DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Wayne Taylor has a lot of history with General Motors. That’s the primary reason that Cadillac Racing selected Wayne Taylor Racing to field two Cadillac V-Series.R prototypes in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
As a driver, Taylor earned his first win in IMSA competition in a Spice-Pontiac in 1989. He drove the Bob Riley-designed Intrepid-Chevrolet prototype to a pair of GTP wins in the first evolution of that class in the early 1990s. Powered by Aurora/Oldsmobile, Taylor’s Riley & Scott Mk III came out of the box in 1996 to claim victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac, and Taylor was a key part of Cadillac’s return to racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000.
When Taylor ventured into team ownership in 2004, his Riley prototypes featured GM power. Wayne Taylor Racing won IMSA championships in 2005, 2013 and 2017, maintaining the GM connection through rapidly evolving technical eras with the Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) and the Cadillac Daytona Prototype International (DPi).
From 2021-24, though, Taylor’s outfit served as a factory team for Honda Racing Corporation USA, campaigning Acura prototypes in IMSA’s DPi and GTP classes, expanding to two cars this past season. When Cadillac decided to reshuffle its GTP team lineup for 2025, Taylor got the call. He’s pretty pumped about the reunion.
“I never thought I’d be excited again about anything because I had done pretty much everything I wanted to do,” Taylor said. “I learned one thing from Dan Gurney, and that was: ‘Never look back, Wayne, look forward.’ I’m more excited about this program than I have been about any other program. I feel like I’m 25 years old again.
“I’m just proud of the whole organization, to be honest,” he continued. “It’s a very family-oriented company. We’ve obviously grown really big in the last two years, and that takes a lot of work to get all the people in the right place, but so far, it’s gone smoothly. I have the passion I’ve always had, and I feel the same from everybody within GM and Cadillac.”
Taylor Sees More Focus on Sports Car Program from GM
Changing manufacturer affiliation while remaining in the same racing class could be viewed as a lateral move. But Taylor sees a renewed emphasis on the sports car program within the GM Racing and Cadillac ranks.
“The biggest change that has come in this hybrid era is the manufacturer involvement is not just financial – it is now a real technical partner,” Taylor declared. “The GM people are really on top of everything, and sports car racing really appears to have become a real asset for them. In the earlier years of my involvement, I think it was an asset, but the emphasis was more on NASCAR and IndyCar. I don’t think sports cars were that important to them. Now with what’s happening on a global basis with the LMDh hybrid technology, all the manufacturers are signing on.
“When things really started changing was when GM wanted to go towards prototypes using the Cadillac brand,” he added. “Cadillac made its first real impression in ’17 when we won five races straight out of the box on the way to the championship. Mark Kent was a great program manager, and now in the last four years, (GM President) Mark Reuss has taken it further and really expanded the GM Racing facilities in Charlotte (North Carolina). Eric Warren has a lot of experience as a technical director and is a very hands-on guy.”
During its most recent stint with Cadillac, WTR started 2017 with five consecutive wins, including Daytona and Sebring. Between 2017-20, WTR tasted victory at the Rolex 24 three times and took a pair of wins at the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, along with the 2017 Sebring triumph.
What made WTR’s 2017 championship even more special is that it was achieved with Taylor’s sons, Ricky and Jordan, as the drivers. Both subsequently departed the family team to driver for factory-supported efforts – Jordan with Corvette Racing, Ricky with Acura Team Penske – but both are back in the fold, with Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing now fully established in its own right as a works team. Ricky Taylor continues with Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Cadillac, while Jordan will again team with Louis Deletraz in the No. 40.
“I spent 12 years of my career racing GM cars, so it feels like I am coming back home to see lots of familiar faces,” Jordan stated. “The Cadillacs have obviously been extremely strong in GTP the last two years, so I can’t wait to see what the car is like from the inside.”
“I think we will be curious to learn what has made them strong over the last two years, but also to bring our own experience to the program,” older brother Ricky added. “The relationship with GM goes back as long as the Taylor family has been in America, and the relationship has highlighted our careers.”
All in the Family at WTR
Wayne Taylor was happy to see his sons prove themselves for highly regarded other teams. He’s equally pleased to have them back driving for his own organization.
“You always have this situation where kids don’t want to be seen as just driving for their dad,” the elder Taylor said. “The good thing is, we won as a family in 2017, where Jordan and Ricky drove together with our partner, Max Angelelli. I was happy when Jordan went to Corvette and Ricky with Roger Penske, because these big entities saw the talent in both of them. When the plan came to fruition for this program and I was able to get both of them back, I was really excited because I know what they can do. They clearly have the talent.
“I call them my two American drivers, because that way I don’t have to mention their names and sound like the dad.”
Thankful to be reunited with General Motors, Wayne Taylor is ready to get to grips with the Cadillac V-Series.R at the IMSA-sanctioned test scheduled for Nov. 15-17 at Daytona International Speedway.
“This is any person’s dream,” he said. “Seriously, what more could I want in my life, and I really have to thank all these partners we have. It’s been a long, long relationship with GM, and a great relationship both as a driver and a team owner. When I think of all the different GM brands I’ve raced for, it’s pretty amazing.
“Jim Campbell (vice president, GM Performance and Motorsports, shown above with Taylor) and Mark Reuss were instrumental in making sure this Cadillac program came to me. Jim has done a lot for me and a lot for Jordan, and he’s just a really good guy. Whatever you’re doing in business, it always comes down to the people. And in all my years of being involved with GM, the people were always a pleasure to deal with.”