Kyle Larson has few equals when it comes to Turkey Night Grand Prix success over the years, and on Saturday night at California’s Ventura Raceway, that fact remained true to form.

The Elk Grove, Calif. native punctuated the 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season by becoming just the second driver in the 82-year history of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame to win the famed race at least four times. Ron Shuman maintains the all-time record of eight Turkey Night victories between 1979-1993.

In the latest edition of Turkey Night, Larson made a beeline from his 10th place starting position straight to the lead by lap 27 before pacing the field for the remaining 72 laps to earn his third USAC National Midget triumph in three attempts over the past nine nights in the Golden State aboard his Kyle Larson Racing/HendrickCars.com – FloRacing/Eagle.

Overall, Larson has now reigned victorious at Turkey Night in 2012-2016-2019-2023, and has never finished outside the top-four in any of his 11 career starts in the event dating back to his debut in 2011.

“I’m happy to get another Turkey Night win,” Larson exclaimed. “We’re second on the all-time win list now, which is cool. Hopefully we can catch up someday and maybe be leading this thing. This is such a historic race with it being the 82nd running, which is incredible. it’s been a good event for us, and we’ve always run really well here.”

In addition to his $10,000 winning prize, Larson also earned a 1/4-scale replica of the J.C. Agajanian owned car that Parnelli Jones drove to victory at the Indianapolis 500 in 1963, a trophy which was handmade by Ventura Raceway promoter Jim Naylor. It’s among the rewards that brings Larson back each year in addition to the prestige of becoming a Turkey Night winner once again.

“All the Turkey Night trophies I have from Ventura are probably some of the coolest trophies I have in my collection,” Larson stated. “They get better and better every year and it’s probably the main reason why I come and do this race – just to come and win these awesome trophies. I need to get a little better at qualifying because I want to win some of those (trophies) too.”

Larson’s 27th career USAC National Midget win moved him past USAC Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Gary Bettenhausen for sole possession of 15th on the series’ all-time win list, but this one required him to start outside the fifth row.

Up at the front of the 26-car pack, 2023 USAC National Midget champion and 2021 Turkey Night winner Logan Seavey established the lead early on from his outside front row starting position while pole sitter Ryan Timms gave chase after earlier winning the 30-lap USAC West Coast Sprint Car feature held prior to the midget race.

However, calamity came early on lap two as Taylor Reimer spun, which collected Michael Faccinto on the turn two infield berm. Meanwhile, up top, Mitchel Moles and Brody Fuson launched into orbit during a simultaneous somersault for both drivers, which ended with both drivers and cars upside down, thus ending their evenings prematurely.

Upon resumption, Seavey built himself a full straightway lead all while Larson was already breaking his way into the top-five. Larson went eighth to fifth in a span of two circuits between laps 17 and 18 past Chase McDermand, Spencer Bayston and Bryant Wiedeman. Moments later, on lap 22, Larson slid by defending Turkey Night winner Justin Grant in turn one to slot into fourth.

Seavey was working traffic by lap 26 when Timms suddenly clamped down and made his move for the lead with a turn one slide job that was successful. By turn four, Timms was in trouble as he ricocheted off the cushion, which opened the door underneath for Seavey to make a move entering turn one on the 27th go around.

Attempting to return the favor on Timms in turn one, Seavey slipped past, but in the process, Timms’ wheels locked up as he slid to a stop atop the cushion to bring out the caution and also collected third-running Kale Drake who was making his first career USAC National Midget start. For all intents and purposes, the incident ended Timms’ night with him soldiering on until lap 51 when he dropped out with a 23rd place result following an incident with Mariah Ede that damaged his header.

Seavey resumed at the point as the race leader coming to the green flag restart on lap 27. However, it was time to cue the Jaws music as Larson drew right to Seavey’s rear bumper. In this case – spoiler alert – the ending was much the very same as it has been of late for Larson in his home state of California in November. Larson delivered a turn three slider that put him at the front for good. Day followed suit with Larson to gain second from Seavey after starting 12th.

In that timeframe, Larson had to play it smart with the track conditions changing rapidly. As the wind picked up and the track began to dry out, one faulty move could’ve spelled doom.

“You just had to make good decisions,” Larson explained. “We were all kind of searching for the right lane at the right time. Thankfully, I put together some good laps around the bottom and got clear to the top and got rolling. The top of one and two was getting really wide around there and I figured Logan was running up there, so he was probably going to commit to that. I felt like if I could just poke the bottom, I could get a run and get by. It all worked out really well.”

Over the course of the next several laps, rubber began to rear its ugly head on the 1/5-mile dirt oval’s surface, and Larson knew full well when it was time for him to go to secure his spot before it was too late.

“I knew, shortly after that, the rubber was going to be coming,” Larson guesstimated. “I was just trying to hold the lead and peek to the left and I saw Corey inching toward me on the bottom a couple laps later. That’s when I knew it was time to get down.”

Yet, the battles raged on behind them as a furious fight for 11th on lap 64 resulted in contact between Jade Avedisian (12th) and Justin Grant (11th) off turn four, which pitched Avedisian sideways and collected Cannon McIntosh.  McIntosh was the meat in the sandwich at the moment he got tagged in the bumper by Jake Andreotti, which sent McIntosh spinning into the infield. By lap 65, Grant was also out of competition, the victim of a broken front end.

