Taylors receive praise from Gordon after Rolex 24 win

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — Ricky and Jordan Taylor are probably the best two American race car drivers you’ve never heard of.

They aren’t household names because they don’t race in NASCAR and don’t drive in the Indianapolis 500. They drive sports cars — for their dad, no less — and they do it very, very well.

In the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the brothers were the workhorses of the four-driver Wayne Taylor Racing team that scored its first win in the prestigious event since father Wayne Taylor won it in 2005 as a driver. Jordan drove long stints overnight in blinding rain, and Ricky closed the race with a fearless pass of the leader with under seven minutes remaining in the 24-hour race.

In the process, the brothers got superstar Jeff Gordon his first Rolex victory. The semi-retired four-time NASCAR champion became only the fourth driver in Daytona International Speedway history to win the Rolex and the Daytona 500. He let the Taylor brothers carry the load in the new Cadillac program their team helped build with General Motors.

Gordon loved driving for this team, from last year’s test sessions all the way through the race. He enjoyed the pranks from Jordan, 25, who has a social media savviness and quirky personality that could earn him a career as a YouTube celebrity. Ricky, 27, the quieter brother, is no slouch but struggles to step outside of his kid brother’s shadow.

Gordon found them engaging, hilarious and, most important, talented on the racetrack.

“Driving this car pushes the limits of your talent and showcases your ability, especially when you are in those conditions that they were in,” Gordon said. “Going up against all these other great drivers from around the world, in cold, wet conditions — that takes a lot of skill. These guys are as good as it gets. I just got to ride their coattails.”

Both Taylor boys, who grew up in Orlando, cried in victory lane Sunday.

There was relief at finally having won the event after coming so close other times. They were happy for surrogate father and co-driver Max Angelelli, a fixture throughout their lives who got a win in his final race as a driver.

Jordan wept because he was thrilled to see his older brother use an aggressive pass for the win that earned him a moment of the spotlight. Ricky cried because the victory took pressure off Wayne’s stressful life as a car owner in an expensive series.

Wayne Taylor jokes that he’s too old to be working this hard running a team, and that he spends more money than he makes in the sports car series. But he loves what he does, and loves being around his boys — yet still worries he’s holding them back.

“Sometimes I question myself, I’m like, ‘Is this a bad thing that I keep running my kids? Because maybe nobody else wants to approach them?’” Taylor said.

“Quite honestly, I’d like them to be rewarded for their success and for their talent rather than dad is doing it.”

Rookie Sebastian Aho, 19, scored his first hat trick and added an assist as Carolina ended a five-game losing streak. He has 15 goals.

Patric Hornqvist scored twice and Matt Murray stopped 37 shots for Pittsburgh.

Ryan Strome and Johnny Boychuk scored in the third period and Thomas Greiss made 28 saves as New York beat the league’s top team and improved to 5-0-1 under interim coach Doug Weight. Greiss earlier in the day signed a three-year, $10 million extension.

Zdeno Chara and Frank Vatrano scored third-period goals that gave Boston a 4-2 lead. Max Pacioretty scored a hat trick and Carey Price made 37 saves for Montreal. Pacioretty, who had a four-goal game Dec. 10, has 24 goals this season. Jonathan Marchessault scored the go-ahead goal with 6:03 left and rookie defenseman Mike Matheson had two goals for Florida. Roberto Luongo made 36 saves and became the fifth goalie in NHL history to reach 450 victories. Kyle Palmieri scored twice and Cory Schneider made 27 saves for New Jersey. Adam Henrique’s short-handed goal at 10:30 of the third made it 4-1 before Detroit’s Tomas Tatar and Nick Jensen scored. Rookie Patrik Laine scored his 23rd goal of the season, and Jacob Trouba’s score early in the third period gave Winnipeg a 4-2 lead. Devin Shore, Radek Faksa and Lauri Korpikosk scored in the first 11:18 of a five-goal first period, and Kari Lehtonen had 40 saves for Dallas. Late Late Late Late

Ricky Taylor (left), who’s 27, and Jordan Taylor, 25, were the main drivers of the Cadillac that won the Rolex 24 on Sunday at Daytona.