Taylor Ferns finished competed last weekend in the inaugural event for the Renegade Sprint Series at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio. On Aug. 23, She timed in fourth-fastest of the 38 entries, and followed that up by finishing fourth in the fourth heat race to earn a spot in the dash, where she crossed the line fifth. She ran as high as third during the main event, and was running in the top five when contact with another car late in the race put her in the wall, ending her night.
The following night, the Shelby Township resident traveled north to Mercer Raceway Park in Western Pennsylvania for an event with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. She ended up 19th in the main event, after timing in 18th-fastest and finishing sixth in the third heat race.
“We had a really strong car at Atomic last weekend and it was unfortunate to get taken out how we did, because I think we had a top-three car,” Ferns told Ferns Racing PR. “I had people come up to me after the race and say that people knew we were there. It was tough not getting the finish we were hoping for, but we showed what we can do and hopefully we can carry a little of that into this weekend.”

Taylor Ferns plans to drive a winged sprint car at a pair of race tracks this weekend. She is to compete in the Renegade Sprint Series at Atomic Speedway in Chillocothe, Ohio, on Saturday, and in the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions at Mercer Raceway Park in western Pennsylvania on Sunday.
Last weekend at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio, Ferns finished sixth in the third heat race, coming up one spot short of transferring into the main event, which put her in the B-main. The Shelby Township resident finished fourth in the B-main to earn a spot in the feature, but had a valve break on the engine, which prevented her from being able to take the green flag in the A-feature.

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 is scheduled to race a winged sprint car at I-77 Raceway Park and Ohio Valley Speedway this weekend. The Shelby Township resident is to drive the Jimmy's Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim on Friday at I-77 Raceway Park in Ripley, West Virginia. The 18-year-old then plans to wrap up the weekend at Ohio Valley Speedway.
“After having last weekend off and rain the weekend before, I am pretty anxious to get back to the track this week,” Ferns told Ferns Racing PR. “It’s kind of like riding a bike and you pick it up pretty quickly when you climb back in the car after a couple of weeks break."
In her debut at I-77 Raceway Park last month, Ferns qualified second-fastest. In the main event, she inherited the top spot, after the two leaders were involved in an incident. Ferns led for a number of laps, before being passed by eventual winner Chris Myers with five laps remaining. She crossed the line second.
At Ohio Valley Speedway, Ferns took the checkered flag sixth on July 12. She was fourth-quickest in time trials and ran second in the second heat race at the three-eighths-mile.
Ferns has competed exclusively in 410-winged sprint cars this season, after opening the season with a couple of midget and U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown races. She has earned seven top-10 finishes, with three of those being top-five performances.

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.”

Kody Swanson won the Hoosier Hundred, a USAC Silver Crown sprint car event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 22. Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township was unable to qualify for the feature race after the motor in her vehicle blew up during practice. Swanson is the Silver Crown season points leader after three events, two of which he has won. The Californian has 180 points, and runner-up Tracy Hines has 168.

Kody Swanson won the Hoosier Hundred, a USAC Silver Crown sprint car event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 22. Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township was unable to qualify for the feature race after the motor in her vehicle blew up during practice. Swanson is the Silver Crown season points leader after three events, two of which he has won. Swanson has 180 points, and runner-up Tracy Hines has 168.

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.”

After nearly four full years between starts in a 410-winged sprint car, Taylor Ferns looked like a veteran last weekend at Atomic Speedway in Ohio, aboard one of the nearly 900-hp machines. She was leading her heat race until a mechanical problem forced her to the pit area, and then blasted through the field during the main event, passing 11 cars, according to Ferns Racing.
The high school senior looks to build on that foundation this weekend, as she makes her second winged start of the season in the Jimmy's Towing/Indy Race Parts Maxim. Ferns will visit Skyline (Ohio) Speedway for an event with the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association on Saturday, May 3.
“It feels great to be back in a winged sprint car,” said Ferns. “I kind of had forgotten what it felt like to be in a winged car, especially with other cars around, since it had been so long since I’d raced one. I had been wanting to race a winged sprint car for a while and it is great to be back in the seat.”
The native of Shelby Township  made three appearances at Skyline Speedway in a 410-winged sprint car in 2010, with a best feature event finish of 13th. Skyline is a high-banked three-eighths-mile, located in Stewart, Ohio.
“The one thing I really remember about Skyline (Speedway) is that it gets dry/slick pretty fast and stays that way all night long,” she said. “The key is to be prepared to race on a slick race track. I’ll have to be patient and get used to passing cars and getting through traffic. It kind of worked out starting at the back last week, because I was able to be in traffic quite a bit and get re-acclimated to it. The closing rate in winged cars is so fast, due to the horsepower, so that definitely took a little getting used to again.”
Last weekend at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, Ferns was 10th-fastest in time trials of the 24 entries at the high-banked, third-mile. She was leading the second heat race when the crank trigger on the engine broke, leading to some repairs prior to the main event. She lined up on the inside of the 11th row for the A-Feature and steadily worked her way through a solid field of cars to finish 11th.
 