In the final quarter, attrition (and rubber) started to become a concern as Spencer Bayston bowed out to the infield while running fourth on lap 75. Avedisian (11th) came to a halt with a flat right rear tire on lap 75 while Daison Pursley (7th) was stricken with the same fate on lap 86.

Throughout the final 12 lap stretch, Larson never turned a wheel wrong, and there was no room for error, as he railed the bottom right up against the infield berm with Day hanging right in there in second but was only able to close to within one to two car lengths of his back bumper down the stretch to the 98th and final lap.

In the end, Larson prevailed over Day by two car lengths with just a 0.224 second separation between the two as they crossed the stripe. Carson Macedo brought it home third while Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) took fourth and Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) advanced 17th to fifth to earn his best Turkey Night result yet.

Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), the recently crowned NARC Sprint Car champion, posted the best finish of any Turkey Night first-timer in this year’s field. In his debut Turkey Night performance, he ran a strong second to earn Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors in his Wille Kahne/Sander Engineering – Four CCCC’s Construction – Durst/Bullet/Worth Mopar. The runner-up result for Day was the best finish by a Turkey Night Rookie since Cannon McIntosh in 2019.

“I grew up coming to this race as a kid where we made it a vacation and came down here to hang out at the beach and watch some racing,” Day reminisced. “It’s so cool to run it for the first time and then to run second and be Rookie of the Race. At the beginning, the middle slicked off really fast, then everybody kind of didn’t know where to be. I knew there was rubber under what they watered, so I was just kind of waiting on it and it came in fast. I was able to find it first, so that was good, but Kyle, he’s got way too many laps to not to know when it’s going to come in. When he moved down, that was kind of it.”

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) certainly experienced the most unique finish of the night. After crossing the finish line in third, he slipped above the turn four cushion, tagged the outside wall and flipped – all of which occurred after the checkered flag had already been displayed. Nonetheless, Macedo still finished on the podium in his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota for his best Turkey Night performance since his Rookie start in 2016 in which he also scored a third.

“That was a little embarrassing there,” Macedo admitted. “I didn’t have much right rear tire left and I got outside the rubber and gassed it up a little bit just to have fun I guess, and it never stopped sliding. I ended up plowing the cushion and turned it over. It was fun, though. I just wish it was a little bit different with it taking rubber and all. It wasn’t that ideal. Before that, the race was epic, and I was having a ton of fun and it was fun battling with a lot of good drivers.”

Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) started 23rd and finished sixth to earn his best career Turkey Night result, which came on the heels of a 24th to eighth run in the same race a year ago in 2022. Ken Clapp of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was on hand to present Axsom with a $500 bonus for his efforts.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd 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. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.059; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.138; 3. Kale Drake, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.190; 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.203; 5. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.287; 6. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.289; 7. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.290; 8. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-12.293; 9. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.306; 10. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.313; 11. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.320; 12. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-12.334; 13. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.347; 14. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.356; 15. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.391; 16. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.391; 17. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.427; 18. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.435; 19. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-12.445; 20. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.469; 21. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-12.471; 22. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.491; 23. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.495; 24. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-12.505; 25. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.516; 26. Cole Wakim, 55, Lambert-12.521; 27. Ryan Timmons, 5v, Alexander-12.529; 28. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.539; 29. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.553; 30. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.566; 31. Max Adams, 15, Hart-12.568; 32. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.626; 33. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.687; 34. Ricky Lewis, 6A, Pedregon-12.694; 35. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.731; 36. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.764; 37. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-12.768; 38. David Gasper, 73, Ford-12.774; 39. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.831; 40. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.995; 41. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-13.020; 42. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.073; 43. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-13.132; 44. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-13.220; 45. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.269; 46. A.J. Hernandez, 35H, MF-NT; 47. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-NT (Time of 12.641 disallowed due to missing the scales); 48. Joey Klemish, 35K, MF-NT (Time of 12.936 disallowed due to missing the scales).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Jacob Denney, 4. Brody Fuson, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Cole Wakim, 7. David Gasper, 8. Randi Pankratz, 9. Peter Hunnibell, 10. C.J. Sarna, 11. Dane Culver, 12. Terry Nichols, 13. Blake Bower. 2:31.99

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Corey Day, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Jesse Love, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Cade Lewis, 7. Caden Sarale, 8. Kyle Beilman, 9. Braden Chiaramonte, 10. Bryan Drollinger, 11. Ryan Timmons, 12. Jim Vanzant, 13. Joey Klemish. NT

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Faccinto, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Max Adams, 8. Jake Bubak, 9. Ricky Lewis, 10. Shannon McQueen, 11. A.J. Hernandez, 12. Ron Hazelton. 2:35.11

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Cade Lewis, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Max Adams, 7. Ricky Lewis, 8. Jake Bubak, 9. David Gasper, 10. Caden Sarale, 11. Cole Wakim, 12. Peter Hunnibell, 13. Braden Chiaramonte, 14. Randi Pankratz, 15. C.J. Sarna, 16. Bryan Drollinger, 17. Kyle Beilman, 18. Shannon McQueen. NT

FEATURE: (98 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (10), 2. Corey Day (12), 3. Carson Macedo (11), 4. Bryant Wiedeman (4), 5. Jacob Denney (17), 6. Emerson Axsom (23), 7. Buddy Kofoid (16), 8. Logan Seavey (2), 9. Jesse Love (21), 10. Cade Lewis (26), 11. Hayden Reinbold (24), 12. Jake Andreotti (25), 13. Gavin Miller (19), 14. Daison Pursley (9), 15. Mariah Ede (7), 16. Kale Drake (3), 17. Chase McDermand (6), 18. Jade Avedisian (22), 19. Spencer Bayston (8), 20. Justin Grant (5), 21. Cannon McIntosh (15), 22. Michael Faccinto (13), 23. Ryan Timms (1), 24. Taylor Reimer (14), 25. Mitchel Moles (18), 26. Brody Fuson (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Logan Seavey, Lap 26 Ryan Timms, Laps 27-98 Kyle Larson.

