Chris Ferguson looked like he was going to have a solid top 10 run with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, but unfortunately called it a night early with about 20 laps into the race.
Ferguson started off the night with a strong 4th place qualifying run in Group B. He then finished third in his heat race, which set him up for a 12th place starting position in the feature.
He quickly moved into the top 10 passing Dillon McCowan and Max Blair. However, 13 laps into the race and McCowan was able to get back by him. Just a few laps later and he lost positions to Max Blair and Brian Shirley and found himself in 13th.
Following a caution for Josh Rice with 35 to go, Ferguson would make around five more laps before calling it a night. He was running in 14th after the time after getting passed by Kyle Bronson.
In a post to Facebook, he explained what happened, “Tonight wasn’t our night. Running the top around 10th and we biked up on two wheels in turns 3-4. After that we were holding on.”
“After feeling something wrong and losing a couple positions we pulled in. Unfortunately we had a right rear tire going down that ended our night,” he continued. “We tried and learned a few things for the North South. It’s not easy racing with the best but we’re figuring it out again. Thanks to my crew for the hard work. Thanks to my wife, family, sponsors and fans. We couldn’t do it without you.”
Suffering some kind of issue while having solid speed has been the theme of Ferguson’s 2026. He started the year off strong with two 7th place finishes with the World of Outlaws at Volunteer Speedway and Smoky Mountain Speedway back in March
Unfortunately, his issues started during a Southern All Stars and Spring Nationals co-feature at Cherokee Speedway. First, he had an issue with a cut tire and then broke a transmission. He was running in the top 5 at the time he had his tire get cut. Then at East Alabama with the World of Outlaws, he looked to have another top 10 in the bag, but he suffered an oil leak and parked the car. Next up he went to Senoia for the Billy Clanton Classic and suffered a mechanical issue on lap 26 of the 50-lap feature.
At Wythe Raceway for a Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals race in April, it looked like it was going to be his night as he was dominating the race. Unfortunately, he shared that “at the halfway point we stripped the oil pump drive spud and lost power.”
His mechanical issues continued when he made the trip back to Tennessee for the Gauntlet at the Gap. On April 15th, he suffered a blown motor despite it being a freshened Vic Hill motor with just 10 laps on it. He got things turned around on April 17th at Volunteer where he charged through the field from 17th to finish in 8th. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way. On the finale on April 18th, he started first in the feature, but his night ended early after he cut a tire and he finished in 21st.
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