Drag racing gets into your blood and is hard to shake, sometimes liking it to a drug; perfectly legal yet maybe just as addicting. For Mike Ferderer, that addiction has festered in his system ever since he was an 11-year-old attending the long since gone Puyallup Dragway in the northeast corner of his home state of Washington. Sixty years later, he’s still at it with a certain amount of dominance, although retirement may be on the horizon.
As a long shoreman working the docks, by August of 2022 he will have accumulated enough hours to officially retire from the job which may just set him up for whatever comes next in life. Strangely enough despite the hours of his “day job,” Ferderer found enough time to transverse the country in search of win lights; win lights which seemingly fell his way. Countless NHRA national and divisional event wins, 14 divisional championships, three world championships and after all the years, Ferderer is still as competitive as he ever was.
“I’ve beaten the best,” said Ferderer, “and by the same token been beaten by the best. I’ve been very lucky over the years but it gets tiring at times.”
In 2011, Ferd; as he’s often known by; got lucky in another sense. Through a routine physical for his NHRA racing license; a requirement that has since been abandoned by the sanctioning body; that dreaded “c-word” came to light. Diagnosed with prostate cancer, Ferd underwent treatment which today he still maintains. “Like a lot of diseases,” he says, “the cure is sometimes worse than the disease itself. But I’m still here to talk about it and that’s what counts.
“It was a couple of years ago when I went to see my doctor and he says, ‘I’m really glad to see you.’ ‘Yeah, glad to see you too doc, but I’m married so let’s leave that alone.’ ‘No, I’m really glad to see you because with the numbers you had and the spread, I’ve never had anyone live this long so you’re in uncharted territory in that you’ve managed to do so well with the disease.’ ‘So is that supposed to make me feel better or am I waiting for the shoe to drop on something big?’ ”
As many who have undergone treatments similar to this know, it can have a debilitating effect on your body. “I was always a hard worker,” Ferd says. “I’d think nothing of hoisting a transmission and converter and slinging it in a race car. I just can’t do that anymore. It may be somewhat of a fact of getting older, but the treatments do play a role in your energy levels. I’m tired almost all the time. And maybe that’s part of my reasoning for cutting back on my racing. But I’ll probably miss it.
“For the U.S. Nationals this past year,” he adds, “I hopped on a plane to help surprise and cheer on my good friend Joe Rubichek. Walking up and down in the pits hanging out with him, I realized there wasn’t a time when I wished I had my firesuit and helmet. Maybe the spark is gone, but on a good day, I can do anything on the car. Not so much anymore. There are days when I wonder how I can even get a tire on a car.”
For the past 20 years, Ferd has enjoyed sponsorship from K&N Filters through what has turned out to be a friendship with K&N’s Steve Williams. Between changes in the company’s leadership and Ferd’s priorities, he has made the decision along with Williams’ support to end their sponsorship relationship. “Not that they have ever dictated where I should race or what I should or shouldn’t do, I just don’t have the desire I had years ago,” Ferd says. “Racing with Steve was so good and a lot of fun. I had gotten operated on but I wanted to go to the Winternationals. I flew down there even though I think there was probably still blood coming out of my stitches, but when I got there, Steve had parked his motorhome at the track, gave me the key and said ‘That’s yours.’ Steve has been such a super guy to race with and for.”
As such, as of the NHRA World Finals, Ferd’s RJ Race Cars Pontiac will officially be up for sale. “I’m not making any plans for a ‘retirement year’ or such, but if the car sells, then the rest of my equipment will go as well,” he states. “If come January or February, the car is still in my garage, then I’ll load it up and go racing when I can. With retirement from my job in August or so, I can still race on my own dime somewhat, but the physical requirements aren’t there. I really think it came on rather quickly and I blame it on the medicines I take to survive and it’s tough to comprehend.”
Possibly no different than a ball player who undergoes a sudden career-ending injury makes it tough to swallow, but as Ferd says, “It probably came on me in the last year and a half, but I’m dealing with it.”
So the million-dollar question is still, “Will you miss it?”
“Listening to the engine singing along at 8,000 rpm in the lights and going fast… I like that,” says Ferd. “But that only lasts for seven seconds or so. Working on the engine, working on the car, I do enjoy all of that but I have to do it now at my own speed. And regrettably, drag racing does not wait.”
It’s been 55 years from his first actual pass and trophy down Pullayup Dragway. Fifty-five years with quite a bit of success, but still 55-years is a long time and it can wear on a person. Fortunately for Mike Ferderer, the desire and heart is still there. Unfortunately, the physical capabilities fade away as one ages, a fact that Mike Ferderer is facing today. Nonetheless, it’s a career that has placed his name amongst some of the best in the sport, a fact Ferd can be mighty proud of.
