61ST RUNNING THANKSGIVING NIGHT GRAND PRIX
TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING NIGHT GRAND PRIX: "TURKEY NIGHT" AT IRWINDALE NOVEMBER 22 … 61ST RUNNING HISTORIC RACE EARLY ENTRY LIST(S) ATTACHED Irwindale, Calif. - - Few other annual races in the United States, or the world for that matter, have longer histories or more storied pasts. November 22, 2001 will mark the sixty-first time that the best Midget drivers in the country have gathered together in southern California to put on a race on Thanksgiving evening. This race has become the single, most important USAC race of them all, winning this single race can define a career and add one's name to a virtual pantheon of the great racing names that have won it before you ... And November 22 at Irwindale Speedway will be the 61st running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix for USAC Midgets presented by K&N Filters. The names of past winners of this night of nights for USAC Midgets don't just "read like a who's who" of American open wheel motorsports, they ARE American motorsports . Beginning with Swanson (1934), Russing (1940 & 41), Oakes (1945), Vukovich (1948), Bettenhausen (Tony 1959, Gary 1970), Foyt (1960&61), Keynon (1963 & 75), Parnelli Jones (1964 & 66), Simon (1972), Goudy (1978), Shuman (1979 through 82, 84, & 87), Brent Kaeding (1985) Gurney (1988 & 89), Fox (1990 & 91) Boat (1995, 96,97), Leffler (1999), and ending with Stewart (2000). The Irwindale 2001 winner's name will become yet one more coveted entry on that extraordinary list. "Turkey Night" is never anything less than 100-laps, 50 miles, of no-holds-barred, pure racing excitement with 900-pound, 400+ horsepower, open-wheel race cars dancing inches apart on a half-mile paved oval that has produced some of the best short track racing and closest finishes that anyone has ever witnessed. Righteous racing with all the stops pulled and with nothing left in reserve from lap one all the way to the checkered flag. TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT ARE NOW ON SALE AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY (626) 359-1100 ENTRY LIST WORLDCOM USAC NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES 61ST "TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX" Presented by K & N Filters IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY - IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 22, 2001 CAR # DRIVER/HOMETOWN ENTRANT/SPONSOR/ENGINE/CHASSIS 1 WALLY PANKRATZ/Orange, CA Wally Pankratz/Sta-Rite - Trench Shoring HASA/VanDyne/Beast 2 TONY AVE/Indianapolis, IN Gregg Steele/Century 21/Pink Ford/Beast 2x JOHN SARALE/Stockton, CA Terry Caves/Terry Caves Sales & Leasing - Sarale Farms - Hansen Machine Sacramento Bumper/Gaerte/Lightning 4 BOBBY EAST/Brownsburg, IN East Enterprises/Team ASE - Beast - Consani/Pink Chevy/Beast 4x TONY HUNT/Fair Oaks, CA Bob Rosen/Mr. Espresso/Brayton/Beast 7 STEVEN ROBERTSON/Tranquility, CA Robert Hartman/Seed Services/Gaerte Ford/Drinan 7c COLE CARTER/Brownsburg, IN Carter Racing/Access RPM - Concrete Connection/Buick/Beast 9 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN Steve Lewis/Ford - ASE - Beast - Performance Racing Industry/Pink Ford/Beast 9x KASEY KAHNE/Enumclaw, WA Steve Lewis/Ford - ASE - Beast - Performance Racing Industry/Pink Ford/Beast 10 Chris Walker/Bay Muffler/Esslinger/Stealth 11 MICHAEL LEWIS/Noblesville, IN Phil Reed/A.J. Foyt Racing - Electronic Chrome & Grinding/Pink Ford/Beast 11x RANDY BAUER/Kingston, WA Robert Morris/Morris/Brayton Buick/Beast 12 CHRIS GABEHART/Louisville, KY NG Motorsports/NG Motorsports/Brayton Ford/Drinan 14 DANNY EBBERTS/Canyon Lake, CA Schlacter-Ebberts/Systech - Lucas Oil - Grove Lumber - TWR - Sunset ZLT Cal Truss - Straight Edge/Pink Ford/Autoresearch 17 TBA Robert Hartman/Seed Services - Sparco - Eibach Springs - Lucas Oil/Gaerte/Drinan 18 FLOYD ALVIS/San