SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich.—July 25, 2013 — Taylor Ferns has only raced three times at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis during her young career, but she knows the track like the back of her hand. She has turned countless laps in testing at the 0.686-mile paved oval over the last few years in three different types of race cars, including a Silver Crown car and a Midget. She’ll have a chance to race those two types of machines this weekend in a doubleheader at the historic track with both the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series and the Honda USAC National Midget Series.
As part of the doubleheader at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Ferns will compete in the J.D. Byrider 100 for the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series on Saturday, July 27. Time trials will precede the main event to determine the starting field. The 2011 USAC D1 Midget Series champion will also compete with the USAC Honda National Midget Series that same night, contesting the 30-lap Rich Vogler Classic, which follows time trials and a pair of scrambles to set the grid.
“Getting to race both cars on the same day is always good, because it gives me twice as many laps on the track,” said Ferns. “We were fast in both cars at Pikes Peak (International Raceway) last month and had some bad luck running out of fuel in the Silver Crown race, so hopefully we can make up for that. We’ve found a few things in the midget since the last time we raced at Lucas Oil Raceway, so that should help as well.”
Ferns raced at Lucas Oil Raceway in her family-owned No. 55 Motor City Transport Inc. Beast earlier this season in the Night Before the 500 on May 27. The 17-year-old finished 13th in that feature event, on a night that was plagued by rain, but all 30 laps of the race were completed. Earlier in the night, she finished seventh in the second scramble. Ferns opened the evening by timing in 17th-fastest in qualifying.
“We had a few things we were battling with the car earlier in the year at the pavement midget races that we have figured out now,” Ferns noted. “Now we can focus on making the most of the laps we’ll have in practice in the afternoon and really work on race set-up for the qualifying race and the feature. We were able to move forward and consistently run up front last race and we’ll look to do that again and hopefully get a finish that we can be proud of.”
In her most recent start with the Honda USAC National Midget Pavement Championship, Ferns finished a career-best fifth at Pikes Peak International Raceway, after qualifying ninth. She worked her way into the top-five just past the halfway point of that 30-lapper on the one-mile paved oval. Ferns has made four midget starts on the pavement this year, with the first pair of those coming at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida in February.
“Earning a top-five finish at Pikes Peak (International Raceway) definitely boosted my confidence,” shared the native of Shelby Township, Mich. “We showed what we are capable of at Pikes Pike, especially in the midget race. Anytime you can go into a race carrying a little bit of momentum that can go a long way. We haven’t had a lot of pavement races lately, so it will be good to get back in both cars this weekend.”
With the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series in 2013, the winningest female driver in USAC history, has made a pair of starts for Team 6R Racing in the No. 35. On the pavement, she competed at Pikes Peak last month, finishing 11th after running as high as third, before running out of fuel in the late going. Ferns made her first-career start on the dirt with the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis in May. She raced at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis last season with the Silver Crown Series, coming home 15th in the 100-lap event.
“Lucas Oil Raceway is not quite as big as Pike Peak (International), but it is a bigger track, and some of what worked there in the Silver Crown car should work this weekend,” she shared. “I’m getting used to the bigger tracks in the Silver Crown car and you definitely have to approach the tracks and those types of cars different than you do a midget.”
Ferns has also raced three times on the pavement this season with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. She finished ninth in her debut in the series back in March at Mobile International Speedway in Alabama, after qualifying among the top-five. She also took to the track at Toledo Speedway in Ohio with ARCA and Elko Speedway in Minnesota. Ferns has four more ARCA races on her schedule this season, including next weekend at Pocono (Pa) Raceway.
Entering the Rich Vogler Classic for the Honda USAC National Midget Pavement Championship, Ferns is 10th in points. She is just nine points out of the ninth position. A total of eight races comprise the Honda USAC National Midget Pavement Championship campaign in 2013.
Taylor Ferns and Ferns Racing would like to thank their valued partners: Motor City Auto Transport Inc., National Auto Placement, FK Rod Ends, Lucas Oil, K&N Filters, Lansing Sanitary Supply (LSS), Simpson Race Products, Indy Race Parts, ButlerBuilt, Allstar Performance,Stanton Racing Engines, Hoosier Tire Midwest, 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 2013 schedule, visit TaylorFerns.com. Follow Taylor on Twitter at @TaylorFerns and like her on Facebook.
