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| TURKEY NIGHT MIDGET GP NOTES by Tim Kennedy |
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Irwindale, Calif., Nov. 23 - The 66th Turkey Night Grand
Prix (TNGP) for Midgets was the eighth consecutive year for the
classic event at Irwindale Speedway, the ninth track to host the
traditional Thanksgiving racing event. It has been the site of every
TNGP since the track opened in 1999. Gilmore Stadium (1934-1950),
Gardena Stadium (1955-59), Ascot Park in Gardena (1960-1974 &
1976-1990), Speedway 605 in Irwindale (1975), Saugus Speedway
(1991), Bakersfield Speedway (1992-95), Perris Auto Speedway (1996),
Ventura Raceway (1997-98) were the other sites for the race. All
were dirt tracks except Speedway 605, Saugus and IS. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Former TNGP winners present for the 2006 edition were Parnelli Jones (1964 & 66 winner), Tony Simon (1975), Warren Mockler (1986), Chuck Gurney (1988-89) and 2006 active competitors Jason Leffler (1999 & 2005), Tony Stewart (2000), Dave Steele (2001 & 03), Michael Lewis (2002) and Bobby East (2004). Former CRA sprint car drivers Jay East, 79, Terry Kawell and Billy Wilkerson attended the 2006 TNGP. CRA pit steward Evelyn Pratt was busy in her USAC attire in the IS pits. Fifteen of the 33 drivers who made the 2005 100-lap TNGP also made the 2006 100-lapper. Four drivers used provisional berths based upon 2006 point standings to start at the back of the 2006 GP. They were Darren Hagen and Cole Carter from the National Series and Chase Barber and Shannon McQueen from the Western Series. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Car Counts: The 2006 TNGP had 67 Midgets (including three back-up cars without drivers), 37 Sprint Cars and 32 Ford Focus Midgets for a TNGP record 136 entries in the pits. The Irwindale pits record is 171 cars several years ago for a six-division event featuring stock cars and race trucks. …..In time trials, Midget and Sprint Car drivers overwhelmingly ran the fastest of two consecutive laps on the second lap. In Sprint Cars 32 drivers were quicker on L 2 and four on L 1 (one driver DNQ). In Midgets 53 drivers were quicker on their second lap and three were faster on their first lap. Three of the 59 drivers who came out to qualify did not post a qualifying lap because of mechanical problems. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DRIVERS BY STATES: Midgets (15 states were represented with 26 from Calif., 14 from Ind., 5 from Wash., 4 from Fla, two each from Ariz., Ill., N. Carolina and Ore, and one each from Ida., Mass., MO. , N.J, N.M, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Three cars did not have drivers. Sprint Car drivers came from six states and a foreign country: 23 from Calif., 6 from Wash., two each from Idaho, Indiana and Oregon, and one each from Utah and Canada. FF Midget drivers came from 11 states and two foreign nations (Canada and Holland). California led with 14 drivers, followed by Indiana with 4, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Utah had two each, and single drivers came from Colorado, Illinois, N.J, N.M, Ohio, and Washington. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CHASSIS BUILDERS/ENGINE MANUFACTURERS: Midgets had nine different constructors. Beast (Bob East) led with 49 cars, followed by Gerhardt with 5, Stealth 3, two each from Drinan, Edmunds, Hawk and Spike, and one each from Bullet and PC. There were 13 types of specific engines listed by owners. Esslinger led with 15, followed by Esslinger Ford 13, Fontana 9, Mopar 8, Ed Pink Ford 6, Stanton Mopar 4, Ed Pink Toyota 3, Chevy, Ford and Gaerte Ford 2 each, and single engines from Toyota, Wirth Mopar and Van Dyne. There were eight different sprint car builders. Beast led with 17 cars, followed by Eagle with 13, TCR had 2, with solo entries from French, J & J, Lejeune, Lightning and OCR. Nearly every sprint car owner listed Chevy as the engine. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Eight drivers (Kody Swanson, Bradley Galedrige, Tracy Hines, Tony Hunt, Mike Murgoitio, Casey Mears, Billy Wease, and Chris Petersen) d in both Midgets and Sprint Cars. The increase in drivers from Washington (5 in Midgets and 6 in sprinters) was noteworthy. Female drivers at the TNGP also increased significantly. There were 5 females in FF Midgets, 3 in sprinters and 3 in Midgets for a total of 11of the 133 drivers. Oldest drivers were J. R. Williams, 71 (FF Midgets) and Marvin Mitchell, 60 (Sprints). Youngest driver was Brady Bacon, 16 (Midgets). Cleo, the six-year old yellow Lab from Bakersfield, enjoyed spectating from the back seat of her owner's blue Jeep push vehicle again this year at the TNGP. The friendly dog gave birth to a litter of 13 Lab puppies nine months ago. Her owner kept one female pup and will be breaking in little Rosie soon as a push truck dog. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WRA vintage car supporters had 18 vintage midgets and sprint cars on display in the IS chalet village area between the main grandstand and the pits for fans to enjoy viewing before and after the races. Tony Simon proudly showed the 1948 Frank Kurtis midget No. 48 that he got from an eastern state and restored, including a $13,000 rebuilt Offy engine. Newlywed Tony Hujnt worked about 45 days earlier this year as a stunt driver (with on-screen credit) in Will Ferrell's movie "Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby" released two months ago. Tony said he drove the Petty 43 and M & Ms 38 Ford in scenes shot at NASCAR Nextel Cup tracks in Charlotte and Talladega. