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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.


 


 

=======================


 


 

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.

 

Finally! Larson Breaks Through to Win USAC Midget Madness at Merced

Sunday November 24th...Kyle Larson broke through for his first career Merced (Calif.) Speedway USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature win during Sunday night's Midget Madness. (Devin Mayo Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Merced, California (November 24, 2024)………Of all the California dirt tracks Kyle Larson has competed on in his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship career, there had been just one that he’d been unable to conquer prior to Sunday night’s Midget Madness finale.


 

That place was Merced Speedway.


 

Finally, in his sixth attempt, Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) broke through the barrier, chasing down Logan Seavey for the lead just prior to the midway point of the 30-lap feature, then led the remaining 17 trips around the 1/4-mile dirt oval to score his first USAC National Midget win of the year, and his fourth in his last five series appearances dating back to 2023.


 

Larson’s relatively troublesome spot of Merced has resulted in uncommon results for him over the years in USAC National Midget competition. In 2020, he took ninth and fourth across the two nights, and in 2021, missed the feature on opening night, then scored a 24th the following evening.


 

However, 10 of his 29 career triumphant performances with the series have come in his home state of California: Placerville (4), Ventura (3), Bakersfield (1) and Perris (1). However, for whatever rhyme or reason, Merced had escaped his grip.


 

”We’ve been really good whenever we’ve ran the midget at all these California tracks except for Merced,” Larson acknowledged. “I feel like we’ve been average at best at Merced, and then we had a couple races where we were really bad.”


 

Despite capturing the accompanying winged 360 sprint car race just prior to the midget feature, Larson still felt a bit of trepidation entering the midget main in his Silva Motorsports/FloRacing – HendrickCars.com – Durst – K & C Drywall – JVI Group/Eagle/Speedway.


 

“I was a bit nervous going into that feature just because the sprint cars go through the holes way easier than the midgets,” Larson explained. “In a midget, just because you’re sideways, you’re bouncing a lot. I was nervous with the track slickening up and I felt like we were going to have to run through the holes more, which we did.  But my car could handle it there, which was nice.”


 

Larson started his race from the third slot, and remained there for the initial 10 laps as Logan Seavey headed the field with Karter Sarff sandwiched in between the two in second. Larson ultimately overtook Sarff for second on the 11th lap, then set course to track down Seavey who had sprinted out to a commanding 1.471 second lead.


 

However, Seavey’s wide advantage was wiped out on the 13th lap when afternoon feature winner Corey Day’s car suddenly slowed to a stop atop the turn two banking. Running seventh at the time, Day restarted at the tail, but only managed to make it back to 17th at the checkered.


 

With the field bunched up following the restart, Larson swiftly swiped the lead away from Seavey in turn one on the 14th lap. However, Seavey turned down off turn two and raced his way back on by to retain the top spot for the time being. Moments later, trouble found third running Sarff who was in a prime spot to accrue his best career USAC National Midget finish. In the end, it was not to be as Sarff slowed, then pulled off, out of the race with a 24th place finish in the 24 car field.


 

The interruption of Larson’s pursuit was merely temporary as Larson jumped right back on the horse, diving under and driving past Seavey in turn one on the lap 14 restart to take over the race lead once and for good.


 

“(Seavey) was pretty committed to running and exiting above the cushion,” Larson recalled. “We had that restart and I got by him, then the caution came out. He actually got back by me, then went to the bottom of three and four, and I was like ‘dang.’ We got the caution and he was running where I wanted to be. So I just felt like on the restart that, if I exited four close enough to him, I needed to try a slide job or whatever into one. It had a lot of grip for me across the center. I caught the cushion just right off of two and could protect.”


 

Meanwhile, Kofoid was hustling his way up the chart as well, and on the 20th lap, made his move underneath Seavey in turn four to slot into second. In a moment’s notice, he was within arm's reach of Larson for the lead with less than 10 laps to go amid a bevy of traffic, and Larson could feel his presence.


 

“I felt pretty good for a while, then caught traffic,” Larson replayed. “My momentum slowed down quite a bit in three and four and I couldn’t really see my line in one and two. I thought I saw somebody poke their nose into one, so I figured they were building a run off the top of three and four. I moved back up there and felt better, and I just needed to keep my momentum up better.”


 

Nonetheless, Larson never allowed Kofoid to get close enough to attempt to clear him, and Larson was able to help ease the stress by gapping Kofoid with a lapped car separating the two at the very end. At the stripe, Larson was 0.791 seconds better than Kofoid who finished as the runner-up while Logan Seavey completed an all northern California top-three. Tanner Thorson and Carson Macedo rounded out the top-five.


 

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) and his miraculous streak at Merced continued with a third place result in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. Kofoid has now finished on the podium in nine consecutive USAC National Midget starts at Merced dating back to 2020. Since that point in time, his Merced finishes have included a 2nd-3rd-1st-2nd-1st-2nd-3rd-3rd-2nd. As the lone driver to finish on the podium in both features on Sunday, he earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night award.


 

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) jumped back on the podium with a third place run after pacing the opening 13 laps of the feature in his Abacus Racing/McVey Trucking – Indy Custom Stone – Factory QRC – Prime 47/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. It's Seavey’s first top-three with the series since scoring a third in September at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.


 

Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) has pulled out to a 30 point lead over Kale Drake in the race for 2024 USAC National Midget Bob Stroud/Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year honors. Wigal helped his cause in a big way with a 16th to 8th feature run which earned him hard charger honors for the night.