**Jade Avedisian flipped during qualifying. Mitchel Moles & Brody Fuson flipped on lap 2 of the feature. Carson Macedo flipped after the checkered flag.

FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1784, 2-Justin Grant-1504, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1457, 4-Ryan Timms-1429, 5-Daison Pursley-1413, 6-Jade Avedisian-1407, 7-Jacob Denney-1363, 8-Gavin Miller-1227, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1190, 10-Taylor Reimer-1177.

FINAL OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-173, 3-Justin Grant-142, 4-Emerson Axsom-136, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jesse Love (12.104)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Ryan Timms (12.059)

Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Carson Macedo

Rod End Supply Second Qualifier Winner: Corey Day

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Qualifier Winner: Michael Faccinto

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Emerson Axsom

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Jake Andreotti

Hard Charger: Bryant Wiedeman (21st to 12th)

Don Basile Rookie of the Race: Corey Day (2nd)

USAC PR

Emerson Axsom led all drivers in Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice at California’s Ventura Raceway.

The four practice sessions were used in preparation for Saturday night’s 82nd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame on November 25.

Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) turned a top time of 12.082 seconds in the second practice session in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb Records - TRD/Lynk/Speedway Toyota, which was the fastest among the 46 drivers on hand Friday.

Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and three-time Turkey Night winner Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) timed in second overall with equal times of 12.119. Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) went fourth quickest at 12.136 while Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 12.156.

This year’s USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) was sixth fastest overall and was one of three Turkey Night Rookies who posted a lap among the top-10 fastest in the field along with Clovis, California’s Corey Day (9th) and Springfield, Illinois’ Chase McDermand (10th). All will be vying for Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors on Saturday.

Additionally, 2023 USAC National Midget champion and 2021 Turkey Night winner Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was 12th fastest while 2021-22 series titlist Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) was 13th and 2017 USAC National Midget champ Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) was 22nd.

One driver notably missing from the practice session was defending Turkey Night winner Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.). Of note, Grant was also absent from practice during the 2022 running of Turkey Night and went on to win the 98-lap feature event.

On Saturday, more than 50 midgets are expected to compete in the event which debuted in 1934. This year's edition will once again feature a doubleheader with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars.

The pits open at 11am Pacific with the drivers meeting at 2:45pm, the grandstands opening at 3pm and cars on track at 3:30pm for Saturday's race.

All tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $25 for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $40 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday. Pit passes are $45 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday. Race tickets are available in advance now at www.venturaraceway.com.

Saturday’s Turkey Night Grand Prix can also be watched LIVE on FloRacing at  https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: November 24, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

PRACTICE: 1. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.082; 2. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.119; 3. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.119; 4. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.136; 5. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.156; 6. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.181; 7. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.189; 8. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.218; 9. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.225; 10. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.243; 11. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.251; 12. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.253; 13. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.268; 14. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-12.280; 15. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.286; 16. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.289; 17. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-12.296; 18. Kale Drake, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.309; 19. A.J. Hernandez, 35H, MF-12.352; 20. Max Adams, 15, Hart-12.383; 21. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.385; 22. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-12.422; 23. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.425; 24. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-12.438; 25. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.447; 26. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-12.460; 27. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-12.480; 28. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.495; 29. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.505; 30. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.544; 31. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.562; 32. Cole Wakim, 55, Lambert-12.595; 33. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-12.640; 34. Ricky Lewis, 6A, Pedregon-12.683; 35. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.725; 36. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.727; 37. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.764; 38. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.782; 39. Ryan Timmons, 5v, Alexander-12.824; 40. Gage Rucker, 21K, Kruseman-12.914; 41. David Gasper, 73, Ford-12.989; 42. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-13.087; 43. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.135; 44. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.500; 45. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-13.535; 46. Joey Klemish, 35K, MF-NT.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1730, 2-Justin Grant-1479, 3-Ryan Timms-1400, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-1393, 5-Jade Avedisian-1380, 6-Daison Pursley-1378, 7-Jacob Denney-1305, 8-Gavin Miller-1190, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1167, 10-Taylor Reimer-1154.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-173, 3-Justin Grant-142, 4-Emerson Axsom-119, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

USAC PR

Eddie Tafoya Jr. returned to the Ventura Raceway for the first time in a year and a half on Friday night for the sprint car portion of the 82^nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix.  After an impressive win in his heat race, Tafoya was knocked out of his qualifier with a flat left rear tire.

Fresh off a trip to Las Vegas for last week’s Formula 1 race, Tafoya squared off against a tough field in the sixth heat of the night.  Starting from the pole on the track that is located on the beach about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, the personable Chino Hills, California driver flew into the lead at the Chris Kornder green flag.  In the last half of the race, he faced a stiff challenge from the second-place car.  However, he hit his marks and fought off the advances for a well-deserved win.

