By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 11, 2022)………A spectacular field of 50-plus USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship drivers have announced their intentions to compete in the 81st running of the 98-lap ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix on Saturday, November 26, at California’s Ventura Raceway.

At press time, 54 cars are entered for the Agajanian Promotions event at Jim Naylor’s Ventura’s 1/5-mile seaside dirt oval, including two past Turkey Night Grand Prix midget winners. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) comes in as the defending race victor from 2021 while Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) captured the event win in 2015.

Seavey (2018) and Thorson (2016) are two of the five past USAC National Midget champions in the lineup along with Lebanon, Indiana’s Spencer Bayston (2017), Indianapolis, Indiana’s Tyler Courtney (2019) and Penngrove, California’s Buddy Kofoid (2021). Recently crowned USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) will be gunning for his first Turkey Night victory.

All the aforementioned drivers have captured USAC National Midget feature wins in their career and are among the 17 drivers who’ve tallied series feature wins. Those seeking a first Turkey Night Grand Prix score include 2022 series winners Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.).

International racing standout Michael Pickens (Auckland, N.Z.) can count himself in the group of USAC National Midget feature winners in the Turkey Night field along with Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.).

Furthermore, a trio of USAC Western States Midget champions will take on the national stars, a list of consisting of Hanford, California’s Michael Faccinto (2018 & 2022), Brentwood, California’s Blake Bower (2021) and Downey, California’s Steve Paden (2003).

Last year’s members of an all-female front row will return to the Turkey Night lineup this year – pole winner Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) and outside front row starter Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.). Additionally, 2016 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) is back in the seat of a midget after scoring a series-high 11 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car wins in 2022.

Day, Denney and Bower are in the mix for the Don Basile Rookie of the Race award, which, thus far, encompasses 23 drivers. The award was captured in 2021 by third-place finisher Mitchel Moles. The most recent Rookie driver to win the Turkey Night Grand Prix is Warren Mockler in 1986 – 36 years ago.

RACE DETAILS:

The ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix officially gets underway on Friday night, November 25, with racing action from the USAC West Coast / VRA Sprint Cars as well as USAC Midget practice.

On Friday and Saturday, the pits open at 11am Pacific with the drivers meeting at 2:30pm, the grandstands opening at 3pm and cars on track at 3:30pm.

Friday’s tickets are $22 for adult general admission, $18 for Senior/Military/Students and free for children under 12. Pit passes are $45 apiece for members and $50 for non-members.

On Saturday, all tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $25 for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $45 for members and $50 for non-members.

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TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX ENTRY LIST: (54 ENTRIES)

00 ®JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports)

08x MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports)

1EM TBA (NP Motorsports)

1NP ®TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (NP Motorsports)

1x ®A.J. BENDER/San Diego, CA (LKK Motorsports)

2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3v ®JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim Vanzant)

4 ®JAKE HODGES/Camarillo, CA (Jake Hodges)

4x ®COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Willie Kahne)

5K BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA (Dean Alexander)

5T KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Dean Alexander)

7NZ ®TRAVIS BUCKLEY/Auckland, NZ (BSL Racing)

8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

8w ®KALEB MONTGOMERY/Templeton, CA (Woodland Autosports)

9 ®BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)

9AU SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Dyson Motorsport)

11K ®NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Kruseman Motorsports)

14J MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises)

14T DYLAN BLOOMFIELD/Oakley, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises)

17B ®AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports)

17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing)

19 ®ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ ®HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

20 C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (C.J. Sarna)

22G ®ZACH TELFORD/Middleton, ID (GR Motorsports)

25 TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Tom Malloy)

25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

25m ®JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25x EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Tom Malloy)

26 CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)

45 ®JOEY BISHOP/Camarillo, CA (Bishop Motorsports)

51 ®BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)

56 STEVE PADEN/Downey, CA (Steve Paden)

57 ®DANIEL WHITLEY/Ferndale, CA (Abacus Racing)

57x ®STEVE HIX/Ventura, CA (Steve Hix)

58 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Six8 Motorsports)

71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71E ®MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71K ®DOMINIC GORDEN/Clovis, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71m ®CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71p DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

73 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

73x CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

84 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)