 


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness


 

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson (#25m Malloy), 2. Tyler Courtney (#23c Silva), 3. Corey Day (#4 Kahne), 4. Karter Sarff (#31 Beilman), 5. Zach Wigal (#89 CBI), 6. Jake Andreotti (#00 Davis), 7. Peter Paulson (#Q32 El Toro). 1:37.39


 

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake (#97K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 3. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Carson Macedo (#99AU Dyson), 5. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 6. Drake Edwards (#3p Petty), 7. Barrie Valentino (#Q23 El Toro). 1:37.07


 

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Caden Sarale (#32 Sarale), 2. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Buddy Kofoid (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), 5. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 6. Ronnie Gardner (#68 Six8), 7. Kyle Hawse (#20x Hawse). 1:36.74 (New Track Record)


 

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Zach Daum (#31B Beilman), 3. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 4. Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Kyle Larson (#1K Silva), 6. Travis DeGaton (#39T DeGaton), 7. Terry Nichols (#1p Nichols-Peckfelder). 1:37.38


 

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Drake Edwards, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Ronnie Gardner, 4. Travis DeGaton, 5. Peter Paulson, 6. Barrie Valentino, 7. Kyle Hawse, 8. Terry Nichols. NT


 

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (3), 2. Buddy Kofoid (4), 3. Logan Seavey (1), 4. Tanner Thorson (7), 5. Carson Macedo (5), 6. Jacob Denney (11), 7. Daison Pursley (14), 8. Zach Wigal (16), 9. Cannon McIntosh (12), 10. Ryan Timms (13), 11. Emerson Axsom (10), 12. Justin Grant (18), 13. Kale Drake (8), 14. Caden Sarale (9), 15. Tyler Courtney (19), 16. Zach Daum (15), 17. Corey Day (6), 18. Gavin Miller (17), 19. Hayden Reinbold (22), 20. Drake Edwards (20), 21. Ronnie Gardner (23), 22. Jake Andreotti (21), 23. Travis DeGaton (24), 24. Karter Sarff (2). NT


 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Logan Seavey, Laps 14-30 Kyle Larson.


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1390, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1336, 3-Logan Seavey-1243, 4-Ryan Timms-1211, 5-Zach Daum-1157, 6-Jacob Denney-1157, 7-Justin Grant-1095, 8-Gavin Miller-1049, 9-Zach Wigal-997, 10-Kale Drake-966.


 

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-206, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Justin Grant-154, 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 26, 2024 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 8th Annual November Classic


 


 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:


 

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson


 

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kale Drake


 

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Caden Sarale


 

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom


 

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Drake Edwards


 

Hard Charger: Zach Wigal (16th to 8th)


 

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Buddy Kofoid

It’s Day’s Afternoon at Merced’s USAC Midget Madness

Sunday November 24th...Corey Day captured his first USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory in more than three years on Sunday afternoon at California's Merced Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Merced, California (November 24, 2024)………For nearly the entire duration of the first feature event during Sunday afternoon’s Midget Madness doubleheader at California’s Merced Speedway, Corey Day followed the top-two every step of the way around the 1/4-mile dirt oval, just waiting for his window of opportunity to arrive.


 

When that exact moment arrived with five laps remaining as the frontrunners contested lapped traffic, Day pounced, going from third to second, then from second to first in a two-lap span to score his first USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory in nearly three-and-a-half years.


 

Day’s second career USAC victory was the first for car owner Willie Kahne and his Durst – Four CCCC’s Construction – Sander Engineering/Triple X/Worth Mopar. It is believed to be the first USAC National Midget feature victory for a Mopar-powered machine since Brad Sweet’s triumph on July 4, 2010, at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway more than 14 years ago.


 

Despite having to race his way to the front late in the going, Day (Clovis, Calif.) actually began his quest from the pole position, but quickly fell to third by the second lap as both Carson Macedo and Buddy Kofoid moved on by to occupy first and second while Day sought to find his footing.


 

“I just kind of stumbled off the original start,” Day admitted. “I wasn’t going to be the guy to blow it into turn one on the first lap and flip over while leading, so I just felt it out there for a while. I felt where we were good and where we weren’t.”


 

Day and Kofoid exchanged the runner-up spot several times before Kofoid took control by the seventh circuit while last Wednesday night’s Thunderbowl Raceway winner Macedo set a torrid pace around the high side, establishing a half-straightaway advantage by the halfway point.


 

Just mere moments later, while attempting to put 17th running Dane Culver a lap down in between turns three and four, Macedo and Culver connected wheels, sending Culver veering over the turn four cushion before slamming broadside into the outside wall, resulting in extensive right side damage to Culver’s machine while Macedo marched on. Culver was able to climb out and walk away.


 

On the ensuing restart, Macedo stretched his lead to five car lengths over Kofoid, and once again, faced the throes of traffic which simultaneously plugged the top, bottom and middle, challenging the mental and physical reflexes of the frontrunners down the stretch.


 

Day slipped through a crack in the door to slot into second in turn one on lap 25 as Kofoid worked the lapped cars of Emerson Axsom and Jake Andreotti. Maintaining a residence on the low groove, one lap later, Day spurted past Macedo for the lead in turns three and four as Macedo attempted to navigate his way past Caden Sarale.


 

“I knew that in clear air, the diamond line in one and two was really, really good,” Day explained. “You could make a lot of speed off two and down the back straightaway, but I also knew there was a thin groove you had to get down to off two or else you’d hit the rough stuff and get all messed up. I knew if I could beat those guys at the exit of two, they’d have no run after I cut them off. Luckily I got Buddy there before we got to traffic, then we got to traffic and Carson messed up sliding a car in three and four, which allowed us to get to him.”


 

From there on, Day possessed a slight gap between himself and the next wave of traffic, and thus, was able to expand his lead with relative ease en route to a 0.902 second victory, his first with the series since a 2021 USAC Indiana Midget Week triumph at Circle City Raceway.


 

Carson Macedo crossed the line in second with Buddy Kofoid third, a hard charging Kyle Larson in fourth and Karter Sarff rounding out the top-five.


