Carson Ferguson became one of the standout drivers on the series Ram: Race for the Seat, where several drivers from various backgrounds competed for a chance to race a full season for Kaulig Racing’s Craftsman Truck Series RAM team in 2026. Mini Tyrell won the competition, but Ferguson was the runner-up, earning a race in the team’s open seat at Martinsville.
While that is still happening, his first start came a bit sooner at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Frontstretch spoke with the dirt racer by nature about the earlier start, being on the show and what the future holds.
Trenton Worsham, Frontstretch: Carson, how did this opportunity come to be? I know Martinsville was supposed to be your first start.
Carson Ferguson: We have a busy schedule through the year and this door just opened for them and us. We were able to fit it into my schedule. It’s just a surreal feeling for us and great to be able to race the truck before October.
Worsham: What went into the prep work for this? Was there any sim work?
Ferguson: We’re still trying to get the sim up and running, so there wasn’t any of that going on. Mainly just studying film and watching the in-car cameras of different drivers. Their exterior angles as well, just to see their points as a baseline, then I’ll develop my own.
Worsham: There’s several Cup guys who come from the dirt world, Kyle Larson for example, so for you transitioning from the dirt to asphalt, what has that been like?
Ferguson: I did go-karts starting out, legends cars, on asphalt. Financial reasons and different plans lined up for me, so it took me a while. I feel dirt teaches you to adapt, whether it’s the car or changing conditions on the track. I feel it keeps you sharp and escalates your mentality of not being in the same mindset at every track. Going to late models on asphalt, the amount of grip they had there was nice compared to dirt.
Worsham: We have to ask, would you like there to be dirt put back on Bristol or would you prefer a true dirt track for a Cup race?
Ferguson: Both! I didn’t come when it was on dirt, unfortunately. It seemed really cool for the dirt racers to come and cross it off their list. Not often can a dirt racer look at a NASCAR track and say, ‘I’m going to race on that!’ – I’m excited all the dirt racers were able to do something like that.
Worsham: I do want to talk about the show [Race for the Seat] a little bit. I’ve seen some guys like Landon Huffman share his experience with it, but how was it for you?
Ferguson: The show was awesome! Being around other guys that are just like you even if we haven’t met each other, you felt like you knew them when you got on the show. We were isolated but it was like hanging out with your buddies for almost three weeks. The hardest part was not being able to communicate with your family since we couldn’t have our phones. We got to cook our own food, whatever we wanted, got to race cars … the hardest part was trying to win the cornhole game. It was a really cool experience.
Worsham: I’m curious, if another team saw you on the show and wanted you to come run some races, are you locked in with Kaulig Racing or due to your visibility on the show, someone else is interested, they can come hire you?
Ferguson: No, not right now. I can only run with Kaulig Racing for about a year. If an opportunity came along, I would have to discuss it with them.
Worsham: Last question for you, what has the show done for your branding when you go racing now or people see you at the track?
Ferguson: I feel in the dirt world, it benefits the driver more because the series doesn’t have to get their hands in it, so it benefits the driver a bit more. My fiancee, McKenna, runs our merchandise trailer and tells me customers and fans always come up and mention they saw me on the show. It helped our sales tremendously. Getting to tell my kids one day I got to do it, that is going to be very special.