With the addition of Inland Rigging as a sponsor for the holiday weekend race, Tafoya came back onto the 1/5 mile oval for Qualifier #4.  Combined with his win in the heat, a good performance in the 12-lap race would guarantee him a spot in the dash and Saturday’s A main.  Tafoya was in third when disaster struck on lap two.  The second-place car slid sideways and came to a stop in turn four.  Tafoya had virtually nowhere to go and clipped the front of the car.  Another driver, who also had nowhere to go, clobbered Tafoya and sent him onto the nose of the car that spun.  Two more cars piled in and Tafoya’s #51T tipped over onto its right side.

When the red flag came out for the incident, Tafoya scrambled out of the cockpit as fuel was pouring from his car.  Amazingly, it appeared none of the cars suffered significant damage in the tangle and all were ready for the restart.  However, after bumping back off, Tafoya’s left rear tire deflated and he pulled to the infield, and out of the race.

What looked like a trip to the dash and guaranteed spot in Saturday’s main event, has turned into Tafoya now having to contest a preliminary main and finish well to get into Saturday’s Turkey Night Grand Prix finale.  He and his car are capable and he is one of the favorites to transfer out of the preliminary into the A main event.  After competing most of the season in the USAC National Sprint Car Series, Tafoya has honed his skill against the best and his car is top-notch.  Combined, they are capable of coming through the field to compete for the victory.

Spectator gates will open at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday with racing at 5:00.  Advance tickets are available and advised at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/82nd-annual-turkey-night-grand-prix-tickets-629591554287?aff=oddtdtcreator.  The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001).  The website is http://venturaraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE.

For fans who cannot make it, the finale will be streamed live on Flo Racing.  For more information or to order please visit https://www.floracing.com/. 

If you would like to hear the friendly driver on the Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks Podcast, please visit the following link https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Hox9dg0iRGXo0szabeqDy

The Specialty Fasteners #51T team is always exploring corporate partnership opportunities.  If you or your company would like to be a partner with the hard-working sprint car squad, please contact Eddie Tafoya Jr. via phone at (909) 393-3999 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He will be happy to talk to you and lay out the team’s plans.

Tafoya’s great-looking shirts and hoodies are available online at www.specialty-fasteners.com.

Tafoya has a great YouTube channel at the following link https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1hrmC5L80EU.

Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram @eddietafoya51.

Eddie Tafoya PR

USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Grant Sexton will close his 2023 season this Friday and Saturday in the 82^nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at the Ventura Raceway.   Unfortunately, the 19-year-old’s father Brent saw his season come to a premature end when he was injured in a nasty flip at the Placerville Speedway last Friday night.

Grant, who lives in Lakeside, California, will be making his second appearance in the popular Thanksgiving weekend event.  His first effort in the holiday special came last season.  In that endeavor, he finished third in his heat race and fifth in his qualifier on the first night.  At the Saturday finale, the well-spoken teen, who finished eighth in USAC/CRA points this year, had to race in one of the 12-lap B mains.  The 2021 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series champion started fifth in the race and moved forward.   However, it was a night where survival of the fittest was a big part of the show.  Throughout the race, he maintained one of the transfer spots and seemed assured of qualifying for the finale.  With a couple of laps left, two cars tangled directly in front of him in turn three.  The young driver had nowhere to go and got snared into the incident ending his night.

Brent’s season came to a scary end in his heat race on the first night of the Hangtown 100 at Placerville last Friday.  The track had been pounded by rain and it was a “Cowboy Up” surface that would bite numerous drivers throughout the night.  Unfortunately, one of those drivers was Brent.   He started on the pole in the second heat on the Lightning Sprint Car portion of the doubleheader show.  The 50-year-old was the first to turn one, but when he got there, his car bicycled and then went into a series of violent flips.  Much to the relief of the crowd on the cold night, he climbed out of the car under his own power.

While he seemed uninjured, something was not right.  Forty-eight hours after the crash he decided to visit the E.R. near his home.  As it turned out, he broke two ribs and injured his shoulder and legs.

Fortunately, the Placerville crash came three nights after Sexton, the 2022 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series champion, sewed up second overall in the SWLS standings with a fourth-place finish at the Bakersfield Speedway.  That finish also sewed up fourth for him in the six-race Best of the West Series that matched the SWLS vs the California Lightning Sprint Cars.  Earlier in the night before his fourth-place finish in the main, Sexton was the ninth-fastest qualifier in the 16-car field with a time of 13.206. He also won the second heat race.

To see rising star Grant Sexton in action at the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura, spectator gates will open at 3:00 p.m. each night with racing at 5:00.  Advance tickets are available and advised at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/82nd-annual-turkey-night-grand-prix-tickets-629591554287?aff=oddtdtcreator.  The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001).  The website is http://venturaraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE.

For fans who cannot make it, both nights will be streamed live on Flo Racing.  For more information or to order please visit https://www.floracing.com/.  

If you are looking for a top-of-the-line lightning sprint car with the best of everything, Brent has one car left.  If interested, use his contact information in this release.

If you or your company are interested in becoming a partner with Sexton Gatlin Racing in 2023, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail to.