 

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) led a race-high 26 of 30 laps on his way to a second place finish in his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota, just missing out on becoming the second two-time Midget Madness feature winner after scoring at Merced in 2022.


 

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), who remains the only two-time Merced USAC Midget winner, continued his incredible run of success at Merced at the wheel of his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. His third place result made it eight consecutive podium finishes for himself with the series at Merced dating back to 2020.


 

Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) was buried deep in the field, starting from the 14th spot. But he was on the move quickly, advancing 10 spots in all to finish fourth and earn hard charger honors. The fourth place result equaled his best career Merced USAC Midget finish to that point.


 

Prior to this weekend, Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.) had never laid eyes on Merced Speedway. During the day's first program, he set his first career USAC fast time during the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session before equaling his best career USAC National Midget result of fifth. With that performance, he was the honored with the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

 


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness


 

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Karter Sarff, 31, Beilman-11.993; 2. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.094; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.125; 4. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.170; 5. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.173; 6. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.174; 7. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.191; 8. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.218; 9. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.261; 10. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.263; 11. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.301; 12. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.327; 13. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.360; 14. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.383; 15. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.383; 16. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.389; 17. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.432; 18. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.497; 19. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.521; 20. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.570; 21. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.609; 22. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.614; 23. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.645; 24. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-13.142; 25. Peter Paulson, Q32, El Toro-13.164; 26. Barrie Valentino, Q23, El Toro-13.272; 27. Travis DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-13.300; 28. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.307; 29. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-NT; 30. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-NT; 31. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-NT; 32. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-NT.


 

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Karter Sarff, 5. Caden Sarale, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Peter Paulson, 8. Terry Nichols. 1:38.85


 

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Zach Wigal, 4. Drake Edwards, 5. Corey Day, 6. Emerson Axsom, 7. Barrie Valentino. 1:39.12


 

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Travis DeGaton. 1:39.54


 

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Dane Culver, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Kyle Hawse. 1:43.70


 

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Ronnie Gardner, 5. Travis DeGaton, 6. Peter Paulson, 7. Barrie Valentino, 8. Kyle Hawse. NT


 

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Corey Day (1), 2. Carson Macedo (2), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Kyle Larson (14), 5. Karter Sarff (6), 6. Logan Seavey (7), 7. Jacob Denney (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (5), 9. Tanner Thorson (10), 10. Ryan Timms (3), 11. Daison Pursley (11), 12. Zach Daum (16), 13. Zach Wigal (18), 14. Kale Drake (23), 15. Gavin Miller (13), 16. Justin Grant (19), 17. Tyler Courtney (12), 18. Drake Edwards (22), 19. Caden Sarale (17), 20. Emerson Axsom (15), 21. Jake Andreotti (9), 22. Hayden Reinbold (21), 23. Dane Culver (20), 24. Ronnie Gardner (24). NT


 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-26 Carson Macedo, Laps 27-30 Corey Day.


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1338, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1290, 3-Logan Seavey-1179, 4-Ryan Timms-1168, 5-Zach Daum-1126, 6-Jacob Denney-1102, 7-Justin Grant-1056, 8-Gavin Miller-1022, 9-Zach Wigal-948, 10-Kale Drake-929.


 

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-148, 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 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness


 


 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:


 

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (12.130)


 

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Karter Sarff (11.993)


 

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey


 

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jacob Denney


 

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid


 

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Andreotti


 

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tyler Courtney


 

Hard Charger: Kyle Larson (14th to 4th)


 

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Karter Sarff

 

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Merced, California (November 24, 2024)………For nearly the entire duration of the first feature event during Sunday afternoon’s Midget Madness doubleheader at California’s Merced Speedway, Corey Day followed the top-two every step of the way around the 1/4-mile dirt oval, just waiting for his window of opportunity to arrive.


 

When that exact moment arrived with five laps remaining as the frontrunners contested lapped traffic, Day pounced, going from third to second, then from second to first in a two-lap span to score his first USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory in nearly three-and-a-half years.


 

Day’s second career USAC victory was the first for car owner Willie Kahne and his Durst – Four CCCC’s Construction – Sander Engineering/Triple X/Worth Mopar. It is believed to be the first USAC National Midget feature victory for a Mopar-powered machine since Brad Sweet’s triumph on July 4, 2010, at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway more than 14 years ago.


 

Despite having to race his way to the front late in the going, Day (Clovis, Calif.) actually began his quest from the pole position, but quickly fell to third by the second lap as both Carson Macedo and Buddy Kofoid moved on by to occupy first and second while Day sought to find his footing.


 

“I just kind of stumbled off the original start,” Day admitted. “I wasn’t going to be the guy to blow it into turn one on the first lap and flip over while leading, so I just felt it out there for a while. I felt where we were good and where we weren’t.”


 

Day and Kofoid exchanged the runner-up spot several times before Kofoid took control by the seventh circuit while last Wednesday night’s Thunderbowl Raceway winner Macedo set a torrid pace around the high side, establishing a half-straightaway advantage by the halfway point.


 

Just mere moments later, while attempting to put 17th running Dane Culver a lap down in between turns three and four, Macedo and Culver connected wheels, sending Culver veering over the turn four cushion before slamming broadside into the outside wall, resulting in extensive right side damage to Culver’s machine while Macedo marched on. Culver was able to climb out and walk away.


 

On the ensuing restart, Macedo stretched his lead to five car lengths over Kofoid, and once again, faced the throes of traffic which simultaneously plugged the top, bottom and middle, challenging the mental and physical reflexes of the frontrunners down the stretch.


 

Day slipped through a crack in the door to slot into second in turn one on lap 25 as Kofoid worked the lapped cars of Emerson Axsom and Jake Andreotti. Maintaining a residence on the low groove, one lap later, Day spurted past Macedo for the lead in turns three and four as Macedo attempted to navigate his way past Caden Sarale.


