TIFFIN, Ohio — Sprint Car Hall of Famer Rick Ferkel has died. Ferkel was 84 years old.
One of the original drivers on the World of Outlaws sprint car circuit, Ferkel became known as the Ohio Traveler during his racing career.
Ferkel began racing in 1965 and steadily built his sprint car racing career racing and winning locally at tracks including Fremont Speedway, Millstream Speedway and Limaland Speedway.
Ferkel read in National Speed Sport News about higher paying sprint car shows and soon hit the road running 70 to 80 races per year.
Ferkel routinely won 30 races or more per year with his best season bringing 38 victories in 1978.
Also in 1978, Ferkel ran the 41-race World of Outlaws schedule in the first season for the tour. He won four of the nine WoO races at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway that season. Ferkel finished second in the standings, a mere 54 points behind Steve Kinser.
He finished third in the Outlaw standings in 1979 behind Kinser and Sammy Swindell.
Ferkel retired from full-time racing during the mid-1980s and is credited with 21 World of Outlaws feature victories.
After stepping out of the cockpit, the Tiffin, Ohio, native worked as an official for the World of Outlaws for several years, campaigned his own sprint car and worked as a crew chief for a large array of up-and-coming racers.
Ferkel was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1995.