Sexton Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2022 season possible. Keys Brothers, East County Electric Works, Maxima Oil, Automated Interiors, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Troy Dirt, Victory Graphix, and Swift Powdercoat.

SGR PR

Inland Rigging drivers Brody Roa and Tommy Dunkel will wrap up their 2023 seasons this Saturday night at the historic 82^nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway.  The two drivers will run their preliminary events on Friday night in the USAC West Coast Series.  They will come back on Saturday evening for their main events.  Joining the sprint cars on the two-night racing program will be the USAC National Midgets.

Last year before a near-capacity crowd at the Turkey Night Grand Prix, Dunkel and Roa were both in competition.  However, they were not teammates on the night.   Dunkel was driving his own car and Roa was driving for Central California car owner Jayson May.

A year ago this weekend, Dunkel impressed the fans with an exciting display passing more experienced drivers.  Starting 11^th in the B main, he had to get to sixth.  He did just that and earned his ticket into the finale of the sprint car portion of the TNGP.

Starting on the back row in 23^rd for the A main, Dunkel had to test his reflexes on several occasions in the main event in a race that sometimes looked like a free-for-all.  Within the first three laps, he had moved up six spots to 17^th.  On the 19^th lap, he was up to 15^th and still moving forward.  His drive included deftly avoiding a flipping car as he advanced through the field.  With nine laps to go he raced into 14^th.  He stayed there until the last circuit when he took one more car and finished 13^th.  All told he passed a total of 15 cars on the night.  Only two other drivers passed more.

This season, Dunkel competed at Ventura more than any other racetrack.  Coming into this weekend, the friendly driver has been at the racing facility six times.  He finished in the top 10 four of the six.  Highlighting his journeys to the track located adjacent to the beach on the Ventura County Fairgrounds was a main event victory on April 8^th.  He also notched second-place finishes on July 8^th and September 2^nd.

For 2023 USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series champion Roa, it will be his first appearance at Ventura since the 81^st edition of the prestigious race one year ago.  On the opening night, the Garden Grove, California racer placed second in his heat and won his qualifier.  He was running fourth in the dash and looked like a shoo-in for a top-four start before getting caught up in someone else’s mess.  Fortunately, his car was able to restart and he came from the back to finish sixth.

Starting on the outside of row three in the Saturday night Finale, Roa quickly moved into fifth and was challenging for the fourth place position.  However, his car was noticeably slowing.  Even though his steed continued to decelerate, Roa was still in seventh late in the going.  Unfortunately, an overzealous driver clobbered him from behind and knocked him out of the race with two laps remaining.  Officially, he finished 17^th.

Earlier in 2022, Roa contested a USAC/CRA race at Ventura.  On a one-lane, at the bottom track, Roa finished with a frustrating runner-up finish.  While he was clearly faster than the leader, he did not want to risk getting freight-trained if he tried to drive around the outside  Unlike some drivers, he raced clean and did not knock the leader out of the way.  Instead, he clung to the leader’s push bar and crossed the line in second.

Spectator gates will open at 3:00 p.m. each night with racing at 5:00.  Advance tickets are available and advised at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/82nd-annual-turkey-night-grand-prix-tickets-629591554287?aff=oddtdtcreator.  The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001).  The website is http://venturaraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE.

For fans who cannot make it, both nights will be streamed live on Flo Racing.  For more information or to order please visit https://www.floracing.com/. 

Dunkel and Roa want to thank the following sponsors for making the 2023 season possible. Inland Rigging, Dunkel Farms, United Asset Sales, Osborne Speed & Machine, “Biker” Bruce Fischer, ALR Virtual Services, Burris Racing, Caltrol, Jambo Barbeque Pits, Competition Suspension, K-1 Race Gear, Molecule, Rod End Supply, Driven Racing Oil, Baldwin Filters, and NGK Spark Plugs.  If you would like to be a marketing partner with the Inland Rigging Racing Team in 2024, please contact Dunkel or Roa the information at the top of this release.

Inland Rigging PR

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.

This year’s crop of 26 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 82nd time this Saturday night, November 25, at California’s Ventura Raceway.

No Rookie has won the race since Warren Mockler’s last lap heroics in 1986. Jake Andreotti topped the field of Turkey Night debut starters in the 2022 race, finishing a solid fourth.

Nearly half of this year’s 53-car field is among the abundance of Rookie of the Race contenders.  In this year’s group are newly crowned USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year for 2023, Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.), plus 2023 ARCA Menards Stock Car champion Jesse Love (Menlo Park, Calif.) and 2023 NARC Sprint Car titlist Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.).

Xtreme Outlaw Midget winner Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) will make the trip out west as will 2016 USAC CRA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) and Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) who stands as the winningest sprint car driver in the United States for 2023 with 18 feature victories.

Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.), the 2021 USAC Western States Midget champ will take his shot at cracking the Turkey Night field for the first time as will 2022 USAC West Coast Sprint Car king Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, Calif.).

Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), one of the most improved drivers on the tour, will shoot for his first Turkey Night start along with Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association winner Jake Bubak (Arvada, Colo.). New Zealand’s Peter Hunnibell (Auckland, N.Z.) is the lone international representative in the event.

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 one race winner – Kyle Larson (2011) – and five others who’ll be in this year’s field.

Furthermore, there are a talented bunch of past Rookies who’ll all be in the hunt for a first Turkey Night win this Saturday night, including, Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019), Mitchel Moles (2021) and Andreotti (2022).