 

“I knew that in clear air, the diamond line in one and two was really, really good,” Day explained. “You could make a lot of speed off two and down the back straightaway, but I also knew there was a thin groove you had to get down to off two or else you’d hit the rough stuff and get all messed up. I knew if I could beat those guys at the exit of two, they’d have no run after I cut them off. Luckily I got Buddy there before we got to traffic, then we got to traffic and Carson messed up sliding a car in three and four, which allowed us to get to him.”


 

From there on, Day possessed a slight gap between himself and the next wave of traffic, and thus, was able to expand his lead with relative ease en route to a 0.902 second victory, his first with the series since a 2021 USAC Indiana Midget Week triumph at Circle City Raceway.


 

Carson Macedo crossed the line in second with Buddy Kofoid third, a hard charging Kyle Larson in fourth and Karter Sarff rounding out the top-five.


 

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) led a race-high 26 of 30 laps on his way to a second place finish in his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota, just missing out on becoming the second two-time Midget Madness feature winner after scoring at Merced in 2022.


 

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), who remains the only two-time Merced USAC Midget winner, continued his incredible run of success at Merced at the wheel of his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. His third place result made it eight consecutive podium finishes for himself with the series at Merced dating back to 2020.


 

Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) was buried deep in the field, starting from the 14th spot. But he was on the move quickly, advancing 10 spots in all to finish fourth and earn hard charger honors. The fourth place result equaled his best career Merced USAC Midget finish to that point.


 

Prior to this weekend, Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.) had never laid eyes on Merced Speedway. During the day's first program, he set his first career USAC fast time during the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session before equaling his best career USAC National Midget result of fifth. With that performance, he was the honored with the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.


 


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness


 

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Karter Sarff, 31, Beilman-11.993; 2. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.094; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.125; 4. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.170; 5. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.173; 6. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.174; 7. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.191; 8. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.218; 9. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.261; 10. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.263; 11. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.301; 12. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.327; 13. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.360; 14. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.383; 15. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.383; 16. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.389; 17. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.432; 18. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.497; 19. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.521; 20. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.570; 21. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.609; 22. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.614; 23. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.645; 24. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-13.142; 25. Peter Paulson, Q32, El Toro-13.164; 26. Barrie Valentino, Q23, El Toro-13.272; 27. Travis DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-13.300; 28. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.307; 29. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-NT; 30. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-NT; 31. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-NT; 32. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-NT.


 

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Karter Sarff, 5. Caden Sarale, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Peter Paulson, 8. Terry Nichols. 1:38.85


 

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Zach Wigal, 4. Drake Edwards, 5. Corey Day, 6. Emerson Axsom, 7. Barrie Valentino. 1:39.12


 

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Travis DeGaton. 1:39.54


 

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Dane Culver, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Kyle Hawse. 1:43.70


 

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Ronnie Gardner, 5. Travis DeGaton, 6. Peter Paulson, 7. Barrie Valentino, 8. Kyle Hawse. NT


 

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Corey Day (1), 2. Carson Macedo (2), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Kyle Larson (14), 5. Karter Sarff (6), 6. Logan Seavey (7), 7. Jacob Denney (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (5), 9. Tanner Thorson (10), 10. Ryan Timms (3), 11. Daison Pursley (11), 12. Zach Daum (16), 13. Zach Wigal (18), 14. Kale Drake (23), 15. Gavin Miller (13), 16. Justin Grant (19), 17. Tyler Courtney (12), 18. Drake Edwards (22), 19. Caden Sarale (17), 20. Emerson Axsom (15), 21. Jake Andreotti (9), 22. Hayden Reinbold (21), 23. Dane Culver (20), 24. Ronnie Gardner (24). NT


 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-26 Carson Macedo, Laps 27-30 Corey Day.


 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1338, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1290, 3-Logan Seavey-1179, 4-Ryan Timms-1168, 5-Zach Daum-1126, 6-Jacob Denney-1102, 7-Justin Grant-1056, 8-Gavin Miller-1022, 9-Zach Wigal-948, 10-Kale Drake-929.


 

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-148, 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 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness


 


 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:


 

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (12.130)


 

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Karter Sarff (11.993)


 

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey


 

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jacob Denney


 

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid


 

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Andreotti


 

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tyler Courtney


 

Hard Charger: Kyle Larson (14th to 4th)


 

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Karter Sarff

 

Penultimate Challenge! USAC Midget November Classic Hits Bakersfield Nov. 26

The California roads lead the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship to Bakersfield Speedway for the penultimate round of the season on Tuesday night, November 26.

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, making his midget racing debut.


 

Thirty-six (36) entries are expected to sign in for the event at the 1/3-mile clay oval, which first hosted USAC National Midget racing in 1959.


 

Among the 36 are Emerson Axsom, twice a Bakersfield runner-up finisher in 2021 and 2023. In both of those same years, Justin Grant finished third each time. Tyler Courtney, the 2019 USAC National Midget champion, took third at Bakersfield back in 2021.


 

The 2016 series king, Tanner Thorson, collected a fast qualifying time and a third place result in 2017. Cannon McIntosh also set fast time in 2021 before coming home fourth in the feature at Bako in 2022 and 2023 while Carson Macedo, a victor last Wednesday at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway, scored a fifth in 2023.


 

At press time, Daison Pursley leads the 2024 USAC National Midget standings and enters the event with a best Bakersfield performance of 6th in 2023. Jacob Denney raced to a 9th in 2023 while Hayden Reinbold rounded out the top-10 in 2023.


 

Also returning to the Bakersfield lineup are six-time Bakersfield USAC Western States Midget winner Ronnie Gardner, a 16th place finisher with the USAC National Midgets there in 2017. Cade Lewis is a Bakersfield native and was this year’s USAC Western States Midget champion. He finished 16th in the 2023 November Classic. Lewis’ car owner, Dean Alexander, scored a USAC Western States Midget win at Bakersfield back in 2019.


