Dustin Purdy Looking For Dream CRSA Season In ’17

Column By: EDWARD KOCHERSBERGER / RPW – WALTON, NY – In 2017 it is not always easy for a talented race car driver to maintain a full-time position with a team. For Walton New York’s Dustin Purdy, a fifteen year driving career has culminated with an opportunity to drive for Empire Super Sprint Hall of Famer Mike Vandusen.

With some help from Mike and a good support base of key sponsors, Dustin will be able to compete for the CRSA Sprint Tour Championship for the first time in his six-year sprint car driving career.

Dustin has accumulated driving experience in a variety of different dirt cars. He has competed in Karts, Slingshots, Dirt Modifieds, and most recently, 305-Winged Sprint Cars. Dustin has won races in all of those divisions but is now ready for the next chapter in his career.

“It means the world to have the opportunity to drive for a hall of famer. I am very excited to drive for Mike and to learn from him as a racer as well as learn more about the technical stuff.”

Dustin has spent a majority of his career driving cars prepared by his father and former Fonda Speedway Modified competitor, Brian Purdy. Brian always equipped Dustin with race cars that could compete to win. Dustin has not been able to drive for a sprint car title because of funding, but his dad always brought immaculately prepared and fast cars to the track. This has kept him in the hunt to win in any event he entered.

“I have yet to have the opportunity to run for a championship in the sprint division. A championship is something that has always alluded me as a result of funding. It is something that I really want to add to the racing resume. I feel like I have unfinished business and a championship would help to give me a sense of accomplishment.”

Mike Vandusen and Dustin Purdy will be flying various colors of sponsor support throughout their journey this season. They will bring Pro Fab Enterprises, Panther Frameworks, M&W Aluminum Products, Warren’s Auto Body, A&M Excavating, Hitt’s Carpet Cleaning and the Go Fast Turn Left Club along in their quest for the CRSA Championship. If needed, Dustin will still have the Family owned Purdy’s Collision sponsored #83 at his disposal throughout the race season.

Dustin will be setting some attainable and realistic goals for his new team and himself. His ultimate goal is to win the CRSA points championship. He also aims to win at least two feature events. And he really wants to gain more knowledge in the technical area of sprint car racing. He plans on bringing some of his best driving characteristics with him to help reach these goals.

“I have always been easy on equipment because throughout my racing career I have always raced on a low budget and we only had one car. I always tried to keep my nose clean so we could load up and race the following week. If I wrecked there was a chance that we wouldn’t be able to race for a while because we only had one car and limited funds. As a result, I never really got a chance to be an aggressive driver and take chances on the race track. Your mentality is a lot different knowing that if you wreck on the race track you can just jump in the back-up car and go at it. That mindset allows you to be aggressive and drive without fear. Because I have always had to drive on a budget I learned to take care of equipment which helped me to be consistent and finish races. They say that to finish first you must first finish. That pretty much sums up my consistency.”

With the 2017 race season merely weeks away we now know one of the drivers to watch on the CRSA Sprint Tour. Dustin Purdy will be bringing his determination, motivation, and mature driving style to the open wheel racing stage each week. He mentioned that in order to finish first, you first must finish. Well it is a good bet that we will be seeing Dustin finish first often in 2017.

Fans can catch Dustin and the rest of the 2017 CRSA Sprint Tour kick off their season on April 22nd at Fonda Speedway in Fultonville, New York. Racers and fans can find the rest of the CRSA Sprint Tour schedule at crsa.myracepass.com. They can also check out Dustin’s website at www.dustinpurdy.com for more information about the upcoming race season as well as information about some other races that Dustin may be competing in this year. Also please make sure you follow Dustin on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) @DustinPurdy83.