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IRWINDALE, Calif. - The 65th running of the Turkey Night
Grand Prix had numerous spectators of note. They included IRL driver
Bryan Herta, actor Kent McCord from the old Adam 12 TV show, TV
broadcaster Bob Jenkins, racing videographer/historian Dick Wallen
and retired driver Page Jones. Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indy 500
winner, drove the No. 45 Fred Gerhardt Offy and paced the 32-car
main event field behind Irwindale's Ford Mustang pace car. He even
wore a racing helmet from the post-WW II era. The No. 45 midget won
the Thanksgiving GP in 1950 with Bill Vukovich driving and it won
the 1955 TNGP with Johnnie Parsons driving. Rick Gerhardt recently
bought the famous Frank Kurtis-built 45 midget from Ken Hillberg.
Gerhardt's Western Speed Racing organization had a catered turkey
dinner for guests at the chalet village area near the IS main
grandstand. Ford Motor Co. and its racing director Dan Davis also
hosted a complete turkey dinner for guests on Thanksgiving at its
compound in the pits.
The TNGP attendance was up about 1,000 this year
compared to last year. A crowded driver autograph session for fans
took place on the front straight from 6:20 to 6:45 after qualifying
for all three divisions. The National Anthem played at 7:00. Seven
races (four qualifiers and three mains) ran 218 laps in the three
series and took place between 7:12 and 10:28 p.m. The temperature at
IS race day was 75 degrees when qualifying started at 4:00 and was
still 53 degrees when racing concluded. Driver ages this year ranged
from 16 to 70+ in the Ford Focus division.
USAC TNGP car counts this year were an Irwindale
track record 35 Ford Focus midgets, 40 sprint cars and 61 midgets,
up from 51 cars last year. The 136 cars in the pits on Thanksgiving
were an Irwindale TNGP record. No one-lap track records fell during
time trials. The 42-page TNGP $5.00 official program produced by
Harold Osmer and Neil Nissing sold out all 1,000 copies. All prior
TNGP programs have been sold. The 50th anniversary TNGP program
cover artwork by noted racing artist Joe Henning used the Saturday
Evening Post magazine cover style. It depicted the 1934 winning No.
8 midget of driver Bob Swanson and the 2004-winning No. 9 midget of
Bobby East.
The Agajanian family 50th consecutive year of
presenting the Turkey Night Midget classic race had a gold-color,
dollar-size coin struck with the likeness of the late J. C.
Agajanian on the front. The No. 45 midget that won the race twice, a
checkered flag and palm trees adorned the back of the coin. Only 500
commemorative coins were minted. J. C. Agajanian, Jr met Jason
Leffler in the pits shortly after his midget blew its engine in
practice Wednesday. J.C gave the dejected driver one of the
commemorative coins for better luck and Jason put it in a pocket of
his driving uniform. The rest is history. Jason
borrowed another Esslinger engine and won the 100-lap feature
Thursday.
Nine of the top ten USAC Western Midget drivers
and all ten of the USAC National Midget drivers raced Thursday. Nine
of the top ten USAC Western Sprint drivers and eight of the top ten
USAC National Sprint Series drivers competed. All of the top ten
California Ford Focus paved track drivers and six of the California
FF dirt track series drivers raced.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune daily newspaper
sports section page one Wednesday carried a photo of Damion Gardner
and a story about his TNGP entry for the first time in a new Cruz
Pedregon owned Gerhardt/Fontana midget. Pedregon's drag racing
sponsor--Advance Auto Parts--adorned the hood of his No. 71c midget.
The SGVT Friday edition ran a story about the TNGP complete with a
photo of Dave Steele's midget leading the race. For fans who wish to
view the 2005 Thanksgiving GP contact Howie@RAZVideo.com
or call IS track videographer Howie Zechner at 626-449-1175. He
tapes every lap of every race. DVD or VHS versions are available.