 

Another Bakersfield native, Brody Fuson, captured a USAC West Coast Sprint Car victory at his hometown track in 2022. Furthermore, he finished 17th with the USAC National Midgets there in 2022. Jake Andreotti took 11th in the 2023 November Classic and also captured a USAC Micro Sprint win at Bako in 2016. USAC National Midget feature winners Gavin Miller and Ryan Timms each notched a 13th in the event in 2022 and 2023, respectively.


 

Exactly one-half of the field is looking to make their first Bakersfield USAC National Midget feature starts. Among them are Drake Edwards and Terry Nichols, each of whom have been victorious with the Western Midget Racing series at Bakersfield in 2023 and 2024, respectively.


 

Two others, Corey Day and Cale Coons, have fathers who’ve experienced their fair share of success at Bakersfield. Corey’s father, Ronnie Day, scored four Bako victories with the BCRA Midgets, NARC Sprint Cars and USAC Western States Midgets between 1992-2002. Cale, son of Jerry Coons Jr., will be making his USAC National Midget debut. Jerry finished third with the USAC National Midgets at Bakersfield in 1998.


 

Additional first-time Bakersfield USAC Midget starting hopefuls include two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in his USAC debut. Four USAC National Midget winners are set for Bakersfield: Zach Daum and Chase McDermand, plus top series Rookies Kale Drake and Zach Wigal.


 

They’ll be joined in the Bakersfield lineup by Stevie Sussex, Karter Sarff, Brandt Twitty, cousins Todd Hawse and Kyle Hawse, Alex Karpowicz, Troy DeGaton, Abby Hohlbein and Austin Torgerson, all eying first Bakersfield USAC National Midget feature starts.


 


 

RACE DETAILS


 

The Tuesday, November 26, running of the November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and 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 admission 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 1/3-mile that has been both paved and dirt throughout its history.


 

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


 


 

BAKERSFIELD USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST: (36)


 

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


 

1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports)


 

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


 

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)


 

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


 

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)


 

4B BRANDT TWITTY/Bakersfield, CA (Kevin Twitty)


 

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

23c TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports)


 

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)


 

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)


 

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


 

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)


 

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


 

51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)


 

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


 

55 ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)


 

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)


 

63 CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)


 

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


 

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

68 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports)


 

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


 

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)


 

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


 

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)


 

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

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


 

101 CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)


 

 

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY:


 

1 Lap - 11/16/2021 - Cannon McIntosh - 12.347 - 97.092 mph


 

6 Laps - 11/23/1991 - Lynn Carter - 1:26.460 - 83.192 mph


 

8 Laps - 11/17/2018 - Tyler Courtney - 1:43.590 - 92.580 mph


 

10 Laps - 11/17/2020 - Jonathan Beason - 2:03.059 - 97.417 mph


 

12 Laps - 11/16/2021 - Chase Randall - 2:31.417 - 95.077 mph


 

15 Laps - 11/25/1993 - Sleepy Tripp - 3:25.910 - 87.678 mph


 

100 Laps - 11/23/1995 - Billy Boat - 26:58.12 - 74.086 mph


 


 

BAKERSFIELD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:


 

3-Jay Drake & Billy Vukovich


 

2-Buddy Kofoid, Logan Seavey, Ron Shuman & Sleepy Tripp


 

1-Brady Bacon, Billy Boat, Dave Darland, Terry Farrar, Jordan Hermansader, Page Jones, Kyle Larson, Thomas Meseraull, Davey Moses, Frank Secrist & Rich Vogler


 


 

BAKERSFIELD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:


 

1959: Davey Moses (8/2)


 

1966: Frank Secrist (8/14) & Billy Vukovich (9/11)


 

1967: Billy Vukovich (7/2) & Billy Vukovich (7/16)


 

1974: Sleepy Tripp (11/24)


 

1988: Rich Vogler (11/11)


 

1989: Sleepy Tripp (11/18)


 

1990: Terry Farrar (11/17)


 

1991: Page Jones (11/23)


 

1992: Ron Shuman (11/26)


 

1993: Ron Shuman (11/25)


 

1994: Jordan Hermansader (11/24)


 

1995: Billy Boat (11/23)


 

1997: Jay Drake (11/22)


 

1998: Jay Drake (11/26)


 

1999: Dave Darland (11/20)


 

2000: Jay Drake (11/18)


 

2017: Brady Bacon (11/18)


 

2018: Logan Seavey (11/17)


 

2019: Kyle Larson (11/23)


 

2020: Buddy Kofoid (11/17)


 

2021: Buddy Kofoid (11/16)


 

2022: Thomas Meseraull (11/15)


 

2023: Logan Seavey (11/14)


 


 

BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:


 

1959 FEATURE: 1. Davey Moses, 2. Joe Garson, 3. Billy Cantrell, 4. Norm Rapp, 5. Cal Niday, 6. Johnny Wood, 7. Leroy Neumayer, 8. Gene Gurney, 9. Johnny Melton, 10. Jim Gilchrist, 11. Johnnie Tolan, 12. Chuck Booth, 13. Dempsey Wilson, 14. Joe Soares, 15. Norm Hall, 16. Don Staudinger. NT


 

1966 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Frank Secrist, 2. George Benson, 3. Duane Sears, 4. Tom Trader, 5. Johnny Moorhouse, 6. Larry Ferrua, 7. Jimmy Caruthers, 8. Jim Bob Luebbert, 9. Bernie Schechter, 10. Al Henderson, 11. Ned Spath, 12. Clark Templeman, 13. Ed Johns, 14. Joe Garson, 15. Walt Kennedy, 16. Paul Jones, 17. Porky Rachwitz, 18. Jack Sachse. NT


 

1966 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2.Al Henderson, 3. George Benson, 4. Rick Henderson, 5. Jimmy Caruthers, 6. Don Melton, 7. Billy Wilkerson, 8. Dickie Deis, 9. Bruce Walkup, 10. Johnny Moorhouse, 11. Tom Trader, 12. Ed Johns, 13. Ron Hughes, 14. Mike Mosley, 15. Paul Jones, 16. Frank Secrist, 17. George Todd, 18. Larry Ferrua.


