Cory Fergus: Lightening the load

Hi everyone. I'm Corey Fergus, racing the No. 00 Porsche Cayman for Motorsports Promotions in the Pirelli World Challenge TC class. I'm also a Porsche Brand Specialist at Byers Imports in Columbus, Ohio. I get to race what I sell. How cool is that?!

We received BoP changes heading into our final races of the season this weekend at Laguna Seca, which might make things even more interesting in the TC class! They took 50 pounds off our Porsche Cayman and added 50 pounds to the Nissan. The Nissan is still 150 pounds lighter than me with more torque and power, and the Mazda is still 350 pounds lighter. I was hoping for more severe adjustments to help us a bit more, but it is what it is. This imbalance is just pushing me even more. I've never been so determined to bring home a championship. Bring on Laguna Seca.

• PWC preview: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Looking back, Rounds 10, 11, and 12 were held at my home track, Mid-Ohio. This track means a lot to me. I grew up watching my mom and dad race there and I have followed in their footsteps these past 10 years. I also was an instructor at the Mid-Ohio School for two years. There are a lot of memories there.

We entered the weekend 12 points behind in the championship. Being over halfway through the season, it was crucial to have a good points weekend.

From the start, we racked up some valuable points by earning the pole in qualifying for Round 10. Thanks to lapped traffic with two laps to go, I ended up finishing second in Race 1. The next two rounds we didn't start as high up on the grid, and finished 4th and 5th. Mid-Ohio is a very tough track to pass on, especially when you're slower in a straight line.

After a consistent weekend of top-5 finishes, we walked away with the points lead.

The following weekend we arrived for Rounds 13, 14, and 15 were at Miller Motorsports Park. The team literally left the day of our last race at Mid-Ohio for the 1,700-mile journey! Talk about back-to-back races.

I'd never been to Miller before, so I watched a lot of video and did a little simulator training to prepare. That helped a lot, because as soon as I got out on track, it looked familiar.

After qualifying, we were gridded in second for Round 13. I knew I had to get the lead as quickly as possible. Due to our small tire size and heavier weight, our car isn't as fast on the straight or at the end of the race as some of our competitors. Luckily, I was able to lead for a few laps, getting crucial bonus points for the championship and finished 5th after the car fell off.

The second race (Round 14) I was patient and capitalized on other car's mistakes and finished 3rd. For the last race (Round 15), we made adjustments on the car to keep the water and oil temperatures down in the desert heat. It completely backfired and caused me to retire on lap 1 with a mechanical failure, resulting in zero points. My relatively comfortable championship lead has diminished heading into the final weekend.

With the final rounds at Laguna Seca coming up, I still lead the championship by 47 points. Three races remain and a lot can happen. I'm more determined than ever to bring home my first professional championship. I'm laser focused. I'm ready.