West Sprint Tour Will Be a Farewell for Rick Ferkel

Rick Ferkel of Findlay, Ohio, one of the founder-drivers of the World of Outlaws tour and a familiar figure around the nation’s speedways before the sprint car nomads had a name and sanctioning body, will include Ascot Park in his farewell tour of the West at the track’s Midwinter Outlaw championships, opening event at the Gardena track, Feb. 24-25.

Ferkel, who admits to 45 and counting, has joined Jeff Swindell of Memphis, Tenn., and Steve Siegel of New Oxford, Pa., as the latest entrants for the two-night winged sprint car program.

For Ferkel, however, who had 17 World of Outlaw victories before limiting his racing activities in recent years to the Ohio area in order to spend more time with his family, will have fans recalling some of his great drives when he visits Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz. before Ascot and Kings Speedway at Hanford, Calif.; San Jose Speedway and Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif.

It was his first year with Ted Johnson’s World of Outlaws in 1978 that he won the California Gold Cup at West Capital Speedway in Sacramento and another race at the Napa Valley Fairgrounds track at Calistoga. (When West Capital closed, the fall Gold Cup moved to Chico, where promoter John Padjen refers to the March race as the Mini Gold Cup).

It was even earlier than that that Ferkel gained a following in Phoenix and Los Angeles. The later fame came when Ferkel arrived unheralded for the 1973 Pacific Coast Nationals. Since it was an open competition event Ferkel, and Bubby Jones, another then traveling sprint car driver who went on to become an all-time favorite at Ascot, gave the local troops a lesson they haven’t forgotten.

Since it was an open competition event, Ferkel and Jones were allowed to use the drag-race tires called “humpers” that were popular in the East and Midwest, but unknown here. The tires enabled Ferkel and Jones to run 1-2 and lap almost the entire field in the 1973 50-lapper. The locals quickly caught on and a modern day version of the humper is still the preferred tire today.

This time Ferkel will not only have his experience and tire knowledge, but also the new Shaver aluminum engine and that 5-x-5-foot wing to keep him abreast of the younger drivers.

Along with Ferkel, Swindell and Siegel, the Ascot field also will include Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio,; Rick Hood of Evansville, Ind.; Bobby Davis Jr. of Memphis, Tenn., and the champions of California’s two top racing organizations--Brent Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. (Northern Auto Racing Club) and Ron Shuman of Tempe, Ariz., (California Racing Assn.).

Other challengers include Northern Californians Tim Green of San Jose; Steve Kent of Fresno; Jason McMillen of Carmichael; Indiana’s Danny Smith and the Oklahoma pair of Andy Hillenburg of Tulsa, the 1987 World of Outlaws rookie of the year) and Greg Wooley of Oklahoma City and Maryland’s Chris Eash.

Also entered is Lealand McSpadden of Tempe, Ariz., a 15-time winner in CRA last year as a part-time performer; Richar Griffin of Silver City, N.M., a former Arizona champion, and fellow New Mexican, Johnny Hererra of Albuquerque.