RACE DETAILS

Automotive Racing Products is the title sponsor of the $10,000-to-win, 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 25.

Serving as grand marshals for the event are USAC Hall of Famers and Turkey Night Grand Prix winners Chuck Gurney and Steve Lewis.

Midget practice, plus USAC West Coast Sprint Car heat races, qualifiers and dash will take place on Friday, November 24 with the sprint car semi-feature and feature events, and the 98-lap USAC Midget season finale taking place on Saturday, November 25.

On Friday and Saturday, the pits open at 11am Pacific with the drivers meeting at 2:45pm, the grandstands opening at 3pm and cars on track at 3:15pm.

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

On Saturday, all tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $25 for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $40 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday. Pit passes are $45 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday.

Race tickets are available now at www.venturaraceway.com

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2023 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET ROOKIES: (26)

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

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

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

5v ®RYAN TIMMONS/Pleasant Hill, CA (Dean Alexander)

6A ®RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Cruz Pedregon)

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

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

14J ®BRADEN CHIARAMONTE/El Cajon, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Streeter Racing)

15 ®MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (Dennis Hart)

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

21K ®GAGE RUCKER/Truxton, MO (Kruseman Enterprises)

27 ®JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Bourke 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)

55 ®COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Steve Lambert)

65NZ ®PETER HUNNIBELL/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich)

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)

78 ®MARVIN MITCHELL/Madera, CA (Marvin Mitchell)

84 ®JESSE LOVE/Menlo Park, CA (CB Industries)

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

® represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race Contender

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

USAC PR

As if Logan Seavey’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season couldn’t get any better, the newly-crowned 2023 series titlist added another victory to his credit for good measure on night two of Midget Madness on Wednesday at California’s Merced Speedway.

One night after clinching his second career USAC National Midget championship, Seavey tracked down Jake Andreotti for the race lead seven laps into the 30-lapper and cruised to his series-leading eighth feature win of the year aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Indy Custom Stone - Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

Seavey’s 16th career USAC National Midget triumph moved him up to 43rd on the all-time list alongside Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Justin Grant, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero and Henry Pens.

And as it turns out, Seavey not only had excellence on his side on this evening, but he also possessed good fortune. Late in the going, Seavey’s mount was suffering, and ultimately lost power mere moments after crossing under the checkered flag.

There was no time for a victory lap as Seavey won and promptly guided his car to the infield, coasting into victory lane. In the end, he had all the power he needed to get to the finish line and that’s all he really needed when all was said and done.

“Right before that yellow, I think I dropped a valve or cylinder or something,” Seavey revealed. “I wasn’t even sure if it was going to take off on the restart. Lucky these Stanton SR-11s make plenty of power, and even though I was down a little bit, I was still able to win.”

When the bell tolled, Seavey had tallied his 21st consecutive top-10 feature result in USAC National Midget competition, which is the most any driver has achieved since Kasey Kahne put together a 21-race string during his championship season of 2000.

Seavey lined up outside the front row alongside pole sitter Jake Andreotti who, on this very night exactly one year ago at Merced, led the first two laps of his USAC National Midget career. Once again, the early stages at Merced belonged to Andreotti who paced the field for the initial six circuits as Seavey gave chase.

The most major incident of the night occurred on lap four when fifth running Jesse Love slipped over the turn four cushion and pounded the outside wall during a battle for position with Ryan Timms. The contact sent Love, the 2023 ARCA Menards Stock Car champion, flipping down the front straightaway before coming to a rest. Love was able to climb out and walk away, but his car went away on the hook.

On the ensuing restart, Seavey went to work on Andreotti for the race lead, using the low side of the high banked 1/4-mile dirt oval to glide past Andreotti through turns three and four on the seventh lap before pulling up and pulling away from the rest of the field where no one was going to catch him.

“I just wasn’t really sure where I needed to be early,” Seavey admitted. “When I ran the sprint car race (earlier in the night), the bottom was really good, but midgets are a little bit harder to get around the bottom. Jake got off to a really good start and set a good pace. I was struggling with my car early and couldn’t get the thing adjusted like I wanted to and where I thought the car needed to be. It just took a few laps after that restart, and I burned what was left of the bottom down there and was able to get by him, then get up. Once my tires got hot, the car came right to me. I had all the grip I needed there.”

Andreotti continued to challenge Seavey as 10th starting Justin Grant swiped third from Buddy Kofoid on lap 10 while utilizing the low side of the surface. In that same timeframe, Seavey opened up his lead to a half-straight by the time the race hit the halfway point.

As has been the case on occasion this season, while Seavey was experiencing a comfortable drive up front, chaos was ensuing behind him as seemingly half the field threw haymaker after haymaker and shot after shot amid the jockeying from second through eighth in the running order during the final stanza of the affair.

Three-wide racing ensued as every position from second on back became up for grabs with the running order changing repeatedly within the blink of an eye. Grant, who had fallen to fourth, quickly picked off Kofoid for third again, then Andreotti for second on successive laps on the 25th and 26th trips around Merced.

Amidst the tornado of activity, no less than seven drivers: Andreotti, Grant, Kofoid, Jade Avedisian, Carson Macedo, Spencer Bayston and Ryan Timms saw themselves move forward and/or get shuffled back at one point or another during the final six laps.

