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2024 turkey night grand prix

One Spot Better: Day Becomes Turkey Night’s Youngest Winner, Pursley is the Champ

Corey Day kisses the Aggie hat after winning the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame on Saturday night at California's Ventura Raceway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Ventura, California (November 30, 2024)………Corey Day’s first try at the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2023 marked a grand entrance to the event for the Clovis, Calif. native.


 

In his encore performance on Saturday night at California’s Ventura Raceway, Day rose to the occasion quite literally and figuratively as he made the winning move 17 laps from the finish line to earn $15,000 and become a first-time winner of the 83rd running of the prestigious event.


 

In doing so, Day became the youngest winner in the history of the Turkey Night Grand Prix after celebrating his 19th birthday just two days earlier. Caleb Armstrong was the previous record holder, having won the 2011 event at the age of 19 years, 3 months and 8 days.


 

Furthermore, Day secured the fifth consecutive Turkey Night USAC Midget feature victory for a driver from the state of California, following in the footsteps of Kyle Larson (2019), Logan Seavey (2021), Justin Grant (2022) and Kyle Larson (2023).


 

Meanwhile, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) finished off a remarkable personal comeback from injury to capture the 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship for himself and his CB Industries team with a third-place showing in the season finale.


 

Less than a week after supplying car owner Willie Kahne his first career USAC National Midget triumph at California’s Merced Speedway, Day delivered once more in the 98-lap event at Ventura’s 1/5-mile dirt oval with a 20-year-old powerplant – a full year older than Day himself – at the wheel of his Durst – Four CCCC’s Construction – Sander Engineering/Triple X/Wirth Mopar.


 

“Hats off to Willie Kahne, Will Durst and Bob Wirth for giving me a good motor that no one thought would work, and it does,” Day praised.


 

Day also admitted that he’d never before capped off a season with a victory. To do it in one of the most prestigious motorsports events on the calendar, that’s icing on the cake for the driver who was a regular with the Kubota High Limit Series throughout the year and also made a handful of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series starts.


 

“This was my last race of the year, and I’ve never ended the year with a win in all my years racing,” Day remarked. “To do that feels really, really good. I look forward to this swing so much, and to just be able to come race and almost relax. It’s not as high pressure as the normal stuff I’m doing and I’m just really glad Willie and I could get a couple wins down here, and I’m glad to be one spot better here this year.”


 

Starting eighth, Day steadily moved forward and had worked himself into the top-five by the midway point on the 49th lap. Jacob Denney flexed his muscles early by leading the initial 25 laps as he exchanged the low and high lines with constant pursuer Pursley.


 

As the front runners worked a gauntlet of traffic, Buddy Kofoid advanced his way to the head of the herd as he worked under Pursley for second on lap 23, and shortly thereafter, went to the high side to travel around Denney for the race lead on the 26th circuit.


 

Suddenly, four-time Turkey Night winner Kyle Larson appeared in the frame as he slotted into fifth by lap 44 after starting in the 10th position. However, just three trips later on lap 47, Larson’s reign, for all intents and purposes, ended when a chain reaction starting from Pursley to Larson to Day resulted in rear bumper contact from Day to Larson. That chrome to chrome contact sent Larson into a 360 degree spin in turn two. By rule, Larson had to restart the race from the tail where he managed only to get back to the 20th spot after dropping out with 21 laps remaining, his first Turkey Night finish outside the top-five in 12 starts.


 

Following the restart, Tanner Thorson emerged as a contender and was able to slide Kofoid the lead, albeit briefly, in turns three and four on the 49th lap before Kofoid cut back under to reassume the lead. While those two duked it out up top, Denney was constantly crawling the infield berm. After Thorson slammed the turn two cushion with his right rear tire on lap 50 and dropped back to fourth, Denney disposed of Thorson, then surpassed Kofoid to retake the number one spot.


 

When Kofoid bounced off the back straightaway wall on lap 55, Day took advantage of his fellow competitor’s white wall misfortune to grab second, then set his sights on Denney who patrolled the low line as the leader with 43 to go. As the rubber began to become a prominent streak around the inner perimeter, Day stalked Denney from a mere single car length behind.


