It’s clear that Strange is passionate not just about drag racing, but also the people that make his participation in it possible. “If it wasn’t for my old man, I wouldn’t even be involved in the sport,” he says. “Mike Bowman and his family got me started doing it as a profession, and the Mills family took me in and allowed me to turn it into a whole lifestyle. I’m thankful for all of them.”
The post DI 30 Under 30 2025: Taylor Strange first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