But the merry-go-round of thrills was halted on lap 28 when 10th running Tanner Thorson stopped on the back straightaway to bring out the last caution, negating Seavey’s commanding 1.601 second lead and setting up a three-lap shootout to the race’s closure.

Kofoid was the boldest mover on the restart as he dove from fifth to third past Timms and Andreotti in turn three on lap 28, while up front, Seavey was leading the path relatively by his lonesome to reign victorious by a 0.797 second margin over Grant, Kofoid, Timms and Macedo who rounded out the top-five in a wild scramble for position that was good to the last drop, Maxwell House style.

It was a solid bounce back night for Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) who started the evening as the 23rd fastest qualifier out of 31 cars. He turned it around by winning his heat race, then charged up through the field from 10th to second in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Grant has now finished five of his last seven series starts inside the top-four.

Once again, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) was a frontrunner at Merced Speedway. In eight career USAC National Midget starts at the track, Kofoid has now finished in the top-three in seven of them. On this night, he gained several spots, lost them, then gained them back during a flurry of activity late to finish on the podium in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.

Meanwhile, Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) stopped the clock with the fastest ever Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying lap by a USAC National Midget driver at Merced Speedway, laying down a new track record of 11.417 seconds, which broke the one day old track record of 11.526 held by Tanner Thorson. She now owns two one-lap track records with the series, also recording a track record at Illinois’ Wayne County Speedway in August of this year.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 22, 2023 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.417 (New Track Record); 2. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-11.460; 3. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-11.492; 4. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.506; 5. Tanner Thorson, 88, Thorson-11.513; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.566; 7. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-11.582; 8. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.583; 9. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.621; 10. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.644; 11. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-11.648; 12. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-11.653; 13. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.656; 14. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-11.657; 15. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-11.668; 16. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-11.679; 17. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-11.688; 18. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.688; 19. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-11.691; 20. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-11.691; 21. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-11.696; 22. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.698; 23. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-11.785; 24. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-11.848; 25. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-11.849; 26. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-11.851; 27. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.910; 28. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-11.912; 29. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.063; 30. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.083; 31. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Jade Avedisian, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Cannon McIntosh, 7. Tanner Carrick, 8. Kyle Beilman. 1:58.43

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jesse Love, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Braden Chiaramonte, 7. Gavin Miller, 8. Peter Hunnibell. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Jake Andreotti, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. Michael Faccinto, 7. Mariah Ede. 2:00.37

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brody Fuson, 2. Corey Day, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Shannon McQueen, 7. Mitchel Moles. 2:00.04

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. Michael Faccinto, 6. Braden Chiaramonte, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Cannon McIntosh, 9. Mariah Ede, 10. Mitchel Moles, 11. Shannon McQueen, 12. Kyle Beilman, 13. Peter Hunnibell, 14. Blake Bower. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Justin Grant (10), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Ryan Timms (7), 5. Carson Macedo (11), 6. Jade Avedisian (6), 7. Corey Day (15), 8. Jake Andreotti (1), 9. Spencer Bayston (8), 10. Emerson Axsom (12), 11. Hayden Reinbold (13), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (21), 13. Daison Pursley (14), 14. Taylor Reimer (20), 15. Jacob Denney (19), 16. Tanner Carrick (16), 17. Braden Chiaramonte (17), 18. Brody Fuson (9), 19. Michael Faccinto (18), 20. Tanner Thorson (3), 21. Jesse Love (5), 22. Thomas Meseraull (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Jake Andreotti, Laps 7-30 Logan Seavey.

**Cannon McIntosh flipped during the semi. Jesse Love flipped on lap 4 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1730, 2-Justin Grant-1479, 3-Ryan Timms-1400, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-1393, 5-Jade Avedisian-1380, 6-Daison Pursley-1378, 7-Jacob Denney-1305, 8-Gavin Miller-1190, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1167, 10-Taylor Reimer-1154.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-173, 3-Justin Grant-142, 4-Emerson Axsom-119, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd 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: Cannon McIntosh (11.599)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jade Avedisian (11.417)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Spencer Bayston

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Brody Fuson

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Macedo

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Jake Andreotti

Hard Charger: Bryant Wiedeman (21st to 12th)

USAC PR

NASCAR’s Diamond Anniversary culminates with the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, NASCAR Truck Series, NASCAR ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR’s International Series visiting Nashville on November 28-30 to close out the 75th anniversary season and honor each series champion. Seven key persons of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season will make the trip to the other side of the Atlantic and be part of the amazing show in Tennessee’s Music City.
 
NASCAR will celebrate the champions of the NASCAR International Series on Tuesday, November 28, with a special banquet while the 2023 NWES Champion Gianmarco Ercoli and the #54 CAAL Racing Camaro owner Luca Canneori will also be recognized at the NASCAR Awards on Thursday, November 30, at the Music City Center together with the 2023 champions from all three NASCAR National Series. After a momentous season, drivers and industry personalities will embrace the city of Nashville to celebrate the 75th anniversary one final time.

“We are extremely happy to return to the United States to celebrate our 2023 champions during the NASCAR Championship Week. The very cool thing is that all NASCAR ceremonies will be held in the same city. We are sure our drivers and teams will have a great time and the opportunity to connect with other members of the NASCAR family from the Cup Series to the Weekly Series,” said EuroNASCAR President and CEO Jerome Galpin, who will also fly to the US to be in attendance. “It’s a great pleasure for us to attend these events and to offer this opportunity to our competitors. It’s a well deserved honor for them and it proves once again the important international exposure we can provide to the competitors of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.”
 