 

“I knew that the rubber was going to come in, unfortunately,” Day explained. “With so many laps on this place, you just really can’t keep it off it. I knew it was going to come in; it was just a matter of when it was. I tried the bottom and then I’d move up, then I kept trying the bottom just to see. I saw Denney down there get by a couple of cars, so I knew it was in. I knew I needed to get down there and get my tires worked in for it.”


 

On lap 82, Denney drifted ever so slightly off the bottom line and opened the door for Day to pounce. Pulling even with Denney exiting turn two and down the back straightaway, Day slipped past for the lead entering turn three before crossing the line, with Denney just behind, to complete the lap just as seventh running Cannon McIntosh slowed with a flat right rear tire, which necessitated a yellow flag, ending any sliver of title hopes he held on to.


 

From the lap 83 restart onward, Day was untouchable as he pulled out to a full second lead almost instantaneously. At that moment, Denney began to fade as Kofoid (lap 84) and Pursley (lap 87) followed suit past him into second and third, respectively. Yet, the field bunched one final time on lap 90 after Rookie Broedy Graham (18th) spun to a stop in turn one. During the caution period, Thorson (5th) slowed with a shredded right rear tire.


 

Despite seeing his one second lead evaporate with the yellow, Day got back on the horse and rode it to the finish line over the final nine laps to score a 1.009 second margin of victory over Buddy Kofoid and Daison Pursley with Jacob Denney fourth and Logan Seavey rounding out the top-five.


 

After finishing second in the 2021 Turkey Night Grand Prix, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) collected his second career runner-up result in the event after leading 24 laps in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.


 

Daison Pursley capped his championship season with a third-place finish, far outlasting his best previous Turkey Night results of 19th and 14th in 2019 and 2023, respectively, in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota.


 

It was a big night for Pursley’s CBI teammate Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) who doubled up the honors on Saturday night. His 11th place result made him the 2024 Don Basile Rookie of the Race. Adding to the accolades, Wigal also finished the year by locking up the Max Papis Innovations USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year award.


 

Tanner Carrick’s (Lincoln, Calif.) return to Turkey Night after a three-year hiatus was a solid one. After starting 19th, Carrick advanced +9 to finish 10th, which earned him hard charger honors for the evening.


 

On Friday, Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Ariz.) found himself upside down on the track’s exit ramp following a flip during practice. After thrashing to get the car repaired overnight, he transferred his way into his first career USAC National Midget start on Saturday night at Ventura. That earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.


 


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 30, 2024 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame


 

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-10 locked into the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.072; 2. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.206; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.238; 4. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.254; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 57KT, Abacus-12.286; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.295; 7. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.299; 8. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.313; 9. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.345; 10. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.364; 11. Jake Swanson, 31, Beilman-12.369; 12. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.382; 13. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.385; 14. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.480; 15. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.484; 16. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.498; 17. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.505; 18. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.507; 19. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.513; 20. Dalten Gabbard, 77, Gabbard-12.601; 21. Kaylee Bryson, 58, Abacus-12.606; 22. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.615; 23. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.624; 24. C.J. Leary, 15, Hart-12.628; 25. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.630; 26. Cade Lewis, 101, Alexander-12.659; 27. T.J. Smith, 32x, Sarale-12.673; 28. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.675; 29. Kyle Busch, 51B, Busch-12.676; 30. Broedy Graham, 66, BGR-12.704; 31. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.715; 32. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.722; 33. Ty Gibbs, 81, CBI-12.750; 34. Michael Faccinto, 14, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.780; 35. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-12.829; 36. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.830; 37. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-12.846; 38. Stevie Sussex, 20AZ, Crown Jewel-12.904; 39. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.935; 40. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling-12.982; 41. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.990; 42. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-13.051; 43. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-13.054; 44. Abby Hohlbein, 55, Lambert-13.151; 45. Mathew Radisich, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-13.174; 46. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.380; 47. Peter Paulson, Q32, El Toro-13.387; 48. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.530; 49. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.670; 50. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.719; 51. Barrie Valentino, Q23, El Toro-13.741; 52. J.J. Yeley, 3J, Petty-16.766.


