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Turkey Night Midget GP 2015 Part I

Turkey Night Midget GP 2015 Part I
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The diamond jubilee 75th running of the USAC Turkey Night Midget GP (TNGP) occurred Thanksgiving evening as usual. It was the fifth time and fourth consecutive year Perris Auto Speedway (PAS) has hosted “the granddaddy of midget auto racing events”. Only the Indianapolis 500, which will mark its 100th running in May 2016, exceeds the TNGP in longevity. Nine speedways (six dirt and three paved) have hosted TNGPs since the first in 1934.

This year there was light rain falling during the early afternoon in Riverside about 2:00 pm and a few drops even fell at the PAS. Numerous spectators attended the 3:00-4:00 pm driver autograph session on the front straight and inspected midgets. Then cool (not cold) weather improved and an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people populated the grandstand before the first race. Flags at turn two were limp most of the evening with only light wind. That made conditions relatively nice for late November and preserved a well-prepared, racy track.

Temperature at the track was 57 degrees at 3:00 and still 48 degrees when racing concluded at 9:34 pmWednesdayevening midgets-only practice at PAS had temps of 52 at 5:00 and 46 at 8:00 pm when the session ended with no teams seeking more track time. Nineteen midgets participated. “Little dynamo” Rico Abreu, 23, ran the fastest announced practice lap at 17.100 in his No. 97 Bullet/Toyota TRD. Teammate Kyle Larson (No 71) was close behind him in speed.

Rico is from the Napa Valley city of Rutherford (near St. Helen, south of Calistoga). His family firm, Abreu Vineyards, sponsors his No. 24 sprint car. Rico won the NASCAR touring series 2015 most popular driver award during November. The NASCAR K & N East stock car series 2015 rookie won his first stock car feature on July 4 in the Napa 150 at Columbus Motor Speedway, Columbus, Ohio. He also debuted in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on November 13 at the Phoenix mile track.

TNGP CAR COUNT: There were 28 midgets entered in the 2015 TNGP per the printed race program. Only three additional midgets appeared Thursday for a record low TNGP car count of 22. That is the lowest number I can recall and I've attended 54 TNGPs in a row since my first in 1962. TNGP car counts at PAS have declined each year since the race returned to dirt in 2012. PAS car counts have been 59 in 2012, 48 in 2013 and 34 in 2014. So why only 22 midgets this year despite relatively perfect weather?

I talked to numerous car owners, drivers, officials and fans to learn possible reasons for the steadily declining TNGP car count. Following are some of the reasons I heard during my survey of scores of people in various racing capacities at the track and subsequently.

    > Expense of racing midgets compared to the financial return. (TNGP has paid $6,000 to win for years.)

    > Difficulty in securing racing sponsors to offset some of the racing costs.

    > High dollar $50,000 Toyota-powered engine five-car team (Keith Kunz) dominating each TNGP.

    > Half-mile tracks too tough on some smaller teams engines and budget. They like to race on third-miles such as Bakersfield and Santa Maria and a fifth-mile like Ventura.

    > Thanksgiving evening is a family-gathering night, not a race night for many potential spectators. Even some die-hard racing fans such as “Big Mike” Grosswendt said he would attend if the TNGP were not held on Thanksgiving. Friday or Saturday evening of Thanksgiving weekend would be more attractive race days for many race teams and potential spectators, both die-hard and casual fans.

    > The TNGP follows by only two weeks the three-night higher ticket priced PAS Oval Nationals for USAC sprint cars. Fans, hard-core and casual, with limited racing budgets pick the Oval Nationals and familiar sprint cars and pass on the TNGP.

    > Midgets only race one night a year at PAS and fans do not build up a following for those cars and drivers.

    > Some potential TNGP midget car entrants save their racing budget to race in the annual Tulsa (Okla.) Chili Bowl midget classic, run each year since 1987 in early January. They want to be part of that five night event, even though they only race a maximum of two nights.

    > Some midget team owners have three to five midgets rented out for the January Chili Bowl and do not want to jeopardize racing in late November. Off-season is time to tear down and rebuild their midgets/engines for the Chili Bowl.

    > Numerous BCRA (Nor Cal) and Arizona midget teams do not race in So Cal for various reasons.

    > Many USAC National Midget Series and POWRi midget teams will not tow 1,500-2,000 miles west for only one race (even the TNGP). That is especially true if they cannot advance much in USAC National Midget point standings.

    > A series of midget races in California, Arizona or Nevada in late November would attract more car owners, especially if there was a bonus paid for the highest point midgets in the November series. Dirt tracks in Peoria, Ariz., or Las Vegas could be added to So Cal speedways if promoters were willing.