 

1967 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2. Duane Sears, 3. Mike McGreevy, 4. Hank Butcher, 5. Johnny Moorhouse, 6. George Benson, 7. Jan Opperman, 8. Dave Strickland, 9. Herman Hutton, 10. Walt Kennedy, 11. Billy Wilkerson, 12. Gil Alcala, 13. Don Sparks, 14. Henry Rossi, 15. Don White, 16. Ray Lattie, 17. Ed Johns, 18. Dickie Deis. NT


 

1967 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2. Walt Kennedy, 3. George Benson, 4. Johnny Moorhouse, 5. Larry Ferrua, 6. Dickie Deis, 7. Ray Lattie, 8. Ron Hughes, 9. Jerry Welton, 10. Clark Templeman, 11. Tom McCoy, 12. Jim Vaughan, 13. Sonny White, 14. Dennis Johansen, 15. Jack Yeley, 16. Porky Rachwitz, 17. Johnny Parsons, 18. Billy Wilkerson. NT


 

1974 FEATURE: (30 laps), 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Chuck Gurney, 3. Pancho Carter, 4. Mel Kenyon, 5. Jimmy Caruthers, 6. Jerry Weeks, 7. Danny O'Neill, 8. Bill Weingarten, 9. Danny McKnight, 10. Larry Rice, 11. Johnny Anderson, 12. Jim Beckley, 13. Gary Irvin, 14. Mark Alderson, 15. Wheeler Gresham, 16. Hank Butcher, 17. Roger Mears, 18. Bobby Tripp, 19. Jeff Heywood, 20. George Snider.


 

1988 FEATURE (40 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Darryl Haugh, 3. Wally Pankratz, 4. Kevin Olson, 5. Dave Strickland Jr., 6. Ken Nichols, 7. Mario Bringetto Jr., 8. Tommy White, 9. Chuck West, 10. Floyd Alvis, 11. Johnny Cofer, 12. Rick Zermani, 13. Rusty Rasmussen, 14. Jim Berg, 15. Larry Derwin, 16. Joe Winters, 17. Sleepy Tripp, 18. Robby Flock, 19. P.J. Jones, 20. Frank Pedregon, 21. John Starks, 22. Terry Wente. NT


 

1989 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Mario Bringetto Jr., 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Terry Farrar, 5. Kevin Olson, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Dirk VanCott, 8. Kevin Doty, 9. Bob Davison, 10. Dennis Hart, 11. Terry Tarditi, 12. Ray Derby, 13. Hank Butcher, 14. Jeff Gordon, 15. P.J. Jones, 16. Ron Hughes Jr., 17. Rick Taylor, 18. Tommy White, 19. Dan Drinan, 20. Frank Pedregon. NT


 

1990 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Terry Farrar, 2. Dave Strickland Jr., 3. Sleepy Tripp, 4. Ricky Gray, 5. P.J. Jones, 6. Jeff Gordon, 7. Russ Gamester, 8. Mike Streicher, 9. Robby Flock, 10. Rick Taylor, 11. John McLaughlin, 12. George Ito, 13. Terry Tarditi, 14. Ray Derby, 15. Kevin Doty, 16. Mike Appio, 17. Lee Yetter, 18. Frank Pedregon, 19. Kevin Olson, 20. Stephen Lewis.


 

1991 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Page Jones, 2. P.J. Jones, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Robby Flock, 5. Doug Kalitta, 6. Mike Streicher, 7. Johnny Cofer, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. Andy Pierce, 10. Jordan Hermansader, 11. Tyce Carlson, 12. Critter Malone, 13. Terry Tarditi, 14. John Kaiser, 15. Stan Fox, 16. Doug Silva, 17. Wally Pankratz, 18. Ricky Gray, 19. George Ito, 20. Keith Rauch. NT


 

1992 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Hank Butcher, 5. Chuck Gurney, 6. Stan Fox, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. George Ito, 9. Brent Kaeding, 10. Brett Horrobin, 11. Keith Chrisco, 12. Jordan Hermansader, 13. Mike Streicher, 14. Glenn Carson, 15, Joe Gaerte, 16. Lealand McSpadden, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Jason Jonkman, 19, John Harkrader, 20. Page Jones, 21. Billy Garcia, 22. Sleepy Tripp, 23. Billy Boat, 24. Terry Tarditi. NT


 

1993 FEATURE: (100 laps): 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Robby Flock, 3. Johnny Cofer, 4. George Ito, 5. Jay Drake, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Jordan Hermansader, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Stan Fox, 11. Ron Hazelton, 12. Keith Chrisco, 13. Chuck Gurney, 14. Hank Butcher, 15. Rick Hendrix, 16. Richard Griffin, 17. Stevie Reeves, 18. Page Jones, 19. Jimmy Sills, 20. Robert Dolacki, 21. Ronnie Day, 22. Sleepy Tripp, 23. Cary Faas, 24. Billy Boat. NT


 

1994 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Jordan Hermansader, 2. Hank Butcher, 3. Kenny Irwin Jr., 4. Billy Boat, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Danny Lasoski, 7. Johnny Cofer, 8. George Ito, 9. Jack Runyon, 10. Sleepy Tripp, 11. Robby Flock, 12. Robert Dolacki, 13. Ronnie Day, 14. Tony Elliott, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Ronnie Johncox, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Jason Leffler, 19. Rick Hendrix, 20. Wally Pankratz, 21. Tony Stewart, 22. Lealand McSpadden, 23. Donnie Beechler, 24. Andy Michner. 25:56.85