 

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Dalten Gabbard, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Cade Lewis, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Austin Torgerson, 8. Kyle Busch, 9. Randi Pankratz, 10. Stevie Sussex, 11. Drake Edwards, 12. Abby Hohlbein, 13. Bryan Drollinger, 14. Peter Paulson. NT


 

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Chase McDermand, 6. Caden Sarale, 7. Broedy Graham, 8. T.J. Smith, 9. C.J. Sarna, 10. Dane Culver, 11. Ty Gibbs, 12. Mathew Radisch, 13. Todd Hawse, 14. Barrie Valentino. 2:35.259


 

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Brody Fuson, 8.  Alex Karpowicz, 9. Cale Coons, 10. Michael Faccinto, 11. J.J. Yeley, 12. Kyle Hawse, 13. Jim Vanzant. 2:40.057


 

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Cade Lewis, 3. Ronnie Gardner, 4. Broedy Graham, 5. Caden Sarale, 6. Austin Torgerson, 7. Dane Culver, 8. T.J. Smith, 9. Brody Fuson, 10. Michael Faccinto, 11. C.J. Sarna, 12. Randi Pankratz, 13. Stevie Sussex, 14. Cale Coons, 15. Alex Karpowicz, 16. Kyle Busch, 17. Jake Andreotti. NT


 

FEATURE: (98 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Corey Day (8), 2. Buddy Kofoid (3), 3. Daison Pursley (2), 4. Jacob Denney (1), 5. Logan Seavey (13), 6. Gavin Miller (9), 7. Justin Grant (15), 8. Kale Drake (7), 9. Jake Swanson (14), 10. Tanner Carrick (19), 11. Zach Wigal (11), 12. Cannon McIntosh (6), 13. Tyler Courtney (12), 14. Tanner Thorson (4), 15. Zach Daum (21), 16. Cade Lewis (23), 17. C.J. Leary (20), 18. Dalten Gabbard (17), 19. Broedy Graham (25), 20. Kyle Larson (10), 21. Emerson Axsom (26), 22. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 23. Ronnie Gardner (24), 24. Chase McDermand (22), 25. Kaylee Bryson (18), 26. Ryan Timms (16). NT


 

**Jake Andreotti flipped during the semi.


 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Jacob Denney, Laps 26-49 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 50-81 Jacob Denney, Laps 82-98 Corey Day.


 

FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1505, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1446, 3-Logan Seavey-1355, 4-Ryan Timms-1311, 5-Jacob Denney-1283, 6-Zach Daum-1256, 7-Justin Grant-1210, 8-Gavin Miller-1176, 9-Zach Wigal-1085, 10-Kale Drake-1063.


 

FINAL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-209, 2-Logan Seavey-204, 3-Justin Grant-164, 4-Robert Ballou-149, 5-C.J. Leary-134, 6-Kyle Cummins-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.


 


 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:


 

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jacob Denney (12.204)


 

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jacob Denney (12.072)


 

Simpson Race Products First Qualifying Race Winner: Zach Wigal


 

Rod End Supply Second Qualifying Race Winner: Tyler Courtney


 

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Qualifying Race Winner: Logan Seavey


 

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase McDermand


 

Hard Charger: Tanner Carrick (19th to 10th)


 

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Dalten Gabbard


 

Don Basile Rookie of the Race: Zach Wigal (11th)

 

 

Denney Dashes to Fastest Time in Friday’s Turkey Night G.P. Practice

Friday  November 29th...Ohio's Jacob Denney was the fastest overall in Friday night's practice at California's Ventura Raceway in preparation for Saturday's 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. (Jacob Avila Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Ventura, California (November 29, 2024)………Jacob Denney laid down the fastest lap during Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice at California’s Ventura Raceway.


