“I wouldn’t be here without him, so it’s all thanks to him,” he said.
The 22-year-old was speaking not about his Bathurst 1000-winning father Paul, but another Gold Coaster; highly successful businessman turned hobby racer Scott Taylor.
Taylor has campaigned a variety of cars in eye-catching black and green STM colours since selling his fleet leasing business for “a few hundred million” just over a decade ago.
Morris’ Tickford Racing Super2 Mustang carries the STM livery in recognition of Taylor’s role in largely funding an opportunity that could propel the youngster to a professional career.
It’s the latest step in Morris Jr’s somewhat unconventional path that started just six years ago, without any karting background to speak of.
While the Morris family is widely known to be among Queensland’s wealthiest, Taylor is full of praise for Nash’s work ethic and eager to help him achieve his own dreams.
“I’m 62 now and I want to be involved in motor racing and contribute to motor racing because I love motor racing,” Taylor told Speedcafe.
“I’m driving a SuperUte at the moment, an Aussie Racing Car, and I’ll drive the Tin Tops in Darwin, but there’ll be a point in which I’m not going to hop in a race car.
“My son and my daughter are not interested in motor racing at all, but I love it and have my whole life and want a good reason to go to the races.
“Nash is really at the right age to be going forward to the next step in Supercars and I’ve always wanted to link myself with someone who is professional and comes from good stock.
“Yes, the Morris family can probably afford anything they want, but they don’t just give away money.
“[Grandfather] Terry has probably still got his first two bob and I respect him for that. He’s a businessman.
“Running these programs is not cheap but if I can contribute and be part of a good story, which I trust it will be ultimately with Nash in the main game, that will tick a box for me.
“If his career goes for some time, it’ll allow me to attend the races and be part of a good story, rather than just throwing money here, there and everywhere.”
Although spending considerable money on the Super2 program, Taylor declared he’s not one of the parties in negotiations with Tickford to buy into the team.
He hopes that Morris, who is believed to be set for a Supercars Endurance Cup berth with PremiAir Racing, can find an opportunity in the main game on his own terms.
“His talent will demonstrate that he is worthy of the main game. But to get there, all the racing that he’s doing doesn’t come for nothing,” Taylor explained.
“You need money to prop it up until you get to that point where someone goes, ‘this kid has got a bit of talent, and we can give him a drive’.”
Morris ran two Super2 seasons with his family’s Paul Morris Motorsport team in 2022 and ’23, struggling as a single-car outfit against the bigger, professional squads.
A year in an STM Carrera Cup Porsche followed before the leap back into Super2 this year, which Taylor says is a critical one for the youngster.
“This is the year he really has to shine in Super2,” he said of Morris, who is also competing in the GT4 Australia series with TekworkX and the Trans Am Series with PMM.
“He’s been going at it for a while now, so he’s got to step up and decide whether he’s going to be a race car driver or just runs Norwell and becomes a businessperson.
“The discussions I’ve had with him are, ‘come on mate, you’re 22 now, we’ve really got to take this Super2 thing by the throat’.
“Whether that culminates in the main game next year I don’t know, but you’d want to be right up the pointy end being recognised and be on people’s list this year and maybe next year.”
Separate to the Tickford program, Taylor and Paul Morris compete as a two-car team in the SuperUtes Series aboard a pair of Ford Rangers.
Although both Rangers are owned by Taylor, they are prepared out of separate workshops – one from STM and the other from Norwell – and brought together on race weekends.
Taylor says it allows him to benefit from Paul’s racing experience, while also giving ‘The Dude’ a welcome distraction while following Nash’s progress.
“I can imagine it can be difficult having a father/son team. Paul and I discussed this, the best thing to do was just to separate them at the racetrack,” said Taylor.
“We all hang out in the same truck and everything else, it’s nothing sinister, but Nash works in a team (Tickford) with his own guys, there’s four kids there all sharing and working together.
“In Tasmania three of them locked out the podium, which shows it’s working for them.”
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