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The 42-page color TNGP program had a Joe Henning drawing of 1935 winner Ted Sizemore and 2005 winner Leffler on the color cover and extensive use of color on inside pages. Harold Osmer produced the collectors' item program as usual and kept the price at $5.00. He sold out the 1,000 copies printed last year so he printed 1,500 of the 2006 TNGP program and almost sold out again. He still has some copies of the program for sale by mail for $8.00 including S/H. Call Harold at (818) 657-9792 for details or e-mail him at program@hopublishing.com. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The TNGP was televised live locally and nationally on Speed Channel three years ago and it cut into the in-person attendance. Howie Zechner, of RAZ Video, taped every lap of every race in all three USAC series again this year. He has the 2005 and 2006 TNGP VHS tapes for sale at $25.00 each plus $5.00 for S/H. His e-mail address is Howie@RAZVideo.com or you may phone him at (626) 449-1175. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DON BASILE MEMORIAL ROOKIE OF THE RACE: There were 32 TNGP rookies in the 64 Midget driver field according to Dick Jordan USAC V-P News/Communications, who marked his 25th year with USAC in Indianapolis. The 11 2006 TNGP rookies in the 100-lap GP (with their starting and finishing positions in parenthesis) were: Kody Swanson (1 - 2), Chase Scott (6 - 10), Stephanie Mockler (14 - 21), Bradley Galedrige (15 - 22), Aron Oakley (19 - 19), Casey Mears (22 - 16), Levi Jones (22 - 13), Bobby Grewohl (26 - 25), Garrett Hansen (28 - 14), Brady Bacon (29 - 23) and Chase Barber (31 - 27). The eight prior Basile Rookie award winners were: Kasey Kahne (1998), Dave Steele ('99), Aaron Pollack('00), Bobby East ('01), Jerome Rodela ('02), Ryan Durst ('03), Brad Loyet ('04) and Kevin Swindell ('05). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The victorious Gerhardt Western Racing team came to the 2006 TNGP with three Gerhardt Racer Midgets, a No. 40 Eagle Sprint Car for Wease and a Gerhardt FF/Midget for rookie Tim Skoglund. The No. 40 Midget for Chase Scott was new this year. The No. 60 (Swanson ride) was the No. 60 driven last year by Bobby Santos III. The winning No. 80 (Wease ride) was the No. 40 car last year raced by Michael Lewis. Owner Rick Gerhardt, from Fresno, sold the No. 80 car that Wease raced in 2005 to a buyer in Florida. Jubilent winner Wease and runner-up Swanson were still celebrating and comparing notes in the pits about midnight with the temp at 58 degrees. Wease said he "earned 50% of the $6,000 purse". Wease won a USAC Western Midget Series 100-lap feature at Stockton 99 Speedway on 4/22/06 in the same No. 80 car he used to win the TNGP. He said the TNGP was his second USAC National Midget victory with an Indiana victory last year his first. His name will be the 42nd different name to go on one of the plaques of the perpetual Aggie Trophy kept on display in the IS administrative building. The trophy was the idea of Doug Stokes, former Communications Director at IS. It features one of the famous Stetson hats actually worn by J. C. Agajanian, who died in 1984. His sons, Cary, Jay and Chris, carry on the TNGP tradition and approved the bronzing of an actual Stetson that their father wore. Aggie's widow Faye approved of the trophy and supplied the Stetson. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Johnny Rodriguez, was present in the TNGP pits and said he will be racing in the Tulsa Chili Bowl Midget Classic in a Mark Priestley-owned Midget. The popular California Midget and Sprint Car driver suffered an eye injury at the Oval Nationals in Perris November 4 when he flipped the No. 7 Priestley Bullet sprinter on the final lap after contact while he was leading the B main. He was helping Wiley Miller's No. 75 FF Midget team with the ex-No. 54 TCR Midget that Wiley bought from FF champion Alex Harris. Alex won three features at IS in the car last season. The TNGP driver was Brandon "Buddy" Wise, 20-year old brother of USAC National Midget and Sprint champion Josh Wise. Buddy last raced in quarter midgets and he used Josh's 2003 Wise Racing uniform and one of his helmets to compete Thursday. Dad Eric and mom Christine came from their home in Indiana to watch both sons race at IS. Buddy was 16th fastest qualifier in his first FF Midget ride and made the feature. He dropped out on lap 33 and placed 21st. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The first two-race FF Midget National Championship was contested in 2005 at the Lima, Ohio dirt track and the Anderson, Indiana quarter-mile paved track. The 2006 series ran November 18 at the Ventura dirt track and concluded with the November 23 TNGP paved track event in Irwindale. In 2007 the two-track National Championship two-race series will be held at a dirt and a paved track on the East Coast. The 2006 USAC Western Championship Awards Banquet will be held on Friday, January 26, 2007 at a hotel on Huntington Drive a few miles from Irwindale Speedway. USAC's Tommy Hunt and IS management are discussing a possible two-day racing event at Irwindale on Saturday-Sunday January 27-28 with Western Midgets, 360 Sprints and FF Midgets on the schedule. It would be a Copper World Classic-type multi-division event. |
