LATEST
SNIPPET
ARCA Racing Series driver debuts at
Menards with Venturini Motorsports
Underconstruction.
Direct link to
this page -
http://bit.ly/ZfYlTr
|
Profile
Snippets
News
Rookie Taylor Ferns
anxious for ARCA debut with Venturini
Motorsports support at Mobile
Results
Schedule
Related Issue:
Women
Racers
Directory,
Women
in Racing,
Women
Racers,
More
Women in
Racing,
Race
Schedules,
Notable
Women
Contact: E-Mail, Web site
Profile
Hometown: Shelby Township, Mich
Competition: ARCA, USAC Midget and
Silver Crown cars
Snippets
News
Rookie Taylor Ferns anxious
for ARCA debut with Venturini Motorsports support
at Mobile
Much of 17-year-old Taylor Ferns' racing background
is in open-wheel cars, which should come as no
surprise considering her position as the all-time
leading feature winner among women in United States
Auto Club (USAC) history.
That's not stopping the Shelby Township, Mich.
driver and high school honor student from feeling
confident about her ARCA Racing Series presented by
Menards debut with Venturini Motorsports, though.
Ferns will drive the team's No. 55 Motor City Auto
Transport Toyota at Mobile International Speedway
Saturday, and knows she has the resources to be a
contender in the ARCA Mobile 200, her first ARCA
race.
"I'm really excited and I'm really anxious to
get into the car," Ferns said. "I can't wait for my
first ARCA race. I know that I have a lot of good
people looking out for me, people who have already
been through this. I have a great support system
behind me and I think we're going to have a good
race if everything pans out right. I'm just really
excited."
Ferns joined her Venturini teammates in testing
at Mobile last weekend, her first appearance at the
track. While racing an ARCA car is a strict
departure from her time in USAC Midget and Silver
Crown cars, among others, she feels comfortable
making her first ARCA appearance at the
high-banked, half-mile oval.
"I think the track is a lot of fun. It's
definitely different from the tracks I'm used to
racing on, and especially being in a stock car and
my first race in an ARCA car, I think it's a
perfect track to have my first race on. We got a
lot of laps in (while testing). My first run going
out, I was trying to get used to it. The last
session we did was our mock qualifying run with
sticker tires. I just need to get used to sitting
on the left rather than in the middle."
Ferns, the USAC Mopar D1 midget champion in
2011, spent a week at Daytona International
Speedway last month getting more familiar with the
Venturini team, the same week that Venturini driver
John Wes Townley won the Lucas Oil 200, the team's
first win at the track in over three decades. Ferns
found herself enjoying the Venturini camaraderie
and looking forward to driving for the team. She
also tested for the team at Daytona back in
December, finishing in the top five overall for the
weekend and leading a session on the second
day.
"(General manager) Billy (Venturini) and the
whole Venturini team have always been there. We
always work together and reflect off of each other.
It's teamwork, and it helps that you have a really
big support system."
Specifically among drivers, Ferns said Brennan
Poole - a four-time ARCA winner for Venturini - has
been helpful in her transition.
"He's been through the motions before; he's been
to a lot of the tracks," Ferns said of Poole. "He
ran the full season last year, so he's helped me
out a lot. (Current teammate) Justin Boston and I
go back and forth about how our cars are working
and how we can adapt better. Since this is his
first season in an ARCA car, we can learn together
and grow together as drivers."
Ferns is not ruling out a top-five finish.
"The most obvious goal is to finish, but I would
not rule out a top-five or a top-10. I want that
for team and for the sponsors. Everyone at
Venturini Motorsports has worked so hard for this,
and I don't want to let them down. I'm going to do
what I can to get up front and stay there. Most of
all, I'm hoping to gain stock car experience, be
consistent, and get a good solid finish. Kevin
Caldwell (crew chief/right) has just been awesome
to work with."
In all, Ferns plans to make seven starts in the
ARCA Racing Series this year, following her Mobile
effort with entries at Toledo, Elko, and Iowa
Speedways. She will also race at larger tracks such
as Pocono Raceway and Kentucky Speedway, and
compete in the Labor Day dirt race at the DuQuoin
State Fairgrounds. First things are first, though,
and Ferns is completely focused on delivering more
success for Venturini Motorsports in Mobile,
Ala.
Two 45-minute practices are scheduled for Friday
at Mobile International Speedway, beginning at 2:30
and 4:15 p.m. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by
Ansell is scheduled for that evening, at 7 p.m.
Ferns and the rest of the ARCA Racing Series field
will participate in an on-track autograph session
at noon Saturday, just before the 200-lap, 100-mile
race at 2 p.m. All times listed are Central.
Source: www.arcaracing.com/news.php?contentid=15011
Results
USAC Mopar D1 midget champion in 2011
Schedule
ARCA Racing Series - 2013
Mobile
Toledo
Elko
Iowa Speedways
Pocono Raceway
Kentucky Speedway,
Quoin State Fairgrounds
* * *
WomenInRacing.org
| Contact
Us
©1996-2023 by Gordon
Clay
|