The 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series has been a roller-coaster ride for Top Fuel driver Cameron Ferre.

Ferre drove two races for Del Worsham at Las Vegas’ spring race, the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals.

Then, Ferre joined Paton Racing for the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol (Jun. 15-17) and Las Vegas (Oct. 29-31) and will be behind the wheel for them at the Auto Club NHRA Finals (Nov. 11-14).

“We were supposed to do more races (with Paton Racing) and we have been trying to put things together all year but because of the border situation, the team is based out of Canada (Brantford, Ontario) so we couldn’t get the car across the border because of COVID-19 and the border restrictions. We were supposed to start in Charlotte (N.C., May 14-16). I have had this deal put together with EMPI (the largest aftermarket dealer and manufacturer for Volkswagens) for a long time.

“I have been working with EMPI and I do off road stuff with them. We do a lot of business stuff outside of the track. The company has been around for almost 60 years. They have been around with Volkswagen drag racing and they are just trying to get it all a little mainstream and on TV. It has been a good deal.”

The good deal got even better when Ferre advanced to the semifinals at the season-finale in Pomona, Calif.

“We qualified No. 14 and we raced Leah Pruett in the first round and then we raced Clay Millican in the second and then we lost to Steve Torrence in the senis by six thousandths of a second,” Ferre said. “I had him on the tree and we both made good runs. Unfortunately, our blower belt sheered the teeth off it and got there six thousandths before us.

“It was the highlight of my career in Top Fuel so far, that’s for sure. It was an awesome weekend to finish the year like that. I’m super happy for everyone involved. The Patons it took a lot for them to do this with them being in Canada and all that stuff. Everything looked really good for EMPI, and it was their hometown. Other than winning the race things couldn’t have gone any better. It makes it all worthwhile when you get some results.”

Ferre, who lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., is a professor at Cerritos (Calif.) College when he isn’t at the track. He teaches auto body and paint classes.

“This is my third year doing that and it has been awesome,” Ferre said. “All of lectures are online, but luckily we have been able to have all our labs at the school. It is a good gig.”

On the drag racing side, Ferre is upbeat at the future.

“We are in talks, but it is looking like I will do a bunch more races with Paton Racing in 2022 and our effort in Pomona gives us a lot of confidence heading into the offseason,” Ferre said. “It will be a handful of races and my goal is to do 10-ish. It just depends on what they (EMPI) decide.

“This has been a long time coming, the past two races and third this weekend it feels like this is where I want to be, and this is what I want to do. It is kind of reassuring that maybe I can do this. I appreciate everything Terry Haddock did for me and now we kind of stepped up and we are running better. Luckily EMPI has been able to put me in the shop window per say. It’s easier to get sponsors when you have sponsors. It is all coming together, and it has been a long road. Just because we didn’t win rounds in Bristol and Vegas didn’t mean we didn’t make major strides as a team. Basically, every run we made, except for two tire smokers, we bettered my career-best every lap. We have tons of confidence going to next year and we are going to work hard in the offseason to put together more funding and do more races and see what happens.”

When not teaching and driving, Ferre keeps busy with his family. He and his wife, Angelina, have a 3-year-old son, Jett, and 10-month-old daughter, Blair.

“My wife raced Super Comp with her dragster in Pomona, and she lost in the third round,” Cameron said. “It was a phenomenal weekend for the whole family. Both of us went rounds and we had a great time and our kids had fun at the track. Racing as a family is what we like to do.”