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IRWINDALE, CA. - NOVEMBER 25 - Persons
who flew to California for the 64th Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix
for Midgets at Irwindale Speedway included noted racing
executive John Cooper, Tom Bigelow (USAC driver with 81 USAC
features, fifth most
in USAC history), past USAC Midget car owner/Hall of Fame member Bob
Higman.
Versatile driver and TV analyst Tommy Kendall dropped in as well.
Retired sprint car champions Jimmy Oskie (CRA) and LeRoy Van Conett
(NARC) and ex-racer Tommy Astone, Jr attended, as did Irwindale past
stock car champion Rip Michels, the 2004 Elite Division SW Series
rookie of the year.
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Seven past Thanksgiving Midget GP winners
attended the 2004 race. Danny Oakes, 93, won in 1945. Others were
Parnelli Jones (1964 & 66) with his sons, P. J and Page, and
Tony Simon (1972). Four active TNGP drivers were Jason Leffler
('99), Tony Stewart ('00), Dave Steele ('01 & 03) and Michael
Lewis ('02). Four Indy 500 winners--Bill Vukovich, Johnnie Parsons,
A. J. Foyt and Parnelli--have won past TNGP races. Other post WW II
Indy 500 drivers who won in a Midget Thanksgiving Night were: George
Amick, Tony & Gary Bettenhausen, Mel Kenyon, Sammy Sessions,
Billy Engelhart, Bubby Jones, Stan Fox, Billy Boat, Jason Leffler
and Tony Stewart. The all-time leading TNGP winner is Ron Shuman
with eight.
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A table-full of TNGP and Western States trophies
was displayed in the pits near the USAC trailer on race day.
The Don Basile Memorial Rookie of the Race had seven eligible
drivers make the 100-lap GP this year. In order of their finishes
the drivers were: Brad Loyet (9th), Kyle Nicholas (10th), Mario
Marietta (15th), Bobby Santos (26th), Kenny Ferris (27th), Brian
Gard (29th) and Justin Overfelt (30th). Loyet won and joined past
TNGP Race Rookie winners Kasey Kahne (1998), Dave Steele, Aaron
Pollock, Bobby East, Jerome Rodela and Ryan Durst from 1999-2003.
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FEMALE DRIVERS: A USAC one event record of six
female drivers competed
during TNGP '04 in the three divisions. Ford Focus-Courtney Kirts,
Audra Sasselli; Sprints-Shauna Hogg, Amy Barnes and Destiney
Hays,and Midgets-Shannon McQueen. FF Midget driver Ashley (Walker)
Swanson was entered, but did not compete, so seven could have been
the record.
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Keith Iaia's SCREAM, Inc. completes all Ford
Focus racing engines after they arrive in crates fromn Ford. He
closed his 3,000 sq. ft shop in Harbor City six months ago and moved
FF operations north to an 80-acre spread in Paso Robles, CA where he
has 4,000 sq. ft and has plans to plant pistachio nut trees on the
property.
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The 34-page TNGP color cover, race program was
the 100th weekly Irwindale
Speedway $5.00 program printed by "The Program
Guys"--Harold Osmer and Neil
Nissing. They printed 1,000 for Turkey Night Midget, an increase
from the normal 500 copies. Programs sold well in the pits and
grandstands. Any remaining copies of this or past Irwindale weekly
programs may be ordered at www.hopublishing.com
or by calling (323) 849-1811. RAZ Video Productions, 1828 E. Walnut
St, Pasadena, CA 91107, video taped the TNGP as they did at all
Irwindale weekly races from 2002-04. Tapes in VHS or DVD format may
be secured from Howie@RAZ video.com
or by calling (626) 449-1175.
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KABC-TV Ch. 7 in Los Angeles sent a remote
broadcast truck to Irwindale Speedway Thanksgiving evening and aired
an almost two minute segment on the 11 p.m news that night. Included
was taped Midget racing action from earlier in the evening, an
interview with Jay Agajanian and a fan who has seen all 64 Turkey
Night GPs. The three Agajanian brothers-Cary, Jay and Chris--have
seen every race since 1955 when their father J.C began promoting the
race. This writer has seen 43 consecutive TNGPs since the 1962 race
won by Billy Cantrell.
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A 3:30 to 7:50 pm open-wheel only practice
session in sunny, 72 degree weather took place for all three TNGP
racing divisions had 117 racing cars in the pits Wednesday, November
24. A record 108 teams paid $200 each to practice. The track closed
at 7:50 after the No. 59 midget driven by Michael Simpson had a
stuck throttle and hit the third turn wall, leaking fluids across
the track. He repaired his car and raced the next night. The No. 10
Chris Walker Midget driven to victory by Thomas Meseraull in
Irwindale's second twin-25 lap feature 3/27/04 was in the pits for
driver Cory Kruseman. They found a problem and withdrew the car
before it got on the track.
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Race day temp was 72 at 2 p.m, 68 at qualifying
3:30 to 5:45 and 56 degrees at race-time. It was 55 when racing
concluded at 10:19 p.m. Race day car counts were 54 Midgets, 38
Sprints and 32 Ford Focus Midgets for a TNGP record 124 cars. The
final TNGP at Ascot Park in 1990 had 109 Midgets in the pits. USAC
starter Tony Roberts flagged all three TNGP divisions with Noel
Dawson in the flag-stand as his assistant. Bruce Flanders was the PA
announcer in the booth and Larry Naston handled track-side
interviews. The J. J. Ercse family held their annual go-kart Heart
Association benefit race in memory of Fred Ercse two nights before
Thanksgiving. VRA 360 Sprint Car driver Blake Miller won and
Riverside's Josh Wise finished second.
