Drag Illustrated Issue 115, November 2016 | Page 79

PHOTO : COLE ROKOSKY
do that . That felt so great , and we were all on a high and so happy about it , then when we got the news that night that he had passed , it was just crushing .”
The car Ferguson won the ‘ 14 title with and raced in ‘ 15 , he largely rebuilt himself , reinforcing the outdated chassis and bringing the car up to code for going 175 mph in 660 feet . Ironically , Ferguson is now back where he started three years ago . This season he piloted Dale Pittman ’ s
‘ 63 Corvette , but Pittman is selling the car that won the ‘ 16 championship , so the self-funded racer is back to the drawing board , repairing and updating his green and orange 2002 Firebird . “ I am very thankful for having Dale ’ s friendship , and the opportunity he gave me in 2016 . Otherwise , I wouldn ’ t have been racing and we were able to win a championship together as a team , with Rick Fogle , too , of course . Dale will still be going to the races he can make it to with us , and I tell
him I am going to make him drive the Firebird sometime ,” Ferguson laughed .
Ferguson is undaunted by the changes ahead for 2017 . Along with thanking Pittman for the major role he played in the 2016 championship , he thanked crew members Rick Fogle , Jim Rowe and Marty Noir . Considering Ferguson has been in this same position before and ended up winning a world championship , chances are he ’ ll do just fine . – LISA COLLIER DI
November 2016
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