SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. — June 6, 2014 — Michigan may be home for Taylor Ferns, but Ohio is certainly becoming a “home away from home” for the 18-year-old open wheel driver. Honing her skills in the 410-winged sprint car ranks in 2014, she has made a handful of trips to the Buckeye State already this season and will make another this weekend for a pair of races.
Ferns will open the weekend on Friday, June 6 at Southern Ohio Speedway in Wheelersburg. She will then head to Skyline Speedway in Stewart, Ohio on Saturday, June 7. Both events will be sanctioned by the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association (OVSCA).
“Racing twice in a weekend helps you get into and stay in a rhythm,” said Ferns. “I definitely enjoy getting to race as much as I can. If I could race every day, I certainly would. Racing once a week can be tough, because you then go back home and sit for a week. Racing the winged car this year, getting as many laps as I can has been the key and I continue to get more comfortable each time I am in the car.”
Ferns, who pilots the Jimmy’s Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim, will be visiting Southern Ohio Speedway for the first time in her career. The high-banked four-tenths-mile is located in Warrensburg, Ohio, east of Portsmouth.
“Going to a place like Southern Ohio (Speedway) for the first time, I have watching videos online and also some of the GoPro footage we have from our races this year,” she explained. “Those are great tools to prepare for a track you’ve never seen and be able to compare it to places you have been once you get there. Watching the on-board footage also helps my crew chief in setting up the car, as he’ll notice some things from the video.”
The winningest female driver in USAC history has made three appearances in a 410-winged sprint car at Skyline Speedway in her career. All three of those starts came 2010, with a best feature event finish of 13th. Skyline is a high-banked three-eighths-mile, near the West Virginia border.
“Skyline (Speedway) usually gets pretty dry/slick, so that’s something we have to be prepared for,” said Ferns. “We encountered that last week at Atomic (Speedway). The few times I raced there when I was younger it was always slick and I’ve heard it still goes that way as the night goes on. We’ll do everything we can to have a set-up that will work in those conditions.”
Last weekend at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, Ferns just missed qualifying for the main event, with a record field of 37 cars in attendance. She opened the night by coming home sixth in the first heat race, with the top-four transferring to the A-feature. Ferns finished fourth in the second B-main, coming up just two spots short of earning a spot in the main event.
The native of Shelby Township, Michigan, has competed in five 410-winged sprint car events in 2014. She finished a season-best third, after leading laps in the main event at Butler Motor Speedway, in her home state on May 10. Ferns finished sixth on May 3 at Atomic Speedway, marking her best showing in Ohio thus far in 2014. She also paced the field for several laps in her debut at Attica Raceway Park last month.
Ferns is scheduled to compete in numerous 410-winged sprint car races this season in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. She also will contest the full Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series, as well as race in select Honda USAC National Midget Series Dirt Championship events.
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.
Keep up to date
For the latest news, results and information on Taylor Ferns and Ferns Racing and to view a full 2014 schedule, visit TaylorFerns.com. Follow Taylor on Twitter at @TaylorFerns and like her on Facebook