 

1995 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Billy Boat, 2. Kenny Irwin Jr., 3. Kevin Doty, 4. Richard Griffin, 5. Rick Hendrix, 6. George Ito, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Jimmy Sills, 9. Andy Michner, 10. Ron Shuman, 11. Hank Butcher, 12. Larry Brown, 13. Shane Scully, 14. J.J. Ercse, 15. Frankie Kerr, 16. Jeremy Sherman, 17. Danny Lasoski, 18. Jason Leffler, 19. Wally Pankratz, 20. Jim Keene, 21. Jay Drake, 22. Brian Gerster, 23. Johnny Cofer, 24. J.R. Lawson. 26:58.12


 

1997 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Billy Boat, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Wally Pankratz, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Ricky Shelton, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Clay Klepper, 9. Craig Brady, 10. Dwayne Marcum, 11. Rick Hendrix, 12. Shane Scully, 13. Steve Paden, 14. Cory Kruseman, 15. Larry Brown, 16. Jason Leffler, 17. Nick Lundgreen, 18. Steve Barth, 19. John Heydenreich, 20. Danny Lasoski, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Kevin Thomas, 23. Robert Dolacki, 24. Marc DeBeaumont. NT


 

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps - Held Nov. 26) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Jason Leffler, 3. Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. Dave Darland, 5. Kasey Kahne, 6. Dan Boorse, 7. Jimmy Sills, 8. Ricky Shelton, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Brian Tyler, 11. Robby Flock, 12. Michael Lewis, 13. Ronnie Day, 14. Rick Hendrix, 15. Aaron Fiscus, 16. Dane Carter, 17. Kevin Doty, 18. Scott Hansen, 19. Steve Paden, 20. Brian Stanfill, 21. Shane Scully, 22. Jordan Hermansader, 23. John Starks, 24. Donnie Beechler. NT


 

1999 FEATURE: (50 Laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Michael Lewis, 4. Travis Welpott (#8), 5. Marc DeBeaumont, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Clay Klepper, 8. Glenn Carson, 9. Bobby Boone, 10. Steve Paden, 11. Dane Carter, 12. Rick Vaughn, 13. Dave Stoltz, 14. A.J. Felker (MCI), 15. Jerry Coons, Jr., 16. Bryan Stanfill, 17. Ed Carpenter, 18. Dwayne Marcum, 19. Derrick Hearron, 20. Ryan Newman, 21. Dean Alexander, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Bud Kaeding, 24. Bruce Donaldson, 25. Thomas Meseraull. NT


 

2000 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Aaron Fike, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Ronnie Day, 6. Bud Kaeding, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Steve Paden, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Bryan Stanfill, 11. Jimmy Sills, 12. John Nervo, 13. Jimmy Christian, 14. Dwayne Marcum, 15. A.J. Johnson, 16. Sarah McCune, 17. Derrick Hearron, 18. Ryan Scott, 19. Wally Pankratz (#37x), 20. Rick Hendrix, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Marc DeBeaumont, 23. Shane Scully, 24. Michael Lewis. NT


 

2017: 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Tyler Courtney, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Ryan Robinson, 8. Alex Schutte, 9. Michael Faccinto, 10. Tanner Carrick, 11. Frankie Guerrini, 12. Chad Boat, 13. Courtney Crone, 14. Matt Mitchell, 15. David Prickett, 16. Ronnie Gardner, 17. Michael Pickens, 18. Cory Elliott, 19. Zeb Wise, 20. Robert Dalby, 21. Mason Daniel, 22. Holly Shelton, 23. Dustin Golobic, 24. Shannon McQueen. NT


 

2018: (starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Rico Abreu (2), 3. Shane Golobic (6), 4. Spencer Bayston (11), 5. Chad Boat (7), 6. Tanner Carrick (13), 7. Brady Bacon (4), 8. Holly Shelton (25), 9. Jason McDougal (21), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (9), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (22), 12. Cole Bodine (23), 13. Cody Swanson (17), 14. Sam Johnson (8), 15. Dustin Golobic (3), 16. Robert Dalby (24), 17. Alex Schutte (16), 18. Holley Hollan (18), 19. C.J. Sarna (26), 20. Zeb Wise (5), 21. Ryan Robinson (10), 22. Tyler Courtney (15), 23. Sterling Cling (19), 24. Michael Faccinto (14), 25. Justin Grant (12), 26. Michael Pickens (20). NT


 

2019: (starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (6), 2. Michael Pickens (1), 3. Rico Abreu (12), 4. Tyler Courtney (10), 5. Jesse Colwell (4), 6. Jason McDougal (2), 7. Gio Scelzi (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (20), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (5), 10. Tanner Carrick (16), 11. Tucker Klaasmeyer (21), 12. Chase Johnson (13), 13. Buddy Kofoid (15), 14. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (11), 15. Carson Macedo (14), 16. Chris Windom (19), 17. Ethan Mitchell (18), 18. Spencer Bayston (3), 19. Daison Pursley (23), 20. Cory Elliott (25), 21. Robert Dalby (24), 22. Aaron Reutzel (7), 23. Logan Seavey (8), 24. Cannon McIntosh (22), 25. Zeb Wise (17). NT


 

