Chris Ferguson Tackles World Of Outlaws In 2018

Chris Ferguson Tackles World Of Outlaws In 2018

After years of racing mostly regional series, Chris Ferguson will tackle the World of Outlaws Late Model Series in 2018.

Jan 3, 2018 by Dan Beaver
Chris Ferguson Tackles World Of Outlaws In 2018

The time has finally come for Chris Ferguson to compete on a national level. While many Late Model fans are familiar with Ferguson's name or the hashtag #FERGYTIME, he has mostly raced in regional series and 2018 will mark his first full season competing in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

Ferguson filled FloRacing in on the circumstances that led to his decision and what he expects from next season.

His attempt comes with the help of supportive sponsors and a dedicated fan base — and is years in the making.

“Last year, we started to travel a little bit farther than what I’m used to two or three times a year,” Ferguson told FloRacing. “Each time we travel we prepare a little more for this move. I would say the last two or three months after the World Finals, we wanted to make a goal and after I heard from a lot of my sponsors and the team and everyone. We put our heads together [and] decided it was time to pull the trigger on it.”

Ferguson will be joined by at least one new sponsor — Carolina Roofing and Gutters — as he takes on the Outlaws to chase the Rookie of the Year title.

“It’s pretty humbling to have all these great marketing partners supporting my racing dreams,” Ferguson noted in a press release. “Without their incredible support, there’s no way that I could be taking on such a huge task. Hopefully this time next year we are talking about how successful a rookie campaign we experienced, as we are preparing for our sophomore season on the road.”

Ferguson works full-time with ButlerBuilt Seats and will continue to do so throughout the upcoming season. And since he already planned on racing nearly every weekend, the decision to become a series racer will not affect his position with the company.

“I don’t have to take any more days off up until July and then come August, when we’re super slow at work, that’s when we really have to look at taking some time off,” Ferguson said. “The good thing about the schedule is that I started my job three years ago in July, so I’ll have vacation time once the schedule gets crazy. I think I’m going to be able to make it work. 

"Fortunately, I can get off to race the time that I need to. It’s nice that minus Volusia all the shows during the first half of the season are Friday or Saturday, maybe a couple Thursdays. With the way the schedule has worked out, I don’t have to take off work more than I usually would for racing.”

The farthest Ferguson will travel from his home base of Mount Holly, NC, will be when the Outlaws take their swing through the Dakotas. That will put the team in the hauler for 20-plus hours.

“Those are going to be the races that are going to be a little trying,” Ferguson said. “I’ve also never raced at those tracks. It’s going to be tough."

The racer once looked at traveling as far as Wisconsin while still unattached to a national series.

“One year, we looked at going to Cedar Lake and that would’ve been 18 hours so this will be definitely farther than that,” Ferguson said. “It’s going to be out there. Up until this year, I haven’t had the race hauler to do it. This year we got us a race hauler that allows us to travel with two cars and has all the necessities you need to travel the right way… Now we were able to go through the trailer and see what we need to move efficiently. We have a much better take on it than we have had in the past few years.”

Ferguson is most excited to have the chance to race at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA, for the Firecracker 100 in June. The team has attempted to attend that race for years, but things seem to always fall apart in preparation for the event.

“We’ve almost made that trip two or three times” Ferguson said. “We’ve had things happen the week before and we just were not going to make it. The track seems like it may be my forte because it’s really fast. That’s the track that I’m looking forward to going to the most with the series.”

Ferguson will start his campaign for World of Outlaws Rookie of the year at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, GA, on Feb. 9.