By: Clayton Johns/Cory Turner Motorsports
April 21 2017
Caistor Centre, Ontario – After a long winter, race season is finally here for Cory Turner and his No.97 KT Tobacco Sprint Car team who will begin their 2017 season on Saturday, April 22 with the Patriot Sprint Tour at Merrittville Speedway’s Spring Sizzler.
Turner got a night of practice under his belt at Merrittville’s open practice last weekend. After a successful test session, Turner is excited to start a new season at the 3/8-mile track he knows well.
“It’s always good to get back out and turn some laps,” Turner said. “Merrittville’s a place where we’ve run well before. I’ve got a lot of laps there because I used to run street stocks there.”
The first night of competition always brings plenty of excitement and this year is no different. Turner is optimistic about the first night of competition, but knows not to focus too heavily on the result.
“Everybody wants to do well the first night out,” Turner said. “You always want to start off on the right foot. It’s not indicative of your year, but nonetheless you want to run well.”
Merrittville’s Spring Sizzler often attracts some of the top Sprint Car talent across the northeast and produces plenty of exciting action. Turner is ready for whatever the track may throw at him, but believes he has a good handle on Merrittville’s surface to help him finish at the front.
“Generally this race, or anytime we go to Merrittville, I’m ready for it to get slick,” Turner said. “It’s usually slick, it’s usually smooth. You try not to tighten the car up too much and make sure you have good forward drive. You want to make smart decisions and try not to overdrive the car.”
Turner enters this weekend’s race knowing he had a strong car at Merrittville in his last visit there in September before an unfortunate wreck ended his night early. He’ll ride that high into Saturday’s race intending to secure another solid run.
“I’m looking forward to getting back racing again,” Turner said. “I missed the competitive aspect of it. I feel I kind of let one get away last year at Merrittville. We were real quick and I was real happy with the car that night. Usually a lot of our sponsors come out the first night and it’s always good to have a good run.”
Joining Turner and the Patriot Sprint Tour Canada series at Merrittville Speedway’s Spring Sizzler are the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman and TUSA Mod Lites. Race time is 7:00pm. For additional event information, please visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com.
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CORY’s CREW
Cory Turner is proud to partner with several dedicated marketing partners for the 2017 race season, including KT Tobacco, Insta-Panels, Braemar Building Systems, Silo Wireless, Gale’s Auto Aftermarket, Skyway Lawn Equipment, Pyett Spring & Alignment, DSE Performance, Six Nations Bingo, Malabar Super Spice, JNE Recovery, V&R Recycling, Plazek Auto Recyclers, Hauser’s Pharmacy, KT Gas & Convenience, The Truck Toppers, CJ Mulholland Mattress Factory, Rondex, Silverdale Gun Club, Barlow Farms, Mike Morris Holdings, Bryan’s Farm Supply, Total Coatings, Hitchman Trailers, V&R Hose & Hydraulics, RCM Racing Equipment, Top Flight Wings, Tetra-Chem Industries, Wix Filters, Creative Edge Signs & Graphics, Northern Performance, Charlie Bee Honey, and ImageFactor.ca