EXCLUSIVE: FTMS Track Owner Gord Bennett Calls Sprint into Spring 200 Success

This past weekend, Full Throttle Motor Speedway in Durham, Ontario opened up the short track racing season in Ontario with the Sprint into Spring 200. With snow still on the ground, racers were welcomed out to the speedway for a unique event – run whatever you want, but you have to leave it when you’re done, and the winner gets a turn-key sprint car. The result was a successful event that saw 40 drivers enter a variety of vehicles, ranging from four cylinder cars to a PT Cruiser and a couple vans.

“I think it was an amazing day,” FTMS track owner Gord Bennett said. “Kind of an off-the-wall type of idea that I had, and we’re the first track in Ontario that is bringing everyone racing. From here on forward, its spring and summer time racing.”

As a bonus, Bennett used the event as an opportunity to collect food for the local food bank, allowing fans to take in the action by simply donating a food item. Plenty of fans came out, braving the cold, collecting almost three pick-ups full of food.

“It was a great thing for our community; brought it lots of food for all our needy people and stuff like that,” Bennett added.

Bennett enters his second year as the track promoter of the speedway, having purchased the former Varney Motorplex in the spring last season. The first season was a success with fans coming out each week, and decent car counts for an entertaining Friday evening.

Now heading into the second year, the schedule looks full of even more excitement, with one of the big highlights being FTMS hosting the OSCAAR Modified Rick Woolner Memorial event. From the beginning of the season to the end, fans are set to entertained.

“We keep doing more and more all the time,” Bennett expressed. “We have a lot of people that have come in and we have more racers coming. The fans are liking what they see. This track is an action track and we’re here to stay.”

With the success of the inaugural Sprint into Spring 200 under their belt and discussion still happening across the social media platforms over the past five days, the possibility of a second event next year is there.

“I have more racecars, absolutely,” Bennett commented. “I think they’ve seen it one time – I think they want it to come back.”

View the speedway’s full schedule for this season and more at http://www.fullthrottlemotorspeedway.com.

About the Author

Ashley McCubbin

Joining OnPitRoad.com mid-2013 season, Ashley McCubbin is now the Managing Editor and contributes to each racing division as needed. Since studying journalism at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ashley has published articles on a couple of different websites, while serving as a public relations representative for different short track teams. Born in North York, Ontario, Ashley currently lives in Bradford, Ontario and spends her weekend at the local short tracks in the area. She has spent her entire life at the short track level, falling in love with the sport at the age of five. Beyond her love of short track racing, she also has grown an interest for both NASCAR and the IndyCar Racing Series. She also enjoys taking photos and working on websites, while playing a couple rounds of Candy Crush afterwards.

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