 

The four practice sessions were held in preparation for the series’ season finale on Saturday night, November 30 – the $15,000-to-win 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.


 

Denney (Galloway, Ohio) paced the 50 cars that took time with a lap of 12.016 seconds around the 1/5-mile dirt oval in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication – Race for Chase/LynK/Ed Pink Toyota.


 

Following Denney was the 2023 Don Basile Rookie of the Race, Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), in second with a 12.039. USAC National Midget point leader Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was third at 12.118, just ahead of his primary championship challenger, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), in fourth at 12.190. Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 12.355.


 

Other notables include four past Turkey Night winners. Four-time victor Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) was ninth overall in practice while Logan Seavey was 11th and Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) was 23rd. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) did not participate in practice.


 

Two Turkey Night Rookies and NASCAR Cup Series regulars took their first laps at Ventura on Friday. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, Nev.) was 31st in practice while NASCAR Xfinity titlist Ty Gibbs (Charlotte, N.C.) was 32nd.


 

Two drivers flipped during the night in very similar fashion. Tyler Edwards (Salina, Okla.) clipped the turn three cushion and flipped several times before landing on all four wheels in the pit exit ramp. Later on, Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Ariz.) clipped the wall and flipped several times before he too landed in the exit ramp. Both drivers walked away.

 


 

RACE DETAILS:


 

On Saturday, November 30, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the Ultimate Sprint Car Series.


 

The Turkey Night Grand Prix will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.


 


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 30, 2024 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame


 

PRACTICE: 1. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.016; 2. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.039; 3. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.118; 4. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.190; 5. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.355; 6. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.367; 7. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.405; 8. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.422; 9. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.430; 10. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.462; 11. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.472; 12. J.J. Yeley, 3J, Petty-12.481; 13. Kaylee Bryson, 58, Abacus-12.512; 14. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.551; 15. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.599; 16. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.627; 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 57KT, Abacus-12.648; 18. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.654; 19. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.657; 20. Cade Lewis, 101, Alexander-12.675; 21. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.702; 22. Broedy Graham, 66, BGR-12.718; 23. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.783; 24. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.868; 25. Stevie Sussex, 20AZ, Crown Jewel-12.911; 26. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.934; 27. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.945; 28. T.J. Smith, 32x, Sarale-12.956; 29. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-13.008; 30. Tyler Edwards, 14s, Mounce/Stout-13.013; 31. Kyle Busch, 51B, Busch-13.067; 32. Ty Gibbs, 81, CBI-13.098; 33. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-13.176; 34. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-13.183; 35. Jake Swanson, 31, Beilman-13.191; 36. Dalten Gabbard, 77, Gabbard-13.193; 37. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-13.194; 38. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-13.200; 39. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-13.202; 40. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.242; 41. Abby Hohlbein, 55, Lambert-13.274; 42. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling-13.280; 43. C.J. Leary, 15, Hart-13.331; 44. Mathew Radisich, 14, Graunstadt/Streeter-13.342; 45. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.406; 46. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-13.544; 47. Ben Covich, 65NZ, Covich-13.617; 48. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.724; 49. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.895; 50. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.995.


 

**Tyler Edwards flipped during practice. Dalten Gabbard flipped during practice.


 

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 30, 2024 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

 

30 for 30: Thorson Leads All 30 at Bakersfield for 30th USAC Midget Win

Wednesday november 27th...Tanner Thorson (middle) is joined by car owner Tom Malloy (right) and Bakersfield Speedway promoter Scott Schweitzer (left) after Thorson won Wednesday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature at California's Bakersfield Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Bakersfield, California (November 27, 2024)………Over the past 69 years of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing, only 14 drivers have amassed 30 or more victories during their career.


 

Tanner Thorson is now one of those elite few following his wire-to-wire winning performance during Wednesday night’s 8th annual November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway.


 

Starting from the pole in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication – Race for Chase/LynK/Ed Pink Toyota, Thorson (Minden, Nev.) was never headed from start to finish, leading the entire 30-lap distance to earn his 30th career USAC National Midget feature victory – his first at Bakersfield.