A Thanksgiving GP record 11 female drivers raced
this year. FF midgets had Alison MacLeod, Lindsay Kernohan, Audra
Sasselli, Jenna Frazier and Caitlin Shaw. Sprints had Jessica
Helberg, Shauna Hogg and Destiney Hays. The featured midget division
had Randi Pankratz, 27-year old Shannon McQueen a Bakersfield CPA
and tenth-ranked in USAC Western Series points, plus Breanna Lopez,
the second ranked point driver on the WMRA circuit.
Irwindale management ran a Wednesday, November 23
open practice from 3:00 to 8:05 p.m for all USAC divisions. Most
teams took advantage of the chance to set up their cars for racing
Thursday. No lap times were recorded because electronic transponders
were not placed on the cars. Two timed practice sessions for all
three divisions began at 1:30 p.m Thursday. Only a spin by Kevin
Swindell in turn two Wednesday resulted in damage to his No.
20s midget when Tony Hunt's midget tee-boned his car. Randy DuBois
looped his No. 79 sprint car in turn four and collected two cars
with minor damage to his car. One midget, the No. 00 Beast/Esslinger
of Pete Davis, had a problem Wednesday and did not return Thursday.
Todd Hunsaker practiced Wednesday in the Dick Hughes No. 65 FF
midget, but 70+ year old Hughes was in the car Thursday.
Fastest drivers in Thursday's first practice
session were Tracy Hines at 17.337, followed by Bobby East and Josh
Wise. The sprint car first session at 1:50 had Michael Lewis' 16.893
atop the scoring pylon, followed closely by Kody Swanson and Mike
Murgoitio. The FF Midgets at 2:10 had Ricky Ehrgott fastest at
14.465 over Casey Riggs and Audra Sasselli. Session two for each
division had East's 17.234 quickest at 2:40 p.m over Steele and
Hines. Swanson's 16.827 paced 40 drivers in the 3:00 practice
session, with Jim Waters and Lewis next quickest.
Wally Pankratz, a 60 year old, 35-year racing
veteran, made his final USAC start in his "enough is
enough" farewell season. He made his 454th start in the USAC
Western Midget Series that started in 1983. He won the 2000 Western
Midget driving championship and ranked 12th in 2005 driver points.
He qualified his No. 8 Edmunds/Fontana 37th fastest of 59 drivers
who qualified. Wally raced his way into the 100-lap main by
finishing fourth in his 12-lap qualifying race. He started 21st and
finished the 100-lap main 19th with 21 drivers on the lead lap.
Wally said he advised Jerome Rodela what he had to do to have a
backup ride ready to race Turkey Night if necessary. It became
necessary when Tres Van Dyne's Beast broke a rocker arm during
Jerome's second qualifying lap. Rodela had to switch to his own
"For Sale" Beast /Ed Pink Ford that 2004 Western champion
Johnny Rodriguez had qualified. Jerome raced the car from 20th to
fifth to earn 23rd starting position in the main event. He then
continued charging to fifth place and his first USAC championship.
The Irwindale Speedway electronic
sign at the east-end of the parking lot overlooks the busy
north-south 605 freeway. In days leading up to the TNGP the flashing
sign carried a "Farewell Wally Pankratz" message for his
announced retirement. It also welcomed racing champions entered in
the race this year. Dave Darland, Michael Lewis, Gary Scelzi, Josh
Swise, Levi Jones, Damion Gardner, Dave Steele, J. J. Yeley and
Bobby East had their names saluted on the sign for freeway drivers
to see.
STOLEN EQUIPMENT ALERT: A thief stole the 24'
black Wells Cargo trailer being towed to Irwindale for the
Thanksgiving GP by the father of drivers Michael Lewis, 26, and
Billy Lewis, 18. The trailer was unhitched when a thief stole it
from the parking lot of the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas. It
contained a Beast combo Ford Focus midget Billy raced this year at
the Indianapolis Speedrome. It also contained a generator, tools,
Michael Lewis tee-shirts and other equipment. The red and blue No.
