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 the J. C. Agajanian family. 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. The feature race is held over 98 laps, the same number that Agajanian used for his racecars.[1]

The race is the traditional end of the midget and sprint car racing season in North America, although many top stars typically take a few weeks off before returning to racing in Australia or New Zealand, with the Southern Hemisphere summer leading to an "international season" that starts Boxing Day.

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, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Larson.[2]

Locations

Several locations have hosted the race.

List of winners
Season Driver
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
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[4]
2008 Bobby Santos III
2009 Bryan Clauson
2010 Bryan Clauson
2011 Caleb Armstrong
2012 Kyle Larson
2013 Dave Darland[4]
2014 Christopher Bell[5]
2015 Tanner Thorson[6]
2016 Kyle Larson[7]
2017 Christopher Bell
2018 Christopher Bell[8]
2019 Kyle Larson
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gollark: Range is deprecated because Ale32bit and is now capped at 50. Use cuboids.
gollark: Anyway, the cuboid thing means that you can, for example, set up a beacon to only broadcast in a specific shop at Wolf Mall, instead of a sphere, which is annoying.

References
  1. "WM: Turkey Night race will be 98 laps". Motorsport.com. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  2. Vaughn, Mark (December 24, 2012). "We'll Always Have Perris". Autoweek. 62 (26): 66–67.
  3. 98 laps "Turkey Night" in honor of J.C. Agajanian; Irwindale Speedway; Retrieved December 12, 2007
  4. Estrada, Chris. "USAC: Dave Darland wins Turkey Night Grand Prix". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  5. Vaughn, Mark (November 28, 2014). "Christopher Bell wins 74th Turkey Night Grand Prix midget racing event". Autoweek. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  6. "Thorson, Toyota take Turkey Night Grand Prix". Autoweek. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. "Kyle Larson, Toyota win Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway". Autoweek. November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  8. Long, Dustin. "Christopher Bell beats Kyle Larson to win Turkey Night Grand Prix". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
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