86 ®JONATHAN BEASON/Broken Arrow, OK (CB Industries)

88 TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tanner Thorson Racing)

89 MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (CB Industries)

97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

® represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race Contender

TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET WINNERS:

1934: Bob Swanson | Gilmore Stadium

1935: Ted Sizemore | Gilmore Stadium

1936: Ronney Householder | Gilmore Stadium

1937: Ronney Householder | Gilmore Stadium

1938: Bob Swanson | Gilmore Stadium

1939: Mel Hansen | Gilmore Stadium

1940: Roy Russing | Gilmore Stadium

1941: Roy Russing | Gilmore Stadium

1942: No Race

1943: No Race

1944: No Race

1945: Danny Oakes | Gilmore Stadium

1946: Perry Grimm | Gilmore Stadium

1947: Johnny McDowell | Gilmore Stadium

1948: Bill Vukovich | Gilmore Stadium

1949: Perry Grimm | Gilmore Stadium

1950: Bill Zaring | Gilmore Stadium

1951: No Race

1952: No Race

1953: No Race

1954: No Race

1955: Johnnie Parsons | Gardena Stadium

1956: Edgar Elder | Gardena Stadium

1957: George Amick | Gardena Stadium

1958: Joe Garson | Gardena Stadium

1959: Tony Bettenhausen | Gardena Stadium

1960: A.J. Foyt | Ascot Park

1961: A.J. Foyt | Ascot Park

1962: Billy Cantrell | Ascot Park

1963: Mel Kenyon | Ascot Park

1964: Parnelli Jones | Ascot Park

1965: Dick Atkins | Ascot Park

1966: Parnelli Jones | Ascot Park

1967: Gary Bettenhausen | Ascot Park

1968: Sammy Sessions | Ascot Park

1969: George Benson | Ascot Park

1970: Gary Bettenhausen | Ascot Park

1971: Billy Engelhart | Ascot Park

1972: Tony Simon | Ascot Park

1973: Billy Engelhart | Ascot Park

1974: Danny McKnight | Ascot Park

1975: Mel Kenyon | Speedway 605

1976: Bubby Jones | Ascot Park

1977: Gary Patterson | Ascot Park

1978: Rick Goudy | Ascot Park

1979: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1980: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1981: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1982: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1983: Kevin Olson | Ascot Park

1984: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1985: Brent Kaeding | Ascot Park

1986: Warren Mockler | Ascot Park

1987: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1988: Chuck Gurney | Ascot Park

1989: Chuck Gurney | Ascot Park

1990: Stan Fox | Ascot Park

1991: Stan Fox | Saugus Speedway

1992: Ron Shuman | Bakersfield Speedway

1993: Ron Shuman | Bakersfield Speedway

1994: Jordan Hermansader | Bakersfield Speedway

1995: Billy Boat | Bakersfield Speedway

1996: Billy Boat | Perris Auto Speedway

1997: Billy Boat | Ventura Raceway

1998: Jay Drake | Bakersfield Speedway

1999: Jason Leffler | Irwindale Speedway

2000: Tony Stewart | Irwindale Speedway

2001: Dave Steele | Irwindale Speedway

2002: Michael Lewis | Irwindale Speedway

2003: Dave Steele | Irwindale Speedway

2004: Bobby East | Irwindale Speedway

2005: Jason Leffler | Irwindale Speedway

2006: Billy Wease | Irwindale Speedway

2007: Dave Darland | Irwindale Speedway

2008: Bobby Santos | Irwindale Speedway

2009: Bryan Clauson | Irwindale Speedway

2010: Bryan Clauson | Irwindale Speedway

2011: Caleb Armstrong | Irwindale Speedway

2012: Kyle Larson | Perris Auto Speedway

2013: Dave Darland | Perris Auto Speedway

2014: Christopher Bell | Perris Auto Speedway

2015: Tanner Thorson | Perris Auto Speedway

2016: Kyle Larson | Ventura Raceway

2017: Christopher Bell | Ventura Raceway

2018: Christopher Bell | Ventura Raceway

2019: Kyle Larson | Ventura Raceway

2020: Not Held

2021: Logan Seavey | Ventura Raceway