28 midget was to be No. 11B for Billy to race in Irwindale's FF
event. Las Vegas Police took a report about the theft. Anyone with
information about the theft may call the Lewis family at
317-374-3775 or 559-474-1408. Michael made some calls to find Billy
a ride at Irwindale. Steve Howard suggested FF midget
owner/driver Cal Smith. Cal loaned Billy his No. 39 Rick Stewart/FF
that Cal had not intended to race. It is for sale at $13,000 for the
car, engine and all spares. (Call Cal at 626-274-5156.) Billy set
24th fastest qualifying time in a field of 35 and finished fifth in
the 12-lap qualifying race. He started the main event 23rd and was
20th when he dropped out on lap 23. Billy finished 26th in his first
race at Irwindale.
There were many first-time Irwindale competitors
at the 2005 TNGP. The FF midgets had 13 of 35 drivers. The sprint
cars had 12 of 40 drivers and the midgets had 13 of 61 drivers
getting their first taste of Irwindale racing. The combined total of
38 newcomers (almost 28%) included three drivers new to IS who raced
in both sprint car and midget divisions. Of special interest, a TNGP-record
ten drivers from the WMRA made the long tow from the Pacific
Northwest. Rick Moss, the 2005 WMRA champion, fared the best with
his 18th place in the feature.
Although he dropped out of the 100-lap Turkey
Night main and finished 28th, Brad Kuhn clinched National Midget
Driver of the Year point championship over Jerry Coons, Jr. for
drivers from all sanctioning bodies. Esslinger Engineering won the
National Midget Manufacturer title for engine builders. Stealth won
the chassis manufacturer crown. Brad Loyet, from Missouri, topped 51
other drivers to win the National Midget Rookie Driver of the Year
Award. Winners will receive their awards at the annual Tulsa,
(Okla.) Chili Bowl Midget Nationals on Saturday, January 14, 2006.
DRIVERS BY STATES: Drivers racing in the 2005
TNGP came from 16 different states. Four drivers call Canada home.
FF midget drivers came from seven states and Canada. California had
24 of the 35 drivers. Sprint car drivers represented ten states and
Canada. California topped the list with 18 of 40 drivers. Idaho had
four. Midget drivers came from 13 states. California is home for 27
and Indiana had ten for second place.
CHASSIS/ENGINE: Six different chassis builders
were represented in the 35-car FF midget field. Stealth led with 19
cars, followed in order by Beast (7), TCR (6) and one each from
Edmunds Autoresearch, Dave Ellis and Rick Stewart. In the sprint car
series, Beast led eight builders with 21of 40 cars, followed by
Eagle with 12. The midget series had nine builders and Beast was
tops with 46 cars. Gerhardt had four. Chevy provided power in
29 of the 40 sprinters with the other 11 cars coming from a variety
of manufacturers. Esslinger provided 14 midget engines, and was
followed by Mopar with ten. Mopars also came from Ed Pink Gaerte,
Stanton, Gowens and Wirth. Ed Pink Fords were in nine midgets.
Ford provided two and there was a Brayton Ford. There were six
Fontana, four Gaerte, four Chevy engines and a lone Buick.
Most USAC midget teams left Southern California
Sunday morning for the 2,500 mile, two to three days drive east on
Interstate 10 to Orlando, Florida, site of the Steve Lewis PRI
doubleheader USAC non-point races Thursday-Friday, December 1-2.
However, Klatt Enterprises rented Irwindale Speedway Friday,
November 25 and practiced with their No. 5 sprint car and No. 6 FF
midget with teenage Stephanie Mockler driving. She did not attempt
to race Thursday but said she loves the track and hopes to race in
the 2006 TNGP. NHRA Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi enjoyed his
initial FF midget racing experience so much Thursday he also
practiced his No. 4 FF midget on the third-mile IS track Friday
afternoon.
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