 

The 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion joins the 30+ win club, which only 13 previous drivers have achieved: Mel Kenyon (111), Rich Vogler (95), Bob Wente (78), Bob Tattersall (63), Sleepy Tripp (59), Jimmy Davies (48), Bryan Clauson (38), Tracy Hines (35), Gene Hartley (31), Chuck Rodee (31), Dave Darland (30), Mike McGreevy (30) and Johnny Parsons (30).


 

“(The track) was tricky; it was definitely a race where you wanted to start on the front row,” Thorson said of the juiced up 1/3-mile clay oval which had been doused by rain the previous two days. “Hats off to my guys for not giving up.  I was pretty terrible in that heat race, so we just threw a bunch of stuff at it and it stuck. This was as comfortable as it could get and it could go anywhere I wanted. I think it helped in that situation because it’s easy to lose races when you’re out there by yourself.”


 

The victory was also Thorson’s first since his two-month-old daughter, Blakelee, was born. Furthermore, Thorson’s latest USAC National Midget victory was his second in the state of California, and his first in the Golden State since 2020 at Merced Speedway just after he was hired for a late-season run in Malloy’s same No. 25m nearly four years to the day earlier.


 

“It’s cool to get back here in victory lane with (Tom Malloy),” Thorson stated. “He and (crew chief) Jerome (Rodela) gave me a shot back in 2020 when I didn’t have a ride. I told him we were going to park it at least one time this week.”


 

Thorson established the top spot early over fellow front row starter Cannon McIntosh, who slipped back to fourth as fellow Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammates Ryan Timms and Buddy Kofoid scurried into second and third, respectively.


 

By lap nine, Thorson had already reached the tail end of the field, building a 1.7 second lead in the process over Timms and Kofoid who found themselves mired behind a wall of lapped traffic.


 

However, the front running order was shaken up on lap 13 when the lapped car of Alex Karpowicz checked up behind Timms on the bottom of turn two. At that same moment, Kofoid was skating the low groove and clipped the left rear tire of Karpowicz, which sent Kofoid spiraling upside down to bring out the red flag, finishing Kofoid’s night in the process.


 

On the ensuing lap 13 restart, fifth running Carson Macedo biked on his entry into turn one, sending him flipping over three times into the outside wall and billboards, ending his race in abrupt fashion. Earlier in the evening, Macedo had set fast time during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying for the for third time in his USAC National Midget career, and for the first time since 2021.


 

During the red flag, 17th running Kyle Larson, the 2019 November Classic victor, peeled off to the pits and did not return and was scored 23rd.


 

From the second attempt at a lap 13 restart through the balance of the 30-lap main, Thorson was the dominant force as he quickly muscled his way to an eight car length lead by the midway point and increasingly built his advantage over the field as the race wore on, even as he was forced to maneuver around from top to bottom in order to work his way through traffic.


 

“I don’t really think I had a doubt,” Thorson confidently noted. “My car was just so good. It sounds cocky, but I was letting it drive itself and it where it went.”


 

Thorson ultimately powered across the finish line 3.082 seconds ahead of the competition in front of the KKM triumvirate of Ryan Timms, Cannon McIntosh and Gavin Miller while Beilman Motorsports’ Zach Daum rounded out the top-five.


 

Finally, it was no more tens for Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) on his California swing during the month of November. In his first three outings of the trip over the past week, Timms had finished 10th at Thunderbowl Raceway followed by a pair of 10th place performances at Merced Speedway. On this night at Bakersfield, he finished a solid second in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio – TRD – Toyota – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota, his best performance to date with the USAC National Midgets at Bakersfield.


 

McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), meanwhile, scored a third place result in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/GearWrench – Mobil 1 – TRD/LynK/Speedway Toyota for his ninth podium finish in his last 11 starts. His latest top-three run at Bakersfield shaved off 24 more points from 12th place finisher Daison Pursley’s USAC National Midget point lead. McIntosh now heads to California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday just 30 points behind Pursley in the race for the title.


