Taylor Farlling, who retaliated against Dillan Stake during a Limited Late Model race at Port Royal Speedway at the end of June, has shared his point of view on how it all went down.
The incident started when Stake made contact with Ryan Zook coming out of turn 4. Stake got nearly completely perpendicular to the track, but was able to save it. Farlling attempted to take advantage of Stake’s mistake and pass him down the front stretch. Stake was able to stay on his inside, but he appeared to make another mistake and hopped the inside of the wall in turn 1. The contact with the wall sent Stake’s car into Farlling, who appeared to manage it initially, but coming out of turn 2 he was unable to keep it straight and ended up spinning in front of the entire field. He was eventually struck by Eric Irvin.
After the wreck ended, Farlling drove around the track in the opposite direction and attempted to ram his car into Stake. However, he missed and struck the outside wall. Farlling would not be denied his revenge as he then drove down the front stretch and into turn 4 where he did his best Monster Jam impression by ramming and driving up onto Stake’s hood. He did not stop there. He backed it off his hood and then ran over his left front fender.
Stake then quickly exited his car and began throwing his hands at Farlling, who remained in the cockpit of his vehicle. Stake was eventually pulled away from Farlling by track officials, and the two began exchanging words when Farlling climbed from his car.
Farlling was initially suspended by Port Royal for the rest of 2025 and the entire 2026 season. The track stated, “After a thorough review of the events and in accordance with Port Royal Speedway’s Personal Conduct Rules, it was determined that Mr. Farlling used his race car in an aggressive and dangerous manner, violating the track’s standards for driver safety and sportsmanship. The incident involved actions deemed by track officials as using a race car as a weapon — an egregious offense that the speedway takes with the utmost seriousness.”
It then added that he was “banned from all racing activity at Port Royal Speedway for the remainder of the 2025 season and the entirety of the 2026 season.” It also shared that he was issued a fine although the amount was not disclosed, but it must be paid at the start of the 2027 season if he wants to compete. The fine will be donated to the York County Racing Club’s Injured Driver’s Fund.”
BAPS Motor Speedway then announced that it too had banned Farlling for the incident at Port Royal. The track’s General Manager Kolten Grouse stated, “Our top priority is safety at our speedway not just for our competitors but for our fans as well as our employees. We continue to support our fellow speedways and uphold the suspension at BAPS Motor Speedway.”
He was then banned from York County Speedway, Clinton County Speedway, Lincoln Speedway, and Williams Grove Speedway.
In an interview with Turn 5 Turn Around on Facebook, Farlling shared, “We got together over there in 1 and 2 and from the driver seat, kinda from what I seen it, it just looked like I kinda got used up coming in there in 1 and 2. And I didn’t know he hit the wall. We had an incident at another track and it was kinda in the back of my head. It wasn’t anything that really should have had anything to do with it. And I lost my cool. I shouldn’t have. Went back to retaliate. And looking back at it now, I mean, I wish I would have just kinda stopped, took a breath for a minute, thought about it before doing it. We met over there coming off 4. The exchange happened. But should have stopped and took a minute before acting the way I did.”
As for Stake, who was also interviewed by Turn 5 Turn Around, he shared, “I made a mistake off of 4 and then I went into 1 and made another mistake. I mean the contact’s definitely all on me. I hit the inside fence and came up the racetrack. I know from his perspective-. I understand. We can’t see in these cars very good. He had no idea that I hit the inside fence, but I did and it just shoved me up the racetrack and into him and caused him to turn. I feel bad for tearing his stuff up plus everyone else that was involved. I’ll take full responsibility on the wreck. I just went in there, hit the wall, and went up the racetrack.”
Ahead of the interview, Farlling stated, “At the end of the day it comes down between Dillan and I and we would just love for this to be put to rest. I have reflected on this situation a lot from when it happened and I do not have any intention of ever having something like that re-occur.”
And while he’s been banned at six tracks, it has not stopped him from racing. He competed at Path Valley Speedway in his Limited Late Model and finished in third behind Trent Merkel and Gunner Walls. On Sunday, following the race he thanked his sponsors and friends who have stuck with him as well as “the tracks who gave me a second chance to redeem myself.”
He added, “I love this sport, and I plan to make a better example for it from here on out.”
What do you make of Farlling’s comments?
0 Comments