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The San Gabriel Valley Tribune sports section
page one on Friday, November 26 ran a 6 X 7" color photo of
USAC FF midgets racing on Thursday at IS and a story about the race.
A 5 X 7" black and white FF racing photo appeared on page four
with the race story continuation. The LA Times sports page two on
November 26 carried an eight-inch story written by staff writer
Martin Henderson about the TNGP Thursday.
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As a result of all his post-feature victory
interviews (16 this year) Bobby East has become more PR/media
proficient. His poise and self-expanded answers to media questions
after his impressive TNGP triumph were outstanding. Several times
reporters asked Bobby potentially difficult questions. His
intelligent answers led a media member to twice reply "Good
answer." Bobby, who turns 20 on December 17, won both
USAC features at Tucson Saturday, November 20 to kick off his
memorable week.
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The Thanksgiving Midget GP is one of the five
annual well-attended Midget racing classic races. Three are on dirt
tracks-Tulsa, OK Chili Bowl, Belleville, KS Nationals and Terre
Haute, IN "Hut 100"-while two are on paved tracks-the PIR-Copper
World Classic in Arizona and the Thanksgiving GP in
California.
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Drivers by states: The 32 FF Midget drivers live
in eight states. CA had 24, IN-two and one each from GA, IL, MO, N.M,
NV and PA. W/S Sprint drivers hailed from nine states and Canada. CA
led with 19, IN had six, WA four and NV and OR two each. ID, IL, MA
and UT had one rep each. Midget drivers came from 14 states and
Canada. CA supplied 23 drivers, IN 13, WA four, FL and OH two each.
Solo reps came from AZ, ID, IL, MA, MO, NE, NJ, OR and UT.
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CHASSIS BUILDERS: FF Midgets had 13 Stealths, 10
Beasts, four TCRs, two Edmunds, and one each Ellis, Hawk and Spike.
Beast built 20 of the 38 Sprints, with Eagle supplying 11 cars. Solo
copies came from Bullit, Drinan, Hassel, J & J and Lejeune. The
Midgets had 38 Beasts, three each Edmunds, Gerhardt and Stealth, and
singletons from Buzzard, Competition Welding, Drake, Drinan, Hawk,
Lejeune, SM-02 and TCR.
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ENGINES: Ford built all 32 Focus engines in the
spec series. Sprint Car power came from 24 Chevrolets and a number
of individual builders. Ford, Pontiac and Stanton Mopar all had one
engine. Midgets were a close three-way battle for supremacy between
Esslinger (11), Mopar (10) and Ed Pink Ford (9). Pink also built one
Chevy and two Mopars. Gaerte built four engines a Ford and two
Mopars. Three other builders supplied Mopars. There were four
Fontanas and four Fords and several individually-built Fords.
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Race Dogs: Cleo, the friendly four-year old
yellow Lab, was back from Bakersfield riding on a leash in the open
Jeep push vehicle. She enthusiastically returns "to push"
race cars every TNGP with her owner. A black & white cocker
spaniel, on a leash and wearing a black & white checkered sun
visor above his eyes, walked the sunny IS pits Thursday afternoon
with his owner during practice and qualifying.
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USAC sprint car driver Levi Jones, from Illinois,
was rideless at the TNGP so he helped Darren Hagen in the pits with
the No. 09 sprint car that Hagen bought from Eric Butze, of Memphis.
Tracy Hines, the 2004 NCTS No. 88 Menards truck racer and NCTS
rookie of the year runner-up to David Reutimann, was the only driver
to race in all three divisions at the TNGP. He drove the No. 27 FF
Midget, No. 7 Sprint and No. 11 Midget. An unusual sponsor name--Dr.
Williams, DDS a Visalia dentist--adorned the No. 75 Sprint Car
driver by 16-year old Kody Swanson.
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Tony Hunt set the fastest time in the Midgets and
second fastest time in the Sprints. The TNGP winning car Dave Steele
drove last year was a backup in the Nicholas team hauler. More than
ten vintage Midgets were parked at the main spectator entrance to
the track on Thanksgiving to give arriving fans a chance to view
examples of early Midgets and the history of Midget racing.
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The purple and gold No. 44 Brian Geisler, from
Oregon, made an excellent advertisement for racing. On both sides of
their trailer was a life-size, side view, color image of their
sprint car and a chest-up likeness of driver Geisler. They made the
18-hour tow south on Interstate 5 from Monday at 3:30 p.m to Tuesday
night. They drove north on I-5 Friday. MARA Midget driver Mark Bush,
from Cumming, GA, bought the No. 99 Stealth/FF Midget and picked it
up at Mark DeBeaumont's Stealth West in Concord, CA. He raced it for
the first time at Irwindale and made the FF feature before driving
home to GA with his new Ford Focus Midget that he will race in
recently announced new FF series in southern states.
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Bobby McGowan, a four-time FF main event winner
(including at the TNGP) sold his paved and dirt track Midgets and FF
engine. He will race in the touring ASA Speed Truck Series in 2005
in the ex-No. 7 Brandon Arciero truck that he will renumber as No.
5. FF Midget winners Ryan Kaplan and Bradley Galedrige are stepping
up in class to the USAC W/S Midget Series.
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