 

Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) has put together a solid California swing with top-seven finishes in all four of his starts. Despite starting 14th at Bakersfield, the Buckeye advanced his way up to a seventh place finish to earn hard charger honors for the night.


 

It's been a rough and tumble Cali swing for Zach Daum. After placing 12th, 12th and 16th this past week, he got back into the groove at Bakersfield with a lap pass to win his heat race, then went on to grab fifth in the main event. For those two drives, he certainly made tonight's Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.


 

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch made his USAC National Midget debut at Bakersfield. A promising night in which he qualified 18th out of 36 cars before leading the first two laps of his heat race came to an abrupt halt with a battery connection issue, forcing him to drop out. Starting 10th in the semi-feature, Busch worked his way up to fifth, but fell one spot short of the final transfer spot.


 


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 27, 2024 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 8th November Classic


 

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.380; 2. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.436; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.472; 4. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.579; 5. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.596; 6. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.633; 7. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.635; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.704; 9. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.774; 10. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.777; 11. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.779; 12. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.783; 13. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.785; 14. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.803; 15. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.828; 16. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.862; 17. Karter Sarff, 31, Beilman-12.869; 18. Kyle Busch, 51B, Busch-12.921; 19. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.967; 20. Brandt Twitty, 4B, Twitty-12.996; 21. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-13.001; 22. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-13.006; 23. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.041; 24. Cade Lewis, 101, Alexander-13.088; 25. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.115; 26. Broedy Graham, 66, Graham-13.181; 27. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-13.260; 28. Abby Hohlbein, 55, Lambert-13.456; 29. Troy DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-13.460; 30. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.460; 31. Kaylee Bryson, 58, Abacus-13.558; 32. T.J. Smith, 32, Sarale-14.021; 33. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-14.499; 34. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-15.562; 35. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-NT; 36. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling-NT.


 

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Brody Fuson, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. Kyle Hawse, 7. Troy DeGaton, 8. Ronnie Gardner, 9. Karter Sarff. NT


 

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Austin Torgerson, 5. Broedy Graham, 6. Todd Hawse, 7. Terry Nichols, 8. Kyle Busch, 9. Drake Edwards. NT


 

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Corey Day, 3. Zach Wigal, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Buddy Kofoid, 6. Alex Karpowicz, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Chase McDermand. 2:11.097


 

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cade Lewis, 2. Ryan

Timms, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Kale Drake, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Brandt Twitty, 7. T.J. Smith, 8. Abby Hohlbein. 2:09.421


 

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Drake Edwards, 3. Brandt Twitty, 4. Alex Karpowicz, 5. Kyle Busch, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. T.J. Smith, 8. Abby Hohlbein, 9. Todd Hawse, 10. Kyle Hawse, 11. Terry Nichols, 12. Cale Coons. NT


 

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (1), 2. Ryan Timms (3), 3. Cannon McIntosh (2), 4. Gavin Miller (5), 5. Zach Daum (7), 6. Justin Grant (8), 7. Jacob Denney (14), 8. Cade Lewis (10), 9. Logan Seavey (9), 10. Kale Drake (13), 11. Zach Wigal (18), 12. Daison Pursley (15), 13. Emerson Axsom (16), 14. Chase McDermand (12), 15. Brody Fuson (21), 16. Drake Edwards (11), 17. Austin Torgerson (20), 18. Alex Karpowicz (23), 19. Broedy Graham (24), 20. Brandt Twitty (19), 21. Buddy Kofoid (4), 22. Carson Macedo (6), 23. Kyle Larson (17), 24. Corey Day (24). NT


 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tanner Thorson.


 

**Cale Coons flipped during practice. Ronnie Gardner flipped during the first heat. Troy DeGaton flipped during the first heat. Buddy Kofoid flipped on lap 13 of the feature. Carson Macedo flipped on lap 13 of the feature.


