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Kelley Carlton
GASTONIA, N.C. (March 20) - Chris Ferguson arrived at Carolina Speedway on Friday night with great anticipation. His family funded team shook off their bad luck at the end of 2008 and stepped their program up even taking a super late model win at Cherokee Speedway late in the season. Ferguson was very confident headed in to a race that is near and dear to him and his family. And on a cool night at his home track Ferguson broke through, rebounding from an early flat tire, to take his biggest career win - a $5000 Carolina Clash triumph.
Ferguson started the evening off right by taking fast time honors and in doing so set a brand new track record at the storied 3/8ths mile North Carolina oval. Ferguson kept the spirit of the evening in mind and donated his $250 fast qualifier money back to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Skyler Trull Memorial, in its ninth year, raises money to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and pays tribute to the late daughter of Larry Trull and the granddaughter of Lowry and Pat Trull who organized the event which has donated well over $35,000 to Make-A-Wish.
Ferguson opted for the outside pole position for the start of the fifty lap feature, a decision which ultimately he turned out to regret. "We chose the outside but Rambo was bad fast on the bottom and beat us to turn one. When he pulled in under that caution I thought we were in good shape. But man Jeff was fast and he got by us and then we had the flat. When I came back out after the flat the car was better and I knew if we could just keep the tires on it we had a shot at winning or at least running second." Ferguson said after the race.
"When I got to the top five I made up my mind I was getting back to the lead. We were able to get to third pretty quick. And I caught G.R. and got by him and that caution came out. I said to myself 'this is my chance' to get the lead. We were catching Randle when the caution came out so I felt like we going to be able to race him for the lead when we got back to green. That was a tough race. All those cautions at the end, I didn't think we were ever going to get through it." Ferguson continued.
"This is an awesome win for us. This is just a very special race for me and my family and to win it means more than I can put into words. Carolina is really our home track and this place was my grandfather's favorite track. So this win is just so special in so many different ways. I need to thank all the people that have helped us with our car. My dad, he is my crew chief and works really hard to give me the best car possible. I also want to thank Clements Racing Engines for an awesome engine. We had all the horsepower we needed tonight. Also thanks to Jim Carver for all of his support all these years."
1 22 CHRIS FERGUSON
2 21 FRANKIE BEARD
3 O9 JOHNNY PURSLEY
4 20 DAN BREUER
5 44 JUSTIN LABONTE
6 1W RICKY WEEKS
7 F1 BILLY THOMPSON
8 5 SCOTT NEIGHBORS
9 22 G.R. SMITH
10 42 DOUG SANDERS
11 22C RANDLE CHUPP
12 16 DANIEL BAGGERLY
13 21 LUKE ROFFERS
14 6 JACK DAUGHTRY
15 F1 KEITH FREEMAN
16 18M JEFF SMITH
17 27 BEN FAIRCLOTH
18 10 CHRIS KNIGHT
19 17 TIM ALLEN
20 75 PETEY IVEY
21 421 ANTHONY SANDERS
22 2 DENNIS FRANKLIN
23 15 DEAN BOWEN
24 4 JEREMY FAIRCLOTH
DNS 6 JOSH RICHARDSON
DNS 6P FURMAN PARTON
DNS 84 JAY SESSOMS
DNS O1 TRAVIS PENNINGTON
DNS 360 CRAIG SHUFFIELD
DNS 50 LARRY MCDANIELS
Ferguson will now set his sights on the ½ mile Lancaster Speedway in Lancaster, SC on Saturday night for another $5000 to win Carolina Clash event. "This is the way we wanted to get our season started off, so I hope we can carry this momentum over to Lancaster tomorrow." Ferguson stated. Ferguson will lead the Carolina Clash points and the Rookie of the Year standings headed in to the Lancaster event. For more information about the event go to the Carolina Clash website at www.carolinaclash.com or the Lancaster Speedway website at www.lancasterspeedway.net
Ferguson would like to thank all of his fans for their continued support and friendship. Ferguson would also like to acknowledge all of his 2009 sponsors which include: Carver and Sons Roofing, Firestone Building Products, Hal's Plumbing, Max Baxter Roofing, Clements Race Engines, Heintz Performance, Eagle Manufacturing, Ferguson Interior Finishing, J&S Reel Logging, Barnyard Utility Buildings, Speedway BBQ, Big A's Custom Graphics, KELCAR Motorsports Media, Photos by Ali, Indocil Art, X-Tream Cleaning Products, Eibach Springs, R-E Suspension, Bearden Oil, Sunoco Race Fuels, Butler Built, Bell Helmets, Performance Friction Brakes, Dixie Dirt Productions, Beyea Headers, Racing Optics, Schaeffer Racing Oil, Sweet Manufacturing, Alpha Canvas and Awnings and Peterson Fluid Products.
For more information or to order Chris Ferguson merchandise visit his home on the World Wide Web at www.chrisfergusonracing.com Also watch the site for a complete redesign coming soon.
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