Shelby Township, Mich.—Oct. 18, 2012 — When listing some of her favorite race tracks, Taylor Ferns is quick to mention Kokomo Speedway. The Northern Indiana oval holds a special to place to her, after she raced wheel-to-wheel for the lead with open wheel legend Dave Darland for a number of laps at the track last season, turning many heads and gaining a great deal of respect in the process. She’ll return to the quarter-mile bullring for the second time in 2012 this week for the Sixth Annual Kokomo Klash.
The open wheel portion of the Kokomo Klash, which will feature midgets and sprint cars is set for Friday, October 19. The night will open for Ferns aboard her family-owned No. 55 Dea Eyewear Spike with hot laps, followed by heat races and a main event.
“Kokomo is always a fun track to race at,” said Ferns. “I’ve had some good runs there and always feel pretty comfortable when I climb in the car at Kokomo. We’re really looking to end the season on a high note, so hopefully we can continue to improve upon what we’ve been doing and have a good finish this week at Kokomo.”
Ferns, the 2011 USAC Mopar D1 Midget Series champion, has made one start at Kokomo this season, with that coming during Indiana Midget Week with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series. She qualified 12th in that event with a strong 34-car field in attendance. The high-school junior finished fifth in the fourth 10-lap heat race that night, coming up just one spot short of transferring to the 30-lap main event, and ended the night in the B-main.
“We learned a lot during the Midget Week race at Kokomo and will try to use all of that on Friday night,” she noted. “It always helps racing at a track a couple of times each season and you go back the second time and feel a little more comfortable. Hopefully we find a few things this weekend that we can use next year when we go back for the Midget Week event as well.”
Last season, the 16-year-old raced twice at Kokomo with the USAC Mopar D1 Midget Series, finishing fourth and eighth in those two starts. In July, she led 17 laps and had a spirited battle with veteran and multi-time USAC champion Dave Darland for the majority of that race, coming home fourth after recovering from a late-race spin. The winningest female in USAC history recorded another solid run at the track last fall with an eighth-place finish in the 25-lap main event for the USAC D1 Series, with all seven of the drivers that finished ahead of her being veterans of all three USAC National Series, including champions Tracy Hines and Jerry Coons Jr. Ferns opened that night with a fourth-place showing in the second eight-lap heat race.
“With Kokomo being such a small track, you always have to be alert and ready,” she explained. “Thinking things through is important and sometimes you have to kind of slow yourself down on a track like that to go faster. The smaller tracks are definitely challenging and you really have to be on your game and make sure you are concentrating every lap as well to hit your marks.”
Ferns has spent a large portion of this season competing in a midget on the dirt. She contested the full Indiana Midget Week for the first time in her career with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series, visiting five tracks in five nights across the Hoosier state. She also made her debut at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio last month during the 4-Crown Nationals, finishing just outside of the Top-10 in 11th.
“Having run on bigger tracks the last few races should help at Kokomo, especially if the track is fast,” Ferns said. “If it gets slick and slows down you have to drive it a little different, but a lot of things I learned at the bigger tracks the last few weeks still can be applied when I’m behind the wheel. We’ll see what the track’s like come Friday night and adapt and adjust from there.”
The 16-year-old has also has raced in 2012 with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series as well as the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association. On the pavement, she competed in four events in a late model with the JEGS CRA All-Stars Tour and made three starts with the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series, finishing among the Top-10 in her debut with each of those series.
The native of Shelby Township Mich., made her most recent pair of starts at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., during the 4th Gold Crown Midget Nationals. The middle day of the marquee event was rained out, making it a two-night contest.
Taylor Ferns and Ferns Racing would like to thank their valued partners: Dea Eyewear, eBay Motors, FK Rod Ends, Frameworks Marketing Group, Lucas Oil, K&N Filters, Lansing Sanitary Supply (LSS), Simpson Race Products, Indy Race Parts, ButlerBuilt, Allstar Performance, Stanton Mopar, Lyn St. James Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation, Race4Girls and Racing2Cure.
Keep up to date
For the latest news, results and information on Taylor Ferns and Ferns Racing and to view a full 2012 schedule, visitwww.TaylorFerns.com. Follow Taylor on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TaylorFerns or @TaylorFerns and on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Taylor-Ferns/116543998373.
