Corey Day Becomes Youngest Turkey Night Grand Prix winner
A massive field of 57 cars and drivers alighted to Ventura Raceway in the California city of the same name this past Thanksgiving weekend, to take part in the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix, presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. Included in that group were 27 racers who had never before contended for the prestigious trophy that sports the hat of J.C. Agajanian, the man who started this race, 2024’s season finale of the USAC National Midget Series.
While a rookie didn’t get to kiss the Aggie hat after 98 laps of racing, it was a sophomore driver, Clovis, Calif.’s Corey Day, whose second try at this long-standing event brought the driver $15,000 and made him a first-time winner and the youngest driver, at 19 years and two days, to reign over 56 other entrants. Caleb Armstrong was the previous youthful record holder, having earned his 2011 victory at 19 years, 3 months and 8 days.
“This was my last race of the year and I’ve never ended the year with a win in all my years racing,” Day said. “To do that feels really, really good. I look forward to this [West Coast] 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 [team owner Kahne] and I could get a couple wins down here. I’m glad to be one spot better here this year.”
The fifth consecutive Turkey Night USAC Midget feature winner from the state of California, Day followed in the footsteps of Kyle Larson (2019), Logan Seavey (2021), Justin Grant (2022) and Larson last year. There was no Turkey Night Grand Prix during the 2020 COVID pandemic.
Jacob Denney secured pole position for the race during Friday night’s preliminaries, which locked the top 10 into the 98-lap feature. A trio of 12-lap qualifying races and a 15-lap semifinal, all of which moved the top four into the feature Saturday night, meant a starting field of 26 racers on the one-fifth-mile dirt circuit. While Denney led the first quarter of the event, former champion Buddy Kofoid held the lead from laps 26-49, handing the point back to Denney for another 31 trips around the track, while eighth qualifier and eventual winner Day took over on the 82nd tour and held top spot straight through to the finish.
Day rewarded team owner Willie Kahne with his second straight victory within the space of a week, having earned the owner’s first career USAC National Midget triumph at California’s Merced Speedway a week ago. Incredibly, Day used a 20-year-old Mopar power plant in his Wirth chassis – older than the driver – to deliver the win a year after being named top rookie of this race with a second-place result.
Day, who also competes in NASCAR’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series, made his move Saturday night at Ventura by bumping and moving four-time race winner Kyle Larson, earning the ire of the NASCAR star’s fans. By USAC rules, Larson had to restart at the rear but only managed to return to 20th before dropping out with 21 laps still remaining, his first Turkey Night finish outside the top-five in his 12 starts.
“I knew the rubber was going to come in, unfortunately,” Day remarked of the prominent streak around the track’s inside line. As he stalked Denney by a car-length, “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 time when it was,” he mused. “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 et my tires worked in for it.”
While Day was earning his first Turkey Night Grand Prix victory, Daison Pursley secured his USAC National Midget Series championship season with a third-place finish behind Day and Kofoid. Pursley’s result was far better than his previous Turkey Night results of 19th and 14th i 2019 and 2023, respectively, in his Toyota-powered Spike.
By Anne Proffit
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