By Ferns Racing PR
Shelby Township, Mich.—November 8, 2012 —Nothing quite beats leaving the cold of the Midwest as winter begins to set in and heading somewhere warm and sunny, and for a racer to be able to compete at the same time, that’s the proverbial icing on the cake. Taylor Ferns will escape Michigan’s blustery fall weather this week as she heads to Arizona to make her debut at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, just outside of Phoenix. She will compete in the two-night Western Classic with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series aboard her family-owned No. 55 Dea Eyewear Spike.
Ferns will take to the track for the Western Classic on Friday, Nov. 9, for a full race program, beginning with hot laps, followed by time trials, heat races and a main event. The same format will be followed on Saturday, Nov. 10.
“I feel like I’ve had too many weeks off from racing and need to get back in the seat,” said Ferns. “I’m really looking forward to getting out to Phoenix and competing. I always enjoy racing out west, especially this time of the year when it’s cold back home.”
Canyon Speedway Park is semi-banked, three-eighths-mile dirt oval, and Ferns has competed on a pair of tracks that size this year in a midget. She made her first start of the season on a three-eighths-mile during Indiana Midget Week at the high-banked Lawrenceburg Speedway. The 2011 USAC Mopar D1 Midget Series champion also raced in the Gold Crown Midget Nationals at Tri-City Speedway in Illinois, which is another three-eighths-mile.
“Hopefully I can keep learning and improving every time I get in the car,” she shared. “Going to a new track, I’ll watch some videos from there online the night before, so they are fresh in my mind. We’ll take everything we can from the first night at Phoenix and apply it on the second night. It definitely helps having a couple of nights at the same track, especially a track that will be new for me.”
Ferns made her most recent start during the Kokomo Klash at Kokomo Speedway in Indiana, on October 21. With a stout field of cars in attendance, she finished eighth, running among the Top-Five for a large portion of the main event. The winningest female in USAC history opened the night by finishing fourth in the second heat race.
“We had a very strong car at Kokomo and probably should have finished better than we did, but it was a good race and we learned a lot from that,” stated the 16-year-old. “That was one of our stronger runs this year, so that should give us some momentum going into the race in Phoenix this weekend. I think that helps a lot, especially with my confidence.”
The native of Shelby Township, Mich., has made 17 appearances with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series schedule this season, with 10 of those starts coming on the dirt. Ferns has also raced with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series at five different tracks in Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin. In addition, the high-school junior has been in action with the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc.
Ferns has spent the majority of the 2012 season driving a midget, but also made her USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series debut at Iowa Speedway in June, finishing 10th in that contest. She made a total of three pavement Silver Crown starts for Team 6R. Ferns also made her first start in a full-bodied stock in April at Plymouth Speedway in Indiana, scoring a Top-10 finish.
“Our main goal this weekend in Phoenix is to get a couple of solid finishes,” said Ferns. “Each time we go on the track, we are always looking to improve. We really want to end the year on a strong note for everyone that is involved with our team.”
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.