Taylor Ferns finished fourth and sixth in heat races at the Kokomo Grand Prix, a USAC Honda Midget Series doubleheader at Kokomo Speedway last weekend.
Ferns, of Shelby Township, finished 16th in a semifinal race.
Rico Abreu of St. Helena, Calif., won both feature races in a Toyota.

Here is the schedule for the 2014 USAC Silver Crown Series for sprint cars. Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township plans to run the entire schedule.

April 6, Terre Haute, IN/Terre Haute Action Track (Kody Swanson winner)

May 17, Indianapolis, IN/Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis

May 22, Indianapolis, IN/Indiana State Fairgrounds

June 14, Madison, IL/Gateway Motorsports Park

June 29, Millington, TN/Memphis International Raceway

July 24, Indianapolis, IN/Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis

August 1, Belleville, KS/Belleville High Banks

August 16, Springfield, IL/Illinois State Fairgrounds

August 31, DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin State Fairgrounds

September 20, Rossburg, OH/Eldora Speedway

October 11, Syracuse, NY/New York State Fairgrounds

Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif., won the Sumar Classic, a USAC Silver Crown Series presented by Traxxas race at Terre Haute Action Track in Indiana on April 6.

Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township qualified 18^th and finished 19^th in the 100-lap sprint car feature on the half-mile dirt track.

Fastest qualifier Tracy Hines finished second and Jerry Coons Jr. third.

Ferns plans to run the full Silver Crown schedule this season in the No. 35 Motor City Transport Inc. Beast that features a Toyota engine.

Taylor Ferns had never raced a full-bodied stock car on a one-mile dirt oval prior to last  weekend, In fact, she had raced only once on dirt in any kind of race vehicle, in a Silver Crown machine back in May.

That did not seem to bother the 17-year-old for Shelby Township, who earned a pair of top-10 finishes at the one-mile dirt oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds last weekend. Ferns finished ninth with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in the Allen Crowe 100 and came home 10th in the Tony Bettenhausen 100 with the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series.
“The Springfield Mile is a pretty unique track and I really enjoyed racing there,” Ferns said in a release from her race team. “It was a lot of fun and I think our results showed that. We feel like we are finally getting our luck turned around this year and have had some solid finishes lately. Racing twice definitely helped and both races were just about at the same time each day, so we kind of knew what to expect weather-wise and track condition-wise.”
Ferns took to the mile oval for the Allen Crowe 100 for the ARCA Series on Sunday, Aug. 18, beginning the day with a practice session in the morning, followed by qualifying. She turned the fifth-fastest lap in time trials of the 33 entrants, but had to start the rear of the field following an accident after her qualifying lap, with the team making quick repairs before the drop of the green flag.Starting at the rear of the 33-car field, Ferns quickly began her march forward in the No. 55 Motor City Transport Inc./National Auto Placement Toyota for Venturini Motorsports. She worked her way into the top-20 in the first half of the 100-lap event and found herself among the top 15 as the race wore on. She made a trio of pit stops, with her crew continually making adjustments on her car. Ferns crossed the finish line 11th; following a late race restart that extended the race to 104 laps, and gained two more positions after a couple of drivers were penalized for jumping the final restart. The ninth-place finish matched her best ARCA finish of the season.
Ferns  has a pair of ARCA top-10 finishes this year in a limited number of starts. She is scheduled to compete in three more races with the series this season, including on another one-mile dirt oval, as well as on the pavement at Iowa and Kentucky speedways.
In the Tony Bettenhausen 100 for the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series on Saturday, Ferns lined up 16th and worked her way forward, finishing 10th, earning her second straight top-10 finish with the series.

Taylor Ferns on Friday makes her fourth start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards when she competes in the ModSpace 150 at Pocono Raceway.

The Shelby Township resident will drive the No. 55 Motor City Auto Transport Toyota stock car for Venturini Motorsports.

The 17-year-old will become the youngest female driver to start a race in the top ARCA series, according to the VMS Web site.

“My first start on an intermediate track is going to be a learning process,” Ferns said. “I’m so used to the technical aspects of short-track racing. Carrying those high speeds into the corners here at Pocono with the heavier car will be the biggest difference and challenge for me this weekend. However, coming from open wheel I’m prepared and confident for what’s to come.”

The race will be televised at 5:15 p.m. on SPEED television.