The 82nd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is scheduled to take place on California’s Ventura Raceway dirt track Saturday night, November 25. This is the longest running midget race, a tradition dating back to 1934.
A total of 53 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racers and their cars have placed entries for this esteemed contest, including at least three past Turkey Night Grand prix winners: reigning victor Justin Grant, Logan Seavey (2021) and Tanner Thorson, who won the race in 2015.
This trio are among the 14 USAC National Midget feature event winners entered in this classic contest, 11 of whom are vying for a first triumph in the Turkey Night race. The list includes series champions Buddy Kofoid (2021-22) and Spencer Bayston, who won the title in 2017. This duo are joined by Thomas Meserault, Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Timms, Emerson Axsom, Carson Macedo, Jacob Denny, Dawson Pursley, Bryant Wiederman and Mitchel Moles.
The entry list includes five past Turkey Night Rookies of the Race: Thorson, Macedo, McIntosh, Moles and Jake Andreotti, who finished fourth last year. There are 25 drivers who will be part of this year’s class competing for Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors. They include USAC National Midget rookie Gavin Miller, ARCA stock car champion Jesse Love, 2023 NARC sprint car champ Corey Day, America’s most successful non-wing sprint car driver Ricky Lewis, New England midget champ Peter Hunnibell, USAC regulars Hayden Reinbold and Chase McDermand, plus winged sprint car ace Jake Bubak.
This is not a guys-only event in 2023 as five women are entered: full-time series drivers Jade Avedisian and Taylor Reiner are joined by rookie Mariah Ede and veteran racers Randi Pankratz and Shannon McQueen.
The two-day schedule includes USAC West Coast 360 sprint cars, with an entry list that has already raced past 50 drivers and cars. On Friday, November 24, there will be midget practice, sprint car hot laps, qualifying, heat races and Friday night main event.
On Saturday, sprint car semis and main events are scheduled, together with Turkey Night Grand Prix midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature. On both Friday and Saturday, grandstands open at 3PM. Advance tickets, priced from $22-45 are available at www.venturaraceway.com.
2023 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST:
00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
1p ®TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)
2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
3v ®JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant)
4 ®COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Willie Kahne)
5K CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)
5v ®RYAN TIMMONS/Pleasant Hill, CA (Dean Alexander)
6A ®RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Cruz Pedregon)
7 SHANNON McQUEEN/Tehachapi, CA (McQueen Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (Tim Engler)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 ®BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
9AU SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Dyson Motorsport)
14J ®BRADEN CHIARAMONTE/El Cajon, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Streeter Racing)
14T MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Matt Streeter Racing)
15ws RON HAZELTON/Chatsworth, CA (TRC Transmission)
19 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ ®HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19T MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
20 C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (Sarna Motorsports)
21K ®GAGE RUCKER/Truxton, MO (Kruseman Enterprises)
25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
27 ®JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Bourke Motorsports)
31 CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Beilman Motorsports)
31B ®KYLE BEILMAN/Los Angeles, CA (Beilman Motorsports)
32 ®CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)
35H ®A.J. HERNANDEZ/Phoenix, AZ (MF Motorsports)
35K ®JOEY KLEMISH/Cortez, CO (MF Motorsports)
50 ®DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)
51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)
55 ®COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Steve Lambert)
57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)
58 DANIEL WHITLEY/Ferndale, CA (Abacus Racing)
65NZ ®PETER HUNNIBELL/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich)
67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
67K BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
68 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
68w CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Six8 Motorsports)
71 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71D ®BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros.)
71E ®MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71K ®KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
73 ®DAVID GASPER/Goleta, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
73 TBA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
73x ®CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)
78 ®MARVIN MITCHELL/Madera, CA (Marvin Mitchell)
81 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (CB Industries)
84 ®JESSE LOVE/Menlo Park, CA (CB Industries)
86 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (CB Industries)
88 TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tanner Thorson Racing)
97 ®GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)
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