CAISTOR CENTRE, Ont. (July 24, 2018) – Team Turner Racing had a busy tripleheader weekend of action planned for the Patriot Sprint Tour’s Canadian Triple Treat Weekend, but Mother Nature had other plans and reduced the weekend to a single Feature event.
The team was in action at Ohsweken Speedway on Friday night and was rained out following the completion of Heat Race action. The full night of racing was completed Saturday at Brockville Ontario Speedway before Sunday’s program was rained out at Cornwall Motor Speedway.
Ryan Turner
Ryan Turner started the weekend with a seventh-place finish in Friday’s heat against a tough field of cars. That put Ryan into the second B-Main where he picked up the win after making a few adjustments to the car.
“The heat didn’t go as planned,” Ryan admitted. “The car didn’t seem to want to roll around the track very well. In the B though, we just made minor changes and didn’t try doing too much to the car and it really seemed to come alive. I think we only made two changes and it really seemed to roll, which made the drive a lot more confident. We were ready for the A-Main after that.”
Ryan was set to roll off 22nd in the main event, but rain washed out the Feature. Ryan will now have to wait until September 14 for a chance to charge through the field.
“We definitely thought we could put on a move towards the front and go for a Hard Charger or something like that,” Ryan said. “We were just excited to really get the car working around Ohsweken. We’ve kind of been struggling the last couple of weeks and we were really happy with the way it was working.”
On Saturday, Ryan finished fifth in his heat at Brockville against another talented group, but it was good enough to qualify into the main event.
“We had a solid night,” Ryan said. “Our finish doesn’t totally show it, but we didn’t have a bad car at all. In the Heat Race, we were just happy to qualify. We had a pretty stacked heat and we were right on second, third and fourth. We were definitely fast and we were happy to make it.”
Ryan lined-up 17th for the main event and ended up 19th at the end of the 25-lap Feature after the track took rubber.
“In the Feature, it was definitely a bottom feeder track,” Ryan said. “I tried going up around some guys and we were looking good, but then the track took rubber around lap 10 and it was totally a bottom feeder race track and we had to hang in there and protect our position. The positives were the car was working really good, it came back in one piece and we can definitely build off of it.”
Cory Turner
Cory Turner started the weekend with a strong run in his Heat Race and won from the pole to begin the night on Friday.
“The car was really good in the Heat Race,” Cory said. “We got out front into clean air and just tried to make good laps, make good time. I just wanted to get the win to get into the redraw. The car was good. We were happy with it and we were getting ready for the Feature when it rained.”
Cory was set to roll off ninth in the main event after making the redraw and felt his car was well-suited for the slick racetrack surface.
“I think we could have run top-five, especially with it being 25 laps and starting to slick out,” Cory said. “I was looking forward to it.”
On Saturday, Cory raced to a fourth-place finish in his heat, but missed the redraw after starting third in the event.
“It was really tough to pass in the heat races,” Cory said. “I started third and was running third. I got up behind Matt Billings and tried to pull out and go around him and the Cobra (Chuck Hebing) stuck it in on me. I almost got him back and I was going to chop him to go back to the bottom, but I just didn’t have enough on him to do it. He got by me, so I was third to fourth. Had I gone third to second like I planned, I would have been in the redraw.”
Cory then lined up 18th for the main event. The track changed significantly for the Feature and the team was off on their setup for the No.97.
“The track fooled me a little bit,” Cory admitted. “The year before, everybody thought it was going to rubber up and it didn’t. We were pretty good in that race and ran fourth. I figured it wouldn’t rubber up this year, but it did. We were good early before the rubber and we passed probably four or five cars because we had my car tighter than them, but once the rubber came in, I was terrible. It was just pushing like a Mack truck.”
After making some adjustments under yellow, Cory felt his car wasn’t up to competition standard and decided to park the car for the night.
