Taylor Ferns, whose recent 410-winged sprint car race schedule has been repeatedly interrupted by rain,  looks to put that behind her this weekend at Northwest Ohio at Attica Raceway Park.
Ferns will be in action with the Fremont Attica Sprint Title (F.A.S.T.) on Saturday in the Jimmy’s Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim. The racing program will begin with hot laps, followed by time trials, heat races and a 30-lap feature.
“I've been at the race shop helping out every day, so that keeps me focused on it, even if we haven’t been on the track for a few weeks,” Ferns told Ferns Racing PR. “I’ve used a GoPro camera every race this year, so I’ve been going back and watching a lot of the races from earlier this year the last few weeks. Always thinking about racing and having it fresh in your mind is a good way to stay focused.”
Shelby Township resident Ferns, 18, has raced three times at Attica Raceway Park in 2014. She led laps in her debut at the 1/3-mile track on May 9 before a spin relegated her to a 14th-place finish. She finished third in her heat race that night. Ferns returned to Attica on the Fourth of July and came home 16th in the A-Feature. On July 18 at the high-banked bullring, she crossed the finish line 13th. She opened the night by recording the eighth-fastest lap in time trials of the 28 entries and then finished third in the second heat race.

Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township is scheduled to compete in three winged sprint car racing events in Ohio during the Fourth of July weekend.
She will open the trio of races aboard the Jimmy’s Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim on Thursday, July 3, at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, for the “Night the Stars Come Out” with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions.
She will then visit Attica Raceway Park on the Fourth of July, and will wrap up the weekend on Saturday at Fremont Speedway. Both of those races will be Fremont/Attica Sprint Title (F.A.S.T.) events.
“Racing with the All Stars (Circuit of Champions) you really have to be on your game, because you are racing against some of the best like Dale Blaney and Randy Hannagan,”  Ferns told Ferns Racing PR. “I’ve raced with them a couple times this year and have learned a ton every time I’ve been on the track, whether it’s been for hot laps a heat race or a feature. As a driver you always want to keep getting better, and racing against tough competition is a good way to do that.”

The more laps Taylor Ferns turns in a 410-winged sprint car, the faster she seems to get. The Shelby Township resident has improved on her finish in each of her first two starts this season in the high-horsepower machines, highlighted by a sixth-place run last weekend at Atomic Speedway in Ohio, according to Ferns Racing PR. Ferns looks to get twice as many laps in this weekend as she makes her debut at Attica Raceway Park and Brushcreek Motorsports Complex, both in Ohio.

Ferns will make her first start at Attica Raceway Park on Friday in the Jimmy’s Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim. She will follow that with her first appearance of the season with the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association (OVSCA) at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles on Saturday.

Attica Raceway Park, located in northwestern Ohio, is a high-banked third-mile. Brushcreek Motorsports Complex is a high-banked three-tenths-mile in southern Ohio.

“I’ve been to Attica (Raceway Park) a few times when I was younger to watch some races, but that was a long time ago,” said Ferns. “Since I’ve never been Brushcreek (Motorsports Complex), I was getting some pointers from Cole Duncan last weekend about the track, since he has raced there before. I’ve watched a few videos online this week to see both the tracks and what they are like and that should help a bit as well.”

Last weekend, after a last-minute decision to switch venues and race at Atomic Speedway in Ohio, Ferns qualified third-fastest among 21 entries. She finished second in the third heat race at the high-banked three-eighths-mile, after lining up fourth. In the main event, the 18-year-old started on the outside of the third row and ran as high as fourth, before crossing the line in sixth to record her best finish of the season.

“It seems like every time I get in the car I am getting more comfortable and have the confidence to try new things,” she said. “Going back to Atomic (Speedway) for the second week in a row last weekend really helped and I had a good idea of the tack. It’s hard to put into words how much fun I am having in the winged car right now. It’s been a blast.”