From Ferns Racing PR
Shelby Township, Mich.—Dec. 5, 2012 — The 2012 season was all about learning for Taylor Ferns as continued her racing education. She competed in three different types of cars on both dirt and asphalt, acquiring seat time at a number of tracks and gaining priceless experience. The 16-year-old spent a large portion of the season competing on the dirt in her family-owned No. 55 Dea Eyewear midget, but also made her debut with the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series on the asphalt, as well as piloting a full-bodied pavement late model for the first time in her career.
“I was able to learn a lot of aspects of different race cars this year, which was great,” said Ferns. “Translating what I was learned in each of the cars to when I was raced one of the other cars helped quite a bit. There was a pretty big learning curve this past season and I think I’ll be able to apply a lot of that next season.”
Ferns, who claimed the 2011 USAC Mopar D1 Midget Series title, opened her 2012 campaign by competing in the famed Chili Bowl Midget Nationals for the first time in her career. A field of over 250 drivers was assembled, from a variety of racing disciplines. Ferns showed plenty of speed on the first preliminary night, starting seventh in her heat, and charging all the way up to third, and was about to make a two-car pass for the lead when the second-place car got together with the leader right in front of her, leaving her with nowhere to go. In the B-main, she started eighth and got up to fourth, and wound up finishing fifth, just one spot short of making the preliminary feature. In the finale, she used a solid fourth-place finish to transfer from the E-Main into the D-Main.
“Racing in the Chili Bowl was a great experience,” she shared. “I had really been looking forward to getting to race in that event for a couple of years. We had some bad luck out there, but learned quite a bit and hopefully we can use next month when we go back to the Chili Bowl.”
The native of Shelby Township, Mich., began her outdoor season with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series on the pavement at Ace Speedway in North Carolina, at the end of March. She qualified ninth for the finale of that two-day event, despite battling mechanical problems for most of the weekend.
Ferns would make her debut in a stock car in April at Plymouth Speedway in Indiana, finishing 10th in an event sanctioned by the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. She lined 22nd for the 100-lap event, which marked the longest race she had ever competed in, and steadily worked her way to the front, running as high as sixth at one point during the race. Ferns would follow that up with starts at the legendary Winchester Speedway in Indiana, Illiana Speedway, also in the Hoosier State and Columbus Speedway in Ohio.
“In a lot of ways, driving the late model was easier than the midget or Silver Crown car,” shared the young driver. “In an open wheel car you are constantly working the steering wheel and things happen quick. In a stock car, things happen a bit slower and more gradual. I think I adapted to the stock car pretty well and really enjoyed the races I was able to compete in.”
The high school junior made her debut with the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series in June at Iowa Speedway and came home 10th in a Toyota-powered entry for Team 6R Racing. Iowa Speedway, which measures seventh-eighths-mile around, was the biggest track that Ferns had ever competed on. She also made Silver Crown starts on the pavement at Toledo Speedway in Ohio and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. She pulled double duty in each of those three events, also competing with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series.
“The Silver Crown car is so much different than any other type of race car,” explained Ferns. “It was a thrill racing my first Silver Crown race at Iowa on a big track. I can’t thank Daryl Guiducci and Team 6R enough for the opportunity. To get to race for a team like that is certainly something I’ll always cherish.”
Ferns also took part in Indiana Midget Week for the first time. The mini-series took the USAC Mopar National Midget Series to five tracks in five nights across the Hoosier state. During that jaunt, she saw four tracks for the first time: Bloomington Speedway, Gas City I-69 Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and Lincoln Park Speedway.
The winningest female in USAC history scored her best-career USAC Mopar National Midget Series finish in early July on the pavement at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway, coming home 10th against a stout field of the best midget drivers in the world. She opened that event by timing in third, which was a career-best with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series. In the fall, Ferns made her first trip to the legendary Eldora Speedway in Ohio, for the 4-Crown Nationals. She finished 11th in her first main event at the high-banked half-mile.
“Being 16-years-old this year, I was able to go to the bigger tracks and get to race on them,” she noted. “I grew up watching races on a lot of the bigger track and it was really a dream come to true to get to go to places like Eldora this year. I really took everything in and it was a great experience going to so many new tracks this year.”
Late in the season, she took part in a number of marquee events aboard her No. 55 midget, including the Gold Crown Midget Nationals at Tri-City Speedway in Illinois. Ferns also raced in the Kokomo Klash at Kokomo Speedway, where she finished a very strong eighth, after running among the top-five for a large portion of that race. She then headed to Arizona to compete in the Western Classic at Canyon Speedway Park and wrapped up the 2012 season in the 72nd Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix at Perris Auto Speedway in California.
In addition to racing with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series, Ferns also took to the track in a midget with the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series and the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association.
Ferns and her team are currently preparing for the 2013 season, which will again see them open the year at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. The Chili Bowl is set for Jan. 8-12, at the QuikTrip Center in Tulsa, Okla.
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.