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Lucas Oil Speedway Champions Spotlight: Ferris relishes first Late Model title with an eye on 2023

WHEATLAND, MO. (Nov. 30, 2022) - When Larry Ferris purchased a Capital Race Car before the 2021 season, the veteran Late Model driver from Nevada felt he had reached a career crossroads.

“It was a game-changer,” Ferris said of the new car. “To be honest, I figured I’d give it one more shot and if we couldn’t run any better than we were, I was just gonna hang it up. We got that car and it totally changed our program and it totally changed everybody’s attitude, especially mine.

“I was tired of not running good,” Ferris added. “It’s so expensive and took so much time and work that it just wasn’t worth it anymore to run fifth all the time.”

The car was, indeed, a game-changer.

Ferris missed the first two Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series shows at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2021, but went on to win three features that season and finished fourth in points. He carried that momentum over to a big 2022 season, resulting in his first Late Model championship.

Ferris won four times and was runner-up four other times in nine events. He finished 80 points in front of runner-up Tucker Cox in the Hermitage Lumber Late Model division for one of his most-memorable years in more than two decades of racing.

“It feels good to get one, for sure,” Ferris said of the Lucas Oil Speedway championship. “We’ve never really run for one. Last year we missed the first two races and had a pretty good year. I thought, shoot, with an effort to make everything we ought to have a pretty good chance this year. That’s what happened.”

Ferris cruised into the Rempfer Memorial Season Championship Night on Aug. 27 with an insurmountable lead. Just by taking the green flag, he clinched the title.

“It’s got to be up there,” Ferris said of where the season ranks among career highlights. “I won a track championship at North Fork Speedway in 1997 in a Modified. We had a really good year that year and this is right up there with that.”

The only downside came in the Lucas Oil MLRA Ron Jenkins Memorial over Labor Day Weekend when motor issues relegated Ferris to a 14th-place finish. He said the motor was overdue for a freshening after back-to-back problem-free seasons and that’s taking place this winter, along with routine maintenance on the rest of the car.

All signs point toward making a run at a weekly series title defense next season on an expanded, 14-race Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series schedule. Lucas Oil Speedway also had a Fall Brawl spotlight the weekly Late Models tentatively set for Sept. 22-23.

“That’s the plan,” Ferris said. “Danny (General Manager Danny Lorton) has got some more races scheduled and got some good races at the end of the year he’s working on. That’ll be great. It sounds like it’s going to be a really good year over there.”

The Ferris team might expand in 2023. Larry has put together a USRA Modified that son Ryan Ferris might climb behind the wheel of next season.

“We’ve got it done for the most part,” Larry Ferris said. “Finding the time is gonna be the hard part. We’re gonna try to have my boy run it more than anything. I think I’ll let him play with that. I just don’t have time to do it all. He’s ready to get back in one and I think I’m more ready to help him as much as anything.”

With the success of the last couple of years in the Late Models, those thoughts of hanging up the helmet definitely are on hold.

“I think we’re still gonna hit it pretty hard, the next two or three years, anyway,” Ferris said.

Larry Ferris said his success couldn’t have happened without help from some key contributors, including Ryan Ferris and Dave Collins helping out, Brian Larimore from Dirt Track Specialists, Josh Poe and Scott Bailey Racing Engines.

“Scott takes great care of us if we ever need anything for the engine,” Ferris said. “If we need help, he’ll come down and help us. He’s a major part of our program.”

Lucas Oil Speedway recently announced the 2023 tentative schedule which includes the usual variety of motorsports on the dirt oval, drag-boat track and off-road course. The season begins with an Open Test & Tune on March 18 and the season-opener of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series is set for March 25.

For information regarding gift certificates which can be used in various areas of the speedway in 2023, contact Lucas Oil Speedway Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at
nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.

CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com
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Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984. The Lucas Oil Speedway EZ Texting number is (417) 804-4141.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway

About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.

2022 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners

Arizona Sport Shirts
"The Official Merchandise Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick
"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Dixie Chopper
"The Official Mowers of Lucas Oil Speedway"

General Tire
"The Official Tire" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Products
"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway

MAVTV
"The Official Television Network" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Optima Batteries
"The Official Battery" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper
"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway

RacingJunk.com
"The Official Classifieds" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Rugged Radios
"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Sunoco Race Fuels
"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Super Clean
"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway

2022 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:
AM Pyrotechnics, Arizona Sport Shirts, Ash Grove Aggregates, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Branstetter & Lightfoot LLC, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Camden on the Lake Resort, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Cedar Creek Beef Jerky, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Comfort Inn-Bolivar, DirtonDirt.com, Dixie Chopper, eBay Motors, Eibach Springs, Evans Pipe & Steel Co., Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Frog Signs, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Highway 54 RV Park, Hobbytime Motorsports, Hoosier Race Tires, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, Kettle Treats, Keyser Manufacturing, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Department of Tourism, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, RacingJunk.com, Rains Ice Company, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Stillwater Resort, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets, Wrisco Industries.

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