Andrew Alepa, owner of the maroon Alepa Racing Mustang most recently driven by Rob Valden, has found Valden’s replacement after he departed the team earlier this year. There have been a few names tossed around since the split, most notably former radial standout Kevin Fiscus, but until yesterday nobody had heard for sure who would be behind the wheel once the team returned from their pre-race testing accident before the originally-scheduled Spring Shootout at Holly Springs. The team arrived at Holly Springs last night for the rescheduled Shootout and the wheelman has been revealed: none other than Pro Mod badass Frankie “The Madman” Taylor!

Taylor has often expressed interest in piloting a Radial vs the World car in interviews and candid conversations around the pits, so it’s no real surprise that he landed in the cockpit of the Alepa Mustang — one of only a pair of 200+ mph radial rides on the planet. The ProLine-powered Fox body has been a frontrunner in the top-shelf radial class for quite some time now, and with Taylor at the wheel, expect little to change as far as that goes. While they may have some bugs to work out in the recently-repaired hot rod, Taylor is an experienced doorslammer pilot who should quickly adapt to his new office.

Taylor currently holds the 1/8-mile elapsed time record for any and all door-equipped cars with his Stupid Fast Racing Pro Extreme Corvette, standing as the only man to dip into the 3.40 zone in a doorslammer. He’s known as a very capable driver with years of experience, plus he’s always been a big hit with the fans, wowing crowds with his “very-rarely-lift” mentality and infectious love of the sport.

His back-and-forth battle with Turky al Zafiri at the SCSN Anarchy at the Arch set the internet ablaze as the two swapped the 1/4 mile record over and over throughout the weekend, leaving race fans (and Dragzine editor Andrew Wolf) with jaws agape last August. Now, Taylor will wage war with the likes of radial badasses Jason Michalak, Brad Edwards, Keith Berry, Chris Daniel, and DeWayne Mills, among others, starting this coming weekend at the Spring Shootout! Look out for that Maroon Mustang… There’s a MADMAN behind the wheel!