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1436, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1406, 3-Logan Seavey-1297, 4-Ryan Timms-1288, 5-Zach Daum-1223, 6-Jacob Denney-1216, 7-Justin Grant-1158, 8-Gavin Miller-1121, 9-Zach Wigal-1044, 10-Kale Drake-1014.


 

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-209, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Justin Grant-156, 4-Robert Ballou-149, 5-Kyle Cummins-131, 6-C.J. Leary-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.


 

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 30, 2024 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame


 


 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:


 

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Carson Macedo (12.669)


 

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Carson Macedo (12.380)


 

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant


 

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Zach Daum


 

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey


 

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Cade Lewis


 

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase McDermand


 

Hard Charger: Jacob Denney (14th to 7th)


 

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Zach Daum

 

27 Rookie of the Race Contenders Prepare for Turkey Night 2024

Turkey Night Grand Prix Rookie Kyle Busch. (Lucas Halbert Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Ventura, California (November 28, 2024)………The ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame annually presents the Don Basile Rookie of the Race Award, honoring the top performance by a first-time feature starter in the 98-lap classic each year.


 

The 2024 crop of 27 Turkey Night Rookies arrive to stake their claim and make their initial mark on the great race featuring USAC’s NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, which will take place for the 83rd time this Saturday night, November 30, at California’s Ventura Raceway.


 

No Rookie has won the race since Warren Mockler’s last lap heroics in 1986. Corey Day topped the field of Turkey Night debut starters in the 2023 race, finishing a close second.


 

Nearly half of this year’s 57-car field is among the abundance of Rookie of the Race contenders.  In this year’s group are two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, Nev.), plus USAC National Midget newcomer Cale Coons (Greencastle, Ind.) who was three times a winner with the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets in 2024 and is the son of 2012 Turkey Night runner-up finisher Jerry Coons Jr.


 

Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) leads the overall USAC National Midget MPI Rookie of the Year standings going into the event and will be making his first Turkey Night appearance. A pair of 2024 USAC Western States Midget winners – Drake Edwards (Peoria, Ariz.) and Caden Sarale (Stockton, Calif.).


 

Stevie Sussex (Tempe, Ariz.), the 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, will also be eying a first career Turkey Night start as will Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.), T.J. Smith (Fresno, Calif.) and Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Ariz.) along with returnees Terry Nichols (Delano, Calif.), Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Ariz.) and Bryan Drollinger (San Pedro, Calif.), all looking to crack the Turkey Night starting field for the first time.


 

International flair in the Rookie class belongs to New Zealanders Mathew Radisich (Auckland, N.Z.) and Ben Covich (Auckland, N.Z.) while Aussie Barrie Valentino (Brisbane, Australia) will also make the trip up.


 

First time Turkey Night midget participants in 2024 include Adam Teves (Concord, Calif.), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, Calif.), Todd Hawse (Simi Valley, Calif.), Alex Karpowicz (Spring Branch, Texas), Kyle Hawse (Las Vegas, Nev.), Peter Paulson (Woodland, Calif.), Troy DeGaton (Wickenburg, Ariz.), Dane Culver (Riverside, Calif.), Abby Hohlbein (Cloverdale, Ohio), Broedy Graham (Bakersfield, Calif.), Cole Wakim (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Austin Torgerson (Glendale, Ariz.).


 

The award, named in memory of track owner, promoter and 1999 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Basile, made its debut in 1998 with Kasey Kahne the first recipient.


 

Over the years, the Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors at Turkey Night have been awarded to some of the most talented young racers in America. A glance at the list reveals some of the top names from the sport over the past two decades, including two race winners – Kyle Larson (2011) & Tanner Thorson (2013 – and four others who’ll be in this year’s field: Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019), Jake Andreotti (2022) and Corey Day (2023).


 


 

RACE DETAILS:


 

This year’s Turkey Night weekend will also host the Ultimate Sprint Car Series for both nights of on-track action on November 29-30.


 

On Friday, November 29, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget practice, plus sprint car racing.


 

On Saturday, November 30, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget and sprint car racing.


 

Advance tickets can be purchased now at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.


 

Both nights of the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.


