“It was a former Dave Steele car. And what is special about it is that the roll cage is shorter than most. Bob East only made a few of these frames,” Ferns said. “The Armstrongs got involved and I didn‘t know all of this. My dad was communicating with them. Craig and Neal Armstrong are the best of friends with my dad. My longtime mechanic Kevin Besecker and Neal Armstrong went and picked it up and put it together in their shop. I only ran five times in 2019, but I had a bunch of top-five finishes. I was just glad to be back racing.”
After sitting out the 2020 season, Ferns returned with a vengeance last season. She picked up two AVSS non-winged sprint car feature victories. This season, she had the two podium finishes in the Silver Crown Series and victories appear on the horizon for this budding pavement racer.
“Winning the two features last season and running top three with the USAC Silver Crown series this year, was just admiration for me,” she noted. “I knew even when I was younger, I felt like I was a competitive racer. I expect to win when I show up at the track. We each dedicate so much time and resources doing this. If I can‘t show up at the track and know I can win, I‘d much rather sit in the grandstands. For me, I know what I‘m capable of doing. When I show up at the track, you can bet your ass I‘m gonna do my best to compete for a win.”
Besecker has been with Ferns nearly every step of her career.
“Kevin Besecker and I have been working together since I was 12. I have worked with other people occasionally, but Kevin‘s been the one common denominator throughout all my success,” Ferns said. “I love working with him. He‘s a great guy and we connect really well. He‘s also been a driving coach and life mentor. He knows what the car‘s doing before he even talks to me. There‘s a real trust level there. He‘s listened to what I‘ve said and taken it seriously.”
Ferns is an ambassador to bringing awareness to women in motorsports.
“Since I was 12 years old, Lyn St. James has been my mentor. When I was younger Lyn would drive me around to IndyCar and NASCAR tracks and introduce me to a ton of people,” Ferns said. “This has had a transformative effect on my life. A lot of what she has instilled in me at a young age is what has allowed me to graduate with honors, from school, and go on to be successful in my operations director role at my firm, and to be the savvy business person that I am.
“Last summer, Lyn started working on this project called Women in Motorsports North America. It is a community of professionals within different sectors of motorsports,” Ferns explained. “It is an organization of professionals dedicated to elevating, promoting and advancing females within motorsports regardless of their position. It also sheds light on existing members in motorsports and welcomes new members.
“What‘s cool about it is there are a lot of males involved with the group as well. It‘s important because we can‘t make a difference in motorsports without the help of males because it is still largely a male driven sport. I‘m fortunate to be a part of that group. I always felt like going through the ranks I was under looked because of my gender, maybe this is just because of my insecurities. I always went around with a chip on my shoulder, with something to prove.”
Ferns also has an inspiration from the history books.
“I‘m a history buff and a World War II nerd. I like the Rosie the Riveter theme and added the image to my helmet,” she explained. “It‘s just empowering for me. I feel like I‘m a competitive race car driver in general and I‘m not there to mess around. I think the non-competitiveness of some female drivers causes greater scrutiny of other female drivers who belong to be there.”