Turkey Night Grand Prix
The Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It has been held on Thanksgiving night most years since 1934 at various southern California race tracks, promoted by J. C. Agajanian and later his heirs. Traditionally a dirt track event, it has been held more frequently on asphalt since the turn of the 21st century, although it returned to dirt in 2012.
Drivers
The event is considered a major event in the midget cars series. It frequently attracts drivers from other disciplines, especially former drivers that have moved to the highest levels of auto racing; the major auto racing circuits in the United States end their seasons prior to Thanksgiving, so major drivers do not have any schedule conflicts with their main circuits. Drivers that have competed in the event include Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Johnnie Parsons, Bill Vukovich, Danny Oakes, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Larson.[1]
Locations
Several locations have hosted the race.
- Gilmore Stadium (1934–1950)[2] (now CBS Television City)
- Gardena Stadium (1955–1959)
- Ascot Park (1960–1974, 1976–1990)
- 605 Speedway (1975)
- Saugus Speedway (1991)
- Bakersfield Speedway (1992–1995, 1998)
- Perris Auto Speedway (1996, 2012–2015)
- Ventura Raceway (1997, 2016)
- Irwindale Speedway (1999–2011)
List of winners
- 1934 Bob Swanson
- 1935 Ted Sizemore
- 1936 Ronney Householder
- 1937 Ronney Householder
- 1938 Bob Swanson
- 1939 Mel Hansen
- 1940 Roy Russing
- 1941 Roy Russing
- 1945 Danny Oakes
- 1946 Perry Grimm
- 1947 Johnny McDowell
- 1948 Bill Vukovich
- 1949 Perry Grimm
- 1950 Bill Zaring
- 1955 Johnnie Parsons
- 1956 Edgar Elder
- 1957 George Amick
- 1958 Joe Garson
- 1959 Tony Bettenhausen
- 1960 A. J. Foyt
- 1961 A. J. Foyt
- 1962 Bill Cantrell
- 1963 Mel Kenyon
- 1964 Parnelli Jones
- 1965 Dick Atkins
- 1966 Parnelli Jones
- 1967 Gary Bettenhausen
- 1968 Sam Sessions
- 1969 George Benson
- 1970 Gary Bettenhausen
- 1971 Bill Engelhart
- 1972 Tony Simon
- 1973 Bill Engelhart
- 1974 Danny McKnight
- 1975 Mel Kenyon
- 1976 Bubby Jones
- 1977 Gary Patterson
- 1978 Rick Goudy
- 1979 Ron Shuman
- 1980 Ron Shuman
- 1981 Ron Shuman
- 1982 Ron Shuman
- 1983 Kevin Olson
- 1984 Ron Shuman
- 1985 Brent Kaeding
- 1986 Warren Mockler
- 1987 Ron Shuman
- 1988 Chuck Gurney
- 1989 Chuck Gurney
- 1990 Stan Fox (last time held at Ascot Park)
- 1991 Stan Fox
- 1992 Ron Shuman
- 1993 Ron Shuman
- 1994 Jordan Hermansader
- 1995 Billy Boat
- 1996 Billy Boat
- 1997 Billy Boat
- 1998 Jay Drake
- 1999 Jason Leffler
- 2000 Tony Stewart
- 2001 Dave Steele
- 2002 Michael Lewis
- 2003 Dave Steele
- 2004 Bobby East
- 2005 Jason Leffler
- 2006 Billy Wease
- 2007 Dave Darland[3]
- 2008 Bobby Santos III
- 2009 Bryan Clauson
- 2010 Bryan Clauson
- 2011 Caleb Armstrong
- 2012 Kyle Larson
- 2013 Dave Darland[3]
- 2014 Christopher Bell
- 2015 Tanner Thorson
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 98 laps "Turkey Night" in honor of J.C. Agajanian; Irwindale Speedway; Retrieved December 12, 2007
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Irwindale Turkey Night Grand Prix Preview; November 3, 1999; motorsport.com; Retrieved February 5, 2007; includes winners list before 1999
- Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix; scrafan.com; Retrieved February 7, 2007