 


 

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2024 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET ROOKIES: (27)


 

1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)


 

3p DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)


 

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


 

10 ADAM TEVES/Concord, CA (Dana & Robin Craig)


 

14 MATHEW RADISICH/Auckland, NZ (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)


 

17A TOM DUNKEL/Menifee, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)


 

18 TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse)


 

19 ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)


 

20AZ STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Crown Jewel Racing)


 

20x KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing)


 

Q23 BARRIE VALENTINO/Brisbane, AU (El Toro Racing)


 

31 KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)


 

32 CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)


 

Q32 PETER PAULSON/Woodland, CA (El Toro Racing)


 

32x T.J. SMITH/Fresno, CA (Caden Sarale)


 

39T TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton)


 

50 DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)


 

51B KYLE BUSCH/Las Vegas, NV (Kyle Busch Motorsports)


 

55 ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)


 

63 CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)


 

65NZ BEN COVICH/Auckland, NZ (Covich Motorsports)


 

66 BROEDY GRAHAM/Bakersfield, CA (Graham Racing)


 

71D BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros. Racing)


 

73 COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)


 

77 DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard)


 

88A AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)


 

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)


 


 

PAST DON BASILE TURKEY NIGHT ROOKIES OF THE RACE:


 

1998: Kasey Kahne – Finished 5th


 

1999: Dave Steele – Finished 5th


 

2000: Aaron Pollock – Finished 7th


 

2001: Bobby East – Finished 10th


 

2002: Jerome Rodela – Finished 9th


 

2003: Ryan Durst – Finished 10th


 

2004: Brad Loyet – Finished 9th


 

2005: Kevin Swindell – Finished 11th


 

2006: Kody Swanson – Finished 2nd


 

2007: Mike Murgoitio – Finished 4th


 

2008: Nic Faas – Finished 13th


 

2009: Levi Roberts – Finished 2nd


 

2010: Dalton Armstrong – Finished 3rd


 

2011: Kyle Larson – Finished 4th


 

2012: Ryan Bernal – Finished 3rd


 

2013: Tanner Thorson – Finished 10th


 

2014: Isaac Chapple – Finished 13th


 

2015: Robert Dalby – Finished 14th


 

2016: Carson Macedo – Finished 3rd


 

2017: Zeb Wise – Finished 5th


 

2018: Jason McDougal – Finished 8th


 

2019: Cannon McIntosh – Finished 2nd


 

2020: No Race


 

2021: Mitchel Moles – Finished 3rd


 

2022: Jake Andreotti – Finished 4th


 

2023: Corey Day – Finished 2nd

 

 

  

 

Bakersfield USAC Midgets Postponed to Wednesday, Nov. 27

Bakersfield, California (November 25, 2024)………A forecast calling for rain throughout the next two days has forced postponement of the Tuesday night, November 26, November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway.


 

The Bakersfield event featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will now be held on Wednesday night, November 27, at the 1/3-mile dirt oval.


 

The penultimate round of the USAC season will feature an expected field of 36 cars and drivers. The eighth annual November Classic brings three past event winners in NASCAR Cup champ Kyle Larson (2019), plus two-time USAC National Midget titlists Logan Seavey (2018 & 2023) and Buddy Kofoid (2020 & 2021) as well as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, who will be making his midget racing debut.


 

Joining the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will be the California Lightning Sprints. Pits open at 2pm Pacific with the gates opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5pm.


 

Adult general admission tickets are $25. Kids 6-12 general admission tickets are $15. Kids 5 and under general admis-sion tickets are free. Ages 65+ and military (ID required) general admission tickets are $22. Pit passes are $50 ($45 for USAC members).


 

Advance tickets are available now at https://tickethoss.com/event/687.


 

USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets and California’s Bakersfield Speedway have a history that dates back six decades. Davey Moses won the first trip by the USAC National Midgets in the summer of 1959. Over that period, 25 series races have been held at the lightning-quick track that has been both paved and dirt throughout its history.


 

The November Classic from Bakersfield will also be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.