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Kyle Larson (2), 3. Tyler Courtney (3), 4. Chase Johnson (1), 5. Spencer Bayston (4), 6. Chris Windom (20), 7. Tanner Thorson (6), 8. Cannon McIntosh (16), 9. Justin Grant (14), 10. Carson Macedo (21), 11. Jonathan Beason (8), 12. Emerson Axsom (12), 13. Clinton Boyles (10), 14. Ethan Mitchell (11), 15. Kaylee Bryson (7), 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9), 17. Andrew Layser* (24), 18. Michael Faccinto (13), 19. Tanner Carrick (15), 20. Cole Bodine* (23), 21. Bryant Wiedeman (19), 22. Frankie Guerrini (22), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Daison Pursley (17). NT


 

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Tanner Thorson (5), 5. Cannon McIntosh (11), 6. Cory Eliason (8), 7. Chris Windom (7), 8. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 10. Logan Seavey (17), 11. Thomas Meseraull (22), 12. Tanner Carrick (20), 13. Brenham Crouch (15), 14. Kaylee Bryson (19), 15. Ryan Timms (13), 16. Tony Gomes (18), 17. Taylor Reimer (16), 18. Chase Randall (12), 19. Jade Avedisian (6), 20. Carson Macedo (10), 21. Ethan Mitchell (14), 22. Michael Faccinto (21). NT


 

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (3), 2. Michael Pickens (4), 3. Buddy Kofoid (6), 4. Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Justin Grant (10), 7. Brenham Crouch (16), 8. Emerson Axsom (8), 9. Chance Crum (14), 10. Spencer Bayston (21), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (13), 12. Kaylee Bryson (15), 13. Gavin Miller (17), 14. Jake Andreotti (11), 15. Jade Avedisian (9), 16. Dominic Gorden (22), 17. Alex Bright (18), 18. Mitchel Moles (2), 19. Hayden Reinbold (20), 20. Cade Lewis (24-P), 21. Daison Pursley (12), 22. Taylor Reimer (1), 23. Jacob Denney (23-P), 24. Jason McDougal (19). NT


 

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Justin Grant (2), 4. Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. Carson Macedo (7), 6. Daison Pursley (8), 7. Taylor Reimer (6), 8. Jade Avedisian (14), 9. Jacob Denney (13), 10. Hayden Reinbold (17), 11. Jake Andreotti (10), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (16), 13. Ryan Timms (18), 14. Buddy Kofoid (4), 15. Mitchel Moles (21), 16. Cade Lewis (12), 17. Brody Fuson (22), 18. Chance Crum (20), 19. Shannon McQueen (15), 20. Mariah Ede (19), 21. Gavin Miller (3), 22. Michael Faccinto (11). NT

 

 

USAC Midgets Entered for Nov. 30 Turkey Night GP at Ventura

Defending Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget winner Kyle Larson is among the 50+ entries for the November 30, 2024, Turkey Night Grand Prix at California's Ventura Raceway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media


 

Ventura, California (November 18, 2024)………Fifty-three (53) USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship drivers and cars will compete in the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.


 

They’ll all converge on California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 30, for the 2024 installment of the longest-running midget race of them all, a tradition which dates back to 1934.


 

At least four past Turkey Night Grand Prix winners are included in the driver lineup, headlined by four-time event winner Kyle Larson (2012-2016-2019-2023), plus one-time winners Justin Grant (2022), Logan Seavey (2021) and Tanner Thorson (2015).


 

They’re among the 21 USAC National Midget feature winners in the field, 17 of which are vying for a first Turkey Night midget triumph. It’s a list which includes five USAC National Midget champions, including Logan Seavey (2018 & 2023), Buddy Kofoid (2021 & 2022), Tyler Courtney (2019), Tanner Thorson (2016) and J.J. Yeley (2003).


 

To date, nine different drivers have won USAC National Midget races during the 2024 campaign, seven of which are vying for a first career Turkey Night triumph. Daison Pursley has won seven while Cannon McIntosh owns three scores. Logan Seavey has picked up a pair of wins as has Ryan Timms, himself a two-time Turkey Night Sprint Car winner in 2022-2023. Single scores belong to Emerson Axsom, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Chase McDermand and Zach Wigal.


 

Wigal is one of at least 25 Don Basile Rookie of the Race contenders in the 2024 lineup, which includes its share of headlining names. Jumping off the list is two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who will be making his USAC Midget debut during the series’ November tour through the Golden State.


 

Also included on the Rookie list is Cale Coons, son of USAC Career Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. USAC Western States Midget front runner Drake Edwards is vying for top Rookie glory as are veteran drivers, and Turkey Night newcomers, Stevie Sussex and Karter Sarff, plus international flair from New Zealand’s Ben Covich and Mathew Radisch.


 

Overall, six past Turkey Night Rookies of the Race will be in the field: Kyle Larson (2011), Tanner Thorson (2013), Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019), Jake Andreotti (2022) and Corey Day (2023).


 

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.


 


 

SCHEDULE:


 

Friday, November 29: Grandstands open at 3pm Pacific. Cars on track at 3:30pm. Midget practice, plus sprint car racing.


 

Saturday, November 30: Grandstands open at 3pm Pacific. Cars on track at 3:30pm. Sprint car racing, plus midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature.


 

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


 


 


 

2024 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST:


 

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


 

1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports)


 

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


 

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)


 

3J J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)


 

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


 

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


 

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)


 

8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)


 

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)


 

14F (R) MATHEW RADISCH/Auckland, NZ (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)


 

14s TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)


 

14T MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)


 

15 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Dennis Hart)


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

23c TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports)


 

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)


 

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)


 

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


 

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)


 

32 (R) CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)


 

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


 

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


 

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


 

51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)


 

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


 

55 (R) ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)


 

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)


 

58 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Abacus Racing)


 

63 (R) CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)


 

65NZ (R) BEN COVICH/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich)


 

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


 

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

68 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports)


 

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


 

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


 

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

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


 

77 (R) DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard)


 

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)


 

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


 

89 (R) ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)


 

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

98 TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)


 

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


 

101 CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)


 

(R) represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race candidate

 
       

 

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