Taylor Ferns has only raced with the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association (OVSCA) a handful of times this season, but she has been a contender each and every time she has hit the track with the group. She was victorious at Southern Ohio Speedway on May 6 and nearly returned to the winner's circle at I-77 Raceway Park on July 11, finishing second. In four OVSCA starts, the 18-year-old has an average finish of fourth. Ferns will return to action with the series this weekend at I-77 Raceway Park and Ohio Valley Speedway, after taking last weekend off.
Ferns will open the pair of races in the Jimmy's Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim on Friday, August 8 at I-77 Raceway Park in Ripley, West Virginia. She will wrap up the weekend at Ohio Valley Speedway in Washington, West Virginia on Saturday, August 9.
“After having last weekend off and rain the weekend before, I am pretty anxious to get back to the track this week,” said Ferns. “It’s kind of like riding a bike and you pick it up pretty quickly when you climb back in the car after a couple of weeks break. We were decent at both tracks we are going to this week, the last time we were at them, so hopefully we can improve on that and finish a few spots further up.”
In her debut at I-77 Raceway Park last month, Ferns qualified second-fastest. In the main event, she inherited the top spot, after the two leaders were involved in an incident. Ferns led for a number of laps, before being passed by eventual winner Chris Myers with five laps remaining. She crossed the line second.
“We had a great car at I-77 Raceway [Park] last time we were there and I feel like I just kind of gave the race away,” said Ferns. “As long as we can run up front this week, I think we’ll be in contention. The key is running hard the whole race, especially while running at the front.”
At Ohio Valley Speedway, Ferns took the checkered flag sixth on July 12. She was fourth-quickest in time trials and ran second in the second heat race at the three-eighths-mile.
“Ohio Valley Speedway is kind of like two drag strips and two really tight turns,” she explained. “I was hesitant about getting in the corners there, so this time, I have to trust the wing. My crew chief tells me all the time to trust the wing and let the down force help get me through the corners. If I do that, I think we’ll be a lot better than we were there last time.”
The 2011 USAC D1 Midget Series champion made her most recent start on July 19 at Butler Motor Speedway in her home state of Michigan, coming home sixth. The night before she competed at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio, crossing the line 13th against a very strong field of F.A.S.T. (Fremont/Attica Sprint Title) competitors. Ferns was scheduled to compete at Fremont Speedway in Ohio on July 26, but that event was rained out. Last week was a scheduled weekend off.
Ferns has competed exclusively in 410-winged sprint cars this season, after opened the season with a couple of Midget and Silver Crown races. She has earned seven top-10 finishes, with three of those being top-five performances. Ferns will continue to run a “true Outlaw” schedule of 410-winged sprint car races for the remainder of the season in the Ohio/West Virginia/Michigan area.
Taylor Ferns and Ferns Racing would like to thank their valued partners: Jimmy’s Towing Recovery & Transport, Indy Race Parts, Motor City Auto Transport Inc., National Auto Placement, Project Podium, Women’s Sports Foundation, Lyn St. James Women in the Winner's Circle Foundation, FK Rod Ends, Lucas Oil, K&N Filters, Lansing Sanitary Supply (LSS), Simpson Race Products, ButlerBuilt, Allstar Performance, Stanton Racing Engines, Hoosier Tire Midwest, Race4Girls and Racing2Cure.
- Lori Whitted on Aug 06, 2014
- Article Date: 8/6/2014 by F.A.S.T. Public Relations