“As we continue to commemorate our diamond anniversary, there is no other place we’d rather return for our end of the year celebration than Music City,” said Pete Jung, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer at NASCAR. “We are ecstatic to bring Champion’s Week back to Nashville for a fourth year. The energy of this city never goes unnoticed and the fans’ dedication for our sport never fails.”

The following NASCAR Whelen Euro Series honors will be present in the USA: EuroNASCAR PRO Champion Gianmarco Ercoli with Team Owner Luca Canneori (both CAAL Racing), EuroNASCAR 2 Champion Paul Jouffreau and  EuroNASCAR Team Championship Owner Franck Violas (both RDV Competition), EuroNASCAR 2 runner-up Vladimiros Tziortzis (Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport), EuroNASCAR 2 third place Gil Linster (Hendriks Motorsport) and Rookie Trophy winner Jack Davidson (Marko Stipp Motorsport).

On Wednesday, November 29 NASCAR will initiate two new fan activations, NASCAR House and NASCAR Champion Car Parade. NASCAR House will take place in the city center on 5th and Broadway from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. CT. The NASCAR Champion Car Parade will take to the street of Broadway from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. CT. Ercoli will be part of the parade as well and also be recognized during the Cup Series Banquet. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is delighted to have their champions and top drivers taking part in one of the most exciting post-season events in all of motorsports.

NWES PR

Justin Grant placed second with Buddy Kofoid in third to lead Toyota in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ feature at Merced Speedway, Wednesday. 

The runner-up showing is Grant’s third top-two finish in the last seven races, while Kofoid has now earned top-three finishes in three of the last four events after returning to Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) for this year’s USAC West Coast Swing.

Also earning top-five finishes on the night were Ryan Timms (fourth) and Carson Macedo (fifth), while fellow Toyota-powered drivers Jade Avedisian (sixth), Spencer Bayston (ninth) and Emerson Axsom (tenth) made it seven Toyotas in the top 10.

The USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series closes out the 2023 season with the 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway, November 25.

Quotes

Justin Grant, RMS Racing Toyota: “I thought we had a really good car early. We struggled here this week, but we got going good in the feature tonight. Thanks to everybody on this RMS Racing team. We’ll roll into Turkey Night looking to capitalize on the gains we made this week.”

Buddy Kofoid, Keith Kunz Motorsports Toyota: “I felt ok early and then got better every lap for a while. I got up to second, but then lost it when a yellow came out. I felt like I was catching Justin late. Our car got better and better down the stretch. Thanks to Pete Willoughby and Keith Kunz for giving me the opportunity to drive this Mobil 1 Toyota.”

Toyota-Powered Drivers USAC Merced Speedway Wednesday Feature Results

Justin Grant – 2nd

Buddy Kofoid – 3rd

Ryan Timms – 4th

Carson Macedo – 5th

Jade Avedisian – 6th

Spencer Bayston – 9th

Emerson Axsom – 10th

Bryant Wiedeman – 12th

Taylor Reimer – 14th

Jacob Denney – 15th

Tanner Carrick – 16th

Jesse Love – 21st

TRD PR

America’s Home for Racing is adding an extra dose of fast-paced thrills for everyone’s holiday festivities as Charlotte Motor Speedway’s newest attraction is set to make its debut on Friday. The Cook Out Tubing Hill will premiere this joyful season with four 250-foot lanes of adrenaline-packed fun. The speedway’s newest fun-filled draw will be the highlight of everyone’s annual celebration, offering an exhilarating experience for individuals of all ages.

The Cook Out Tubing Hill is set to open on Black Friday and will welcome merrymakers every Thursday through Sunday from 6 to 10 p.m. Though Speedway Christmas presented by Atrium Health is a must-see attraction, admission to the eye-catching light show is not required to access the Cook Out Tubing Hill. Revelers can choose to partake in the excitement of the tubing hill or incorporate it into their overall Speedway Christmas experience.

“Every year, our team looks for new and creative ways to bring fun to the holidays,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter. “Whether adding a new walking trail to the infield village at Speedway Christmas or creating a new tubing hill out in the Fan Zone, we’re always focused on creating remarkable events for our guests. These new additions will certainly help add to the memories our guests make.”

TICKETS:

For just $20 a person, visitors can enjoy unlimited rides on the Cook Out Tubing Hill throughout the night. Those who have experienced the magic of Speedway Christmas will receive a coupon for a discounted rate of $15, while kids 12 and under can join in on the fun for only $10.

Speedway Christmas presented by Atrium Health is open nightly from Nov. 17 to Jan. 7 (closed Christmas Eve), with tickets per vehicle starting at $35 Monday-Wednesday, when the Christmas Village is closed, and $45 Thursday-Sunday, when the Christmas Village is open. Guests can skip the lines and beat traffic with the Fast Pass Lane, accessible off of Morehead Road at entrance P. The Fast Pass Lane ensures a smooth ride at $75 per vehicle on Thursday-Sunday.

Get your tickets online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or grab them at the gate.

FOLLOW ALONG:

Follow Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook or rev up the holiday spirit with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

CMS PR