Ferns Looks to Continue Recent Success at Lucas Oil IRP
(Jack Kessler photo)
Sitting fifth in the 500 Sprint Car Tour Presented by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores points standings, Taylor Ferns will look to build on a strong start to the season as the series heads to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The barrier breaking racer, who is also enrolled in Law School, is going back to a track where she made USAC (United States Auto Club) history back in May of 2022. Competing in the Carb Night Classic, she piloted her USAC Silver Crown car to a third place finish. The highest finishing position in USAC Silver Crown history for a female, and the only female to finish on the podium in a USAC Silver Crown event.
A native of Shelby Township, Michigan, Ferns has spent the last 20 years of her life in a race car. Everything from midgets to sprint cars, dirt to pavement, stock cars to formula 2000, she has driven it all. She now primarily competes in the USAC Silver Crown series and is a full time participant in the new 500 Sprint Car Tour Presented by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores. The 500 Sprint Car Tour specializes in non wing pavement sprint cars, and has some of the best sprint car racers in history competing full-time in the series. With Ferns’ resume, she is no exception.
Taylor Ferns has a habit of being first. Whether that be on the racetrack, or in the history books. In 2008, she became the first female to win a USAC Kenyon Midget race and was also the rookie of the year for that series. One year later in 2009, Ferns became the first and only female to win at Joliet Memorial Stadium, and set the mark for most USAC wins in a single season by a female. At the age of 14, she became the youngest racer ever to win a sprint car race. She won a USAC Championship and became the winningest female in USAC history in 2011. Fast forward to 2022 and she has the most USAC Silver Crown starts by a female and holds multiple track records and wins across multiple disciplines. As the 500 Sprint Car Tour heads into its third race of its inaugural season, she will also look to be crowned the first series Champion.
In both of her two 500 Sprint Car Tour starts, Ferns has performed well and kept herself in the mix. With a sixth place finish at Plymouth Motor Speedway and a fifth place the following night at Berlin Raceway, she has positioned herself into fifth in the championship standings. On Thursday, June 30th the 500 Sprint Car Tour hits the road once again as they travel to Brownsburg, Indiana and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Park. Her last trip to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was her record setting night in the Carb Night Classic when she became the highest finishing female in USAC Silver Crown history, and also became the first female to finish on the podium in a USAC Silver Crown race.
As the 500 Sprint Car tour heads to a track where Ferns has shown to run well and be comfortable, she will no doubt be going into the night with a high level of confidence. Although there are differences between her Silver Crown car and the non-wing Sprint Car she will be running this Thursday, one thing that will remain the same is the racetrack. In the 2021 Thursday Night Thunder Reunion pavement sprint car race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Park, Ferns was running in the top 5 before contact was made with a lap car. She now has more laps and more experience on the famed oval, and will look to improve her finish from last year into her third top ten in a row to start the 500 Sprint Car Tour season.
Trailing championship leader Tyler Roahrig by only 58 points, Ferns has an opportunity to make a significant jump in the standings with a solid performance. A second straight podium finish at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will boost her into title consideration as the series heads into the summer months. A victory is not out of the question for Ferns as she has proven to be able to get her car to the front and keep it there. Dominating performances by Kody Swanson and Tyler Roahrig have seen the series have two different winners in its first two races. Ferns looks to keep that streak alive as she will attempt to be the third different winner in as many races.
The Thursday Night Thunder Homecoming event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will be this Thursday, June 30th. General Admission tickets are $25 and reserved seating is $35. All tickets will include all you can eat hot dogs, hamburgers, Pepsi products, Lays chips, water, and cookies. The on track action will feature the 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores, the National Pavement Midget Championship, and an exclusive 10-car USAC Silver Crown Shootout. All of the features can be seen live on MAVTV Network.