FORTVILLE — Asher Farris’s back is to the camera. The Fortville 6-year-old’s bright blond hair takes up the foreground of the shot while professional race car driver Santino Ferrucci stands in the background talking with a group of men.
“Santino!” Asher yells, waving. “Can we interview you?”
The video cuts to Ferrucci squatting before Asher, who asks the rookie sensation in the NTT IndyCar series what he drives when he’s not racing, who his favorite driver is and if he’s ever gotten a speeding ticket. After the interview’s over, the two exchange a high-five before carrying on with their days at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this past July.
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It’s a segment in one of many videos on Asher’s Racing Channel, which spans across several online platforms and includes a weekly Facebook Live show.
Kristin Farris, Asher’s mother, said her son has been passionate about racing since he was 3 and got to talk to driver Charlie Kimball during qualifications at the Indianapolis 500.
“He stopped and had a full conversation with a 3-year-old kid, so that made him a fan for life,” Kristin said.
Asher, along with his mom and dad, Brandon Farris, were on their way to the Indy 500 qualifications in May when the parents got an idea.
“Asher’s always been social,” Kristin said. “As long as he could talk, we always heard how well he speaks.”
She and Brandon thought it would be neat to see if their son could talk to a couple drivers. They didn’t want to expect anything, but figured it would be fun if he got to interview one or two.
Asher wrote down five questions and ended up interviewing seven drivers.
From there, “it just took off,” Kristin said.
He interviewed 12 drivers at this season’s Mid-Ohio race. One was Kyle Kaiser, whom Asher also interviewed a couple months earlier at the 500 qualifications. Asher asked Kaiser if he remembered.
“I’ll never forget it, actually,” Kaiser says on the video,” because I was so nervous. I was so nervous before going out and you helped relax me. I was totally calm after talking with you. So I’m never going to forget that interview. You’re my good luck charm.”
That was saying something: Kaiser dramatically bumped two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso from the field during time trials and started 33rd. He finished 31st.
Kristin, whom Asher affectionately calls his “camera mam,” shoots the video for Asher’s Racing Channel. She usually records on her phone but on a recent occasion rented a more high-tech camera with a microphone. Kristin also edits Asher’s videos.
Asher’s Racing Channel has a website, YouTube channel and accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His Facebook page has more than 600 followers.
Videos show him interviewing not only drivers, but those who work in the racing industry as well.
The Facebook Live show is at 7 p.m. every Sunday, during which Asher and Brandon discuss recent races and the latest news involving IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula 1.
They shoot the show in a room at their Fortville home. Racing posters and framed photographs of Asher interviewing drivers hang on the walls. A camera-topped tripod in a corner points at a computer desk, which is flanked by microphones and covered in die-cast race cars.
IndyCar invited Asher to its Victory Lap Celebration in Indianapolis last week, where he got to talk to several drivers, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles and racing legend Roger Penske.
“It was awesome,” Asher said. “Not just amazing; it was awesome.”
Kristin said she’s been pleasantly surprised by the success Asher’s been having interviewing his heroes.
“It blows us away,” she said.
She added Brandon has always been a racing fan and that her admiration for the sport has grown as Asher continues with his channel.
“Since this all started, I’ve become more of a fan too because it’s on more of a personal level now,” she said.
Asher plans to continue with his channel and hopes to gain more access to drivers at races next season.
And beyond that?
“I’d like to be a race car driver someday,” he said.
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Website: ashersracingchannel.com
Facebook: Asher’s Racing Channel
YouTube: Asher’s Racing Channel
Instagram: ashersracingchannel
Twitter: @AsherRacing
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