NANCY FERRINGER IS BEHIND HER MAN BEHIND THE WHEEL
by Brian Spaid

May 6, 2004 

   This Mother’s Day, Nancy Ferringer will sit in the grandstands at Tri-City Speedway and cheer on her husband, Dave, who is one of the top Pro Stock drivers at the Venango County half-mile oval.

   And she’ll love every tense moment of it.

   Ferringer, 38, is one of the many women who support their husbands as race car drivers. The love of motorsports transcends the relationship. From long hours at the shop preparing the car for weekend action to watching children cheer on their father to supporting those same kids in their on-track endeavors, racing families have special bonds. And usually the wife and mother is the glue that keeps it together.

   “I love it,” said Ferringer. “I hate the suspense of the race though. I don’t watch until the last lap. If I watched the whole race, I’d get mad at Dave for not being aggressive enough.”

   When they married 13 years ago, her husband’s driving career was temporarily on hold. Tri-City closed in 1987, and he decided to stop racing. When news of the track’s reopening was out, Dave talked to Nancy and told her he was getting a race car.

   “My first thought was we were going to be poor,” laughed Ferringer, who works as an exhibition cook at Allegheny College in Meadville. “I also thought about the hassle of taking the kids to the races. Then, I started to really look forward to it, and now it’s part of our lives.”

   Ferringer grew up with a love of fast cars. After her father, Gordon Emig, let her drive his car in the fields on their farm at eight years of age, she developed a keen interest in speed.

   “Dad let me drive while he pushed the pedals. We drove real fast and I loved it. Then, as a teenager, I used to drag race, you know, in the wrong places.”

   Ferringer raced her husband’s Pro Stock a few times at Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio, and Tri-City. In fact, she is a two-time winner of Tri-City’s Powder Puff race, which is held every Mother’s Day. She also won at Raceway 7. This Sunday, she hopes to compete if work commitments do not interfere.

   “Driving a race car on dirt is a big rush. It’s a lot harder than it looks. A dirt track is real bumpy. And the cars are nothing like street cars. We have a standard transmission with a hydraulic clutch, and it takes about all of me to push it down.”

   Could she race full-time as a teammate to her husband?

   “I don’t think so,” said Ferringer. “I’m too volatile. I would get real frustrated out there. Dave’s a real good driver and he’s patient. Sometimes he’s too easygoing, and I want to get out there and slap him and tell him to get more aggressive.”

   Her husband is one of the more popular drivers at the track. Always willing to lend a hand to fellow drivers, the 2000 track champion was honored with the Sportsmanship Award in 2002.

   “One night, he loaned Gary Norman a transmission, and Gary won the race. I was real frustrated when that happened, but that’s Dave. We’re different that way. It’s what makes him so easy to get along with.”

   As the veteran driver of the group, he is the unofficial leader of the “Cochranton Clan,” which is a fun name made up for the group of racers that compete out of the Crawford County borough. He is also known as “The Bicentennial Blast” for the patriotic paint job on his Chevrolet No. 02, which was selected by his wife.

   “I wouldn’t want to change Dave,” noted Ferringer. “I love him the way he is.”

   Racing is a tough sport where men and women test the dangerous limits of speed and skill. Drivers will tell you that they don’t think about getting hurt or killed on the track. If they did, they wouldn’t be focused.

   Like many spouses, Ferringer refuses to think about the danger too.

   “None of the wives ever talk about it. I’m not fearful of Dave racing. I know how the car is put together, and the safety equipment he wears. I’m confident in his racing skills too. I know before we were married that he broke his shoulder and collarbone while racing. I just never feel like he’s going to get hurt.”

   Yet, there are times when a spouse comes face-to-face with the reality of that chance.

   “I remember when George Hobaugh got hurt at Tri-City in 1996. They brought the helicopter in to fly him to the hospital. That was scary, and it made it real. But you just can’t think about it.”

   And she feels the same way about her daughters, Cammille, 15, and Candice, 13. The Ferringers already have the car and parts necessary for one of the girls to race a Thundercar at Tri-City. Mom is certain that Cammille will be on the track before the end of the season.

   “My girls can do it. They’ve grown up around cars with Dave and me. Sure, racing is a dangerous sport. But, if they want to race, I will support them 100%.”

   Like the rest of her family, Ferringer loves racing and Tri-City Speedway. If there is one thing she could change, however, it would be the name Powder Puff. The name came about in the 1950s for similar races held throughout the United States, and the tradition carried into the modern era.

   “Powder Puff sounds too girlish. Girls can race cars. It needs a better name, like the Women’s Dash.”

   If she is able to compete on Sunday, there is no doubt that Ferringer will be a favorite in the Powder Puff, … make that the Women’s Pro Stock Dash.