“We couldn’t make enough adjustments in the two minutes to make me free enough, so I parked it,” Cory said. “It wasn’t worth potentially wrecking our equipment to finish 15th.”
Jamie Turner
Jamie Turner drove to a seventh-place finish in his heat on Friday night and was forced into the B-Main where he finished fourth and didn’t transfer to the Feature.
“The car wasn’t good enough in the B,” Jamie admitted. “We changed some stuff around and it was definitely better than the Heat, but it was a tough night. There were a lot of good cars and we just weren’t quite good enough to make it.”
After Friday, Jamie headed east to Brockville as well and had motor problems in Hot Laps. Fortunately, the Burger Barn team loaned Ryan’s backup car for the balance of the night.
“I was lucky enough that Gord and Jason and the Burger Barn guys put me in Ryan’s backup car,” Jamie said. “I got lucky and made it through the heat. We made the Feature and started at the back, but it’s a tough place to pass. Starting at the back made it a tough night. We brought it home in one piece and I’m really thankful that Jason and Gord and the guys gave me the ride for the night.”
The car was a lot different than Jamie’s usual Mach 1 Chassis, but offered a new perspective.
“It was a lot different, which was really cool,” Jamie said. “I got to learn the car was a lot looser. I’ve been struggling on my own. My Mach 1 has been tight and that was a Maxim. It felt a lot different just jumping in it for a Heat Race. It was different in a good way and gives us something to work towards with our own car.”
After the motor issues, Jamie is without a spare and now plans to race the car Ryan started the season with before he transitioned to the Burger Barn ride.
“The motor had been running really good. It was a part failure and nothing self-inflicted,” Jamie said. “It’s just one of those things that happen when we’re running them hard. We had a good group of guys there Saturday and we had a good time. It’s nice to go to different places. We still enjoy that part of the travel. It was a little disappointing we rained out Sunday, but we’ll go back another time.”
Up Next
All three Team Turner drivers plan to pull a doubleheader for the upcoming race weekend. They will race on Friday, July 27 at Ohsweken Speedway with the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars. Fans can meet all three team members on the track at intermission for autographs. On Saturday, July 28 they will be in action at Brighton Speedway for round three of the Southern Ontario Sprints. For more information on Team Turner Racing, visit www.TeamTurnerRacing.ca.
SEASON STATS
11 Jamie Turner – 11 Starts: 0 Wins, 0 Top-5s, 3 Top-10s
91 Ryan Turner – 11 Starts: 0 Wins, 5 Top-5s, 8 Top-10s
97 Cory Turner – 13 Starts: 2 Wins, 7 Top-5s, 9 Top-10s
TEAM TURNER MEDIA
Website: teamturnerracing.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/TeamTurnerRacing
Twitter: @11TeamTurner19
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MAILING LIST
Join the Team Turner Racing mailing list by emailing claytonjohnsmedia@gmail.com with the subject “Turner” to be added to the list.
TEAM TURNER PARTNERS
Team Turner Racing is proud to partner with several dedicated marketing partners for the 2018 race season, including KT Tobacco, Charlie-Bee Honey, Mudcat Entertainment Centre, Braemar Building Systems, Pyett Spring & Alignment, DSE Performance, Gale’s Auto Aftermarket, Plazek Auto Recyclers, Malabar Super Spice, V&R Recycling, Country Event Services, JNE Recovery, Skyway Lawn Equipment, Total Coatings, KT Gas & Convenience, Six Nations Bingo, Silo Wireless, CJ Mulholland Mattress Factory, Truck Toppers, iC Super Computers, Silverdale Gun Club, Bryan’s Farm Supply, Beamer Farms, The Powerhouse, Hitchman Trailers, Barlow Farms, Mac Tools, V&R Hose & Hydraulics, RCM Racing Equipment, JLB Mobile Mechanical, Tetra-Chem Industries, Wix Filters, Mayhew Graphics, ImageFactor.ca, and Clayton Johns Media.
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