LATE BULLETIN (on Dec. 10): The 2016 TNGP event on Thursday, November 24, 2016 has been switched by USAC from PAS to the fifth-mile Ventura Raceway. Promoter Jim Naylor promoted the TNGP in 1997 at his seaside speedway. We will see in 2016 if moving the race to a short track will increase the TNGP car count, especially with more entries from BCRA and central California.

 

The age-old quandary between quantity and quality could be applied to the 2015 TNGP field at The PAS. While the TNGP car count of 22 was surprisingly low based on recent years, the quality of drivers was outstanding. Everyone agreed that racing in the three heat races and in the 98-lap main event was outstanding. Twelve top quality national open-wheel drivers raced. They included: Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Christopher Bell, Chad Boat, Bryan Clauson, Dave Darland, Tracy Hines, Kyle Larson, Chase Stockon, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas, Jr. and winner Tanner Thorson,

Kyle Larson has compiled an enviable TNGP record. In 2011 at Irwindale Speedway he finished fourth and won rookie of the race honors. In 2012 at PAS he won the 98-lap feature. In 2013 he was present in the pits to support the Keith Kunz team, but he did not race (NASCAR considerations). In 2014 Kyle raced the TNGP at PAS for the second time and finished third. In 2015 he finished second, so his four TNGPs raced show finishes of P. 1-2-3-4, an average finish of 2.5.

Larson and his family flew from Florida to So Cal Wednesday and rented a car. They planned to visit Disneyland in Anaheim Friday. His 11-month old son Owen and mom Kaitlyn (driver Brad Sweet's younger sister) were at the 3-4 pm autograph session. Owen was a smiley little guy. Just prior to the warm-ups/hot laps session Thursday, Kyle's mom put grandson Owen in Kyle's midget cockpit. Owen quickly grabbed the steering wheel—like his father—so the next Larson racing generation is on the way.

I talked to Kyle as he watched his son sitting in his midget cockpit. Kyle (in the No. 42 Camaro) dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series 300 mile race at the 1.5-mile Homestead Miami Speedway Saturday November 21 for his first NXS 2015 triumph. The next day Kyle's No. 42 Target/Chip Ganassi Chevy was a closing second place and in striking distance of NASCAR Sprint Cup race leader Brad Keselowski. Even NBC-TV announcers indicated Kyle was about to win his first Cup race in his second year. Then a debris caution flew; on the restart Kyle fell to fifth where he finished. I asked him if he thought he was going to win his first Cup race if the yellow hadn't flown. He said yes. I asked rim-rider Kyle where he planned to pass Keselowski. As expected, he answered, “On the outside.”

The 2015 PAS Turkey Night race had four past winners: Darland (2007 Irwindale & 2013 Perris), Clauson (2009-10 Irwindale), Larson (2012) Perris, and Bell (2014) Perris. Past Don Basile Rookie of the Race Trophy winners in the race were: Larson, Ryan Bernal (2012) and Thorson (2013). Don's son Bob contributes $500 cash each year and the perpetual trophy (with winners names affixed to plaques on the side) to keep his dad's memory alive in the racing community.

Four TNGP rookies competed for the 2015 Basile Rookie of the Race Trophy and $500 cash. They were: USAC National Sprint car winner and title-contender Chase Stockon, from Indiana, in Jerome Rodela's El Monte-based midget; USAC Western Midget veteran Tyler Dolacki, who turned 23 on race day, and Honda HPD (ex-Focus) Midget drivers Ashley Hazelton, 25, and Anaheim first-time full midget racer Robert Dalby, 15. The award goes each year to the highest finishing rookie in the race. Dalby won for finishing 14th. Hazelton ran out of fuel and finished 15th. Stockon was a DNF (lost oil pressure on lap 20 while in P. 10). Dolacki, the son of retired midget driver/feature winner Robert Dolacki, DNS (dropped a cylinder before the lap 1 green).

Ages of drivers in the 2015 field ranged from 15 to 49. There were two teenage drivers, 15 in their 20s, two in their 30s and three in their 40s. The average age of drivers was 27.6 years. Dalby at 15 and 11 months was the youngest and Darland at 49 was the oldest.

Darland was home in Indiana a day before the TNGP. He received a call to come to Perris for a hastily arranged ride. The No. 81 chassis was from Steve Watt of Ventura, and the engine came from Mike Sala, of central California. Sprint car driver Chris Gansen arranged the entry for Dave and picked him up at Ontario Airport at midnight. Dave stayed overnight at Chris' home and Chris provided transportation during his So Cal stay. Dave missed Wednesday practice and only had a few laps in the midget before qualifying it. On lap 33 he was lapped, a rarity for Dave the PAS master and usual front-runner in midgets and sprint cars. Racing in the TNGP enabled Darland to win by ten points the 2016 USAC Super License for scoring the most points in USAC National divisions--Silver Crown, Sprints and Midgets.