Carlos, CA Floyd Alvis/Interstate Battery of Palo Alto/VanDyne/Stealth 19 TONY STEWART/Rushville, IN Steve Lewis/Ford - ASE - Beast - Performance Racing Industry/Pink Ford/Beast 21 JOHN NERVO/Akron, OH Nervo-Coggin Racing/Nervo-Coggin Racing - Auto Meter - FK Bearing/Pink Ford/Beast 22 JAMES CHESSON/Far Hills, NJ Chesson Racing/Fast Oil/Brown/Beast 23 BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA Joe Oddo/Oddo/VanDyne/Beast 25 TEDDY BEACH/Donnelsville, OH Beach Boy Motorsports/Beach Mfg. Co. - Fram - Cincinnati Fasteners/Gaerte/Beast 26 GLENN CARSON/Newark, CA Douglas Bock/Bock/Esslinger/Stewart 29 DAVE STEELE/Tampa, FL Dino Tomassi/Finish Line Towing - Mopar - Penske Shocks - Northside Propane/Mopar/Beast 31 BOBBY BOONE/Palmdale, CA Ed Croteau/Autoresearch - Esslinger Engineering - Redmond Bumper Service - Mullahey Chevrolet - Fix Auto/Esslinger/Autoresearch 32 AARON FIKE/Galesburg, IL RFMS Racing/McGladrey & Pullen - Azer Clinic - Weld - Hoosier - Pink Racing Engines - Sparco, USA - Bell Helmets/Pink Ford/Beast 42 BILLY SIPE, JR./Kingman, AZ Billy Sipe, Jr./Law Office of Billy Sipe, Jr./Esslinger/Beast 43 GARRETT KNILL/Tucson, AZ Knill Motorsports/Annie's Hallmark - Holmes Tuttle Ford/Esslinger/Stewart 45 CHUCK GURNEY, JR./Livermore, CA Peter Baraldi/Baraldi Racing - Red Line Oil/Brayton Ford/Stewart 48x STEVE THINNES/West Chicago, IL Stgeve Thinnes/Great American Racing/Brayton/Stealth 54 ALEX HARRIS/Simi Valley, CA Orville Harris/West Valley Grinding - B & B Rental/Esslinger/Beast 56 SHANE SCULLY/Encino, CA Shane Scully Motorsports/Scully Engineering Contractors - The Link Group/Pink/Beast 57 THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA TST Motorsports/Independent Construction - Mid Coast Transportation/Esslinger/Beast 60 MIKE O'HARE/Irvine, CA Mike O'Hare/O'Hare Racing/Brayton Buick/Challenger 63 DREW POLLOCK/Troy, OH Pollock Motorsports/Pollock Motorsports/Esslinger/Drinan 64 AARON POLLOCK/Troy, OH Pollock Motorsports/Pollock Motorsports/Esslinger/Drinan 66 JS Distributing/Michner Plating - J & S Distributing - Gaerte/Gaerte/Beast 69 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL RFMS Racing/McGladrey & Pullen - Azer Clinic - Weld - Hoosier - Pink Racing Engines - Sparco, USA - Bell Helmets/Pink Ford/Beast 70 Jack Walker/Bay Muffler/Esslinger/Stealth 74 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ Fred James Motorsports/Magnum Axle Company/Gaerte/Beast 77 DANE CARTER/Brownsburg, IN Carter Racing/Pedigo Chevy City - Access RPM/Brayton Ford/Drinan 84 MICHAEL WHITCOMB/West Hills, CA Michael Whitcomb/Werco Industries - California Machine & Fabrication - The Placement Professionals/VanDyne/Beast 91 J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ Steve Lewis/Ford - ASE - Beast - Performance Racing Industry/Pink Ford/Beast 94x JOSH WISE/Riverside, CA Eric Wise/Centex Homes - Titan Engineering/Esslinger/Beast Also on the card are the USAC Western States Sprint Cars with a race that could decide the 2001 championship for this division. Going into to Saturday's (the race before Turkey Night) race at Tucson Tony Hunt held a slim lead over Jeff Gardner (799 to 785) with Ryan Flynn in third at 642. ENTRY LIST WORLDCOM USAC NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES 61ST "TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX" Presented by K & N Filters IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY - IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 22, 2001 CAR # DRIVER/HOMETOWN ENTRANT/SPONSOR/ENGINE/CHASSIS 97 MATT STREETER/Salt Lake City, UT Streeter Racing/Garick Air Conditioning - Sarale Farms - Tracy Quick Freeze /Pink/Drinan 01 STEVE PADEN/Downey, CA Richard Farrier/Anglemeyer Crane - Castex Rentals/Esslinger/Beast 07 TRAVIS MINIEA/Sharon, PA Mico Racing/Mico Racing/Esslinger/Drinan 911 MICHAEL SIMPSON/Apple Valley, CA Michael Simpson/Pick A Part - Hamrock, Inc./VanDyne/TCR USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR TRACK RECORDS at Irwindale Speedway 1 Lap 11/23/00 JASON LEFFLER 17.023 105.739 mph 12 Laps 11/23/00 MICHAEL LEWIS 3:27.16 104.267 mph 15 Laps NO RECORD YET ESTABLISHED 100 Laps NO RECORD YET ESTABLISHED ENTRY LIST USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR SERIES 61ST "TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX" Presented by K & N Filters IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY - IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 22, 2001 CAR # DRIVER/HOMETOWN ENTRANT/SPONSOR/ENGINE/CHASSIS 2 KEVIN KIERCE/Reseda, CA Swann Motorsports/W. Miller Company - JFK - Justice Brothers - Burbank Speed/Chevy /Beast 3 CASEY MEARS/Bakersfield, CA Ted Finkenbinder/NorCal Testing/Chevy/Beast 4 BUD KAEDING/Campbell, CA Bob Consani/Consani Construction - Redwood Oil/Chevy/Beast 5 SHAUNA HOGG/Roseville, CA Shauna Hogg/All Phase Security - Metal Works - Hayes Bros. Collision Repair – National Breast Cancer Foundation - Borello Racing Engines/Chevy/Beast 6 RICK WILLIAMS/Castro Valley, CA Rick Williams/Williams/Chevy/Williams 8N BRIAN CAMPBELL/Glendale, CA Brian Campbell/Davis Motorsport - Danzig Magnetos - Mezierz Components/Chevy/Gambler 9A BURNEY LAMAR/Sacramento, CA Rick Humphers/Aerotek - NorCal testing - Tri-C Machine - Bryant 76/Chevy/Intimidator 10 ANTHONY SIMONE/Fresno, CA Anthony Simone/Western Chassis - Schaad Family Almond/Rodeck/Beast 10z MARC ZIESKE/Oroville, CA Marc Zieske/KT Industries - Merritt Equipment - Surplus City/Chevy/Beast 11 TROY CLINE/Hawthorne, CA Troy Cline/Haas Automation - Pick's Racing Engines - Wilson Auto Body/Pick's/Beast 12 DAN DRINAN/Indianapolis, IN Danny Barnes/Kids Milk - Sierra Racing Products - Shadow Racing/Hansen/Drinan 14 BRYAN BULLARD/Orangevale, CA Ken Pierson/Bos Sheet Metal - Rex Hutchinson Racing Engines - Torco Oil/Chevy/Beast 18 CHRIS PETERSEN/Portland, OR Karl Peterson/Peterson Performance Motorsports - Competition Motorsports/Chevy/Tognotti 20 DAMION GARDNER/Concord, CA Damion Gardner/BEKO Radiators - Mike Coy Construction - B & D Trailer - Jim Rudolph & Assoc. - Aldrich Air/Chevy/Beast 21 KEVIN URTON/Elk Grove, CA Kevin Urton/Urton Racing/Chevy/Sturbotinos 23 CHUCK MADDOX/Grass Valley, CA Chuck Maddox/CBL - Clawson Motorsports - C.L. Bryant/Chevy/J & B 24 JIM WATERS/Salt Lake City, UT Tom Ault/Port O Call - Crossroads Transport - Sommers Auto Wrecking/Chevy/Tognotti 25 RANDY MELLO/Concord, CA Randy Mello/Kelly S. Taylor, Chiropractor - Jerry's Ranch - Seaview Tire & Brakes - All County Moving & Storage/Chevy/Beast 26 BOBBY McMAHAN/Rio Linda, CA Keith Espindola/American Tool & Mfg. - Yak Graphics - Uncle Jed's Fab - Simpson /Bailey Bros./Beast 32 DAVE FITZGERALD/Salt Lake City, UT Dave Fitzgerald/Hamblins Custom Furniture Frames - Ramco Machine/Chevy/Dynamite 33 SCOTT HANSEN/Simi Valley, CA Scott Hansen/L & S Tooling - HP Enterprises - Sanders - United Rentals/Chevy/Beast 51 JEFF GARDNER/Fresno, CA Jeff Gardner/Pacific Boring - C & L Bryant 76/Chevy/Beast 63 IVAN WORDEN/Cotati, CA Ivan Worden/C & W Auto Wrecking - RPM Engines - Apex Graphics/Chevy/H & M 74 MIKE BOAT/Phoenix, AZ Mike Boat/TW Metals - Tri-Flo Exhaust - Matheson Trigas/Chevy/Beast 75 RAY STANSBERRY/Palmdale, CA Ray Stansberry/Stansberry/Chevy/Stealth 77 TONY HUNT/Fair Oaks, CA Lori Scott/Justice Brothers - Torco Oil - Simpson - Eibach/Shaver/Beast 81 JASON McCORD/Anderson, IN Bar-D Racing/Asphalt Contracting - Stagecoach Inn/Chevy/Beast 82 RAY EVANS/Salt Lake City, UT Ray Evans/A Quality Plumbing - Boyd's Motororsports - Carstar/Chevy/Dynamite 87 BRIAN EVANS/Salt Lake City, UT Ray Evans/Boyd's Motorsports - Affordable Portable/Chevy/Dynamite 97 RICK HENDRIX/Canoga Park, CA Rick Hendrix/Afterburner Precision Products - B & C - Wilwood Brakes - Rick's Gate Works - Weld Wheels/Shaver/Stealth 98 KENNY HAMILTON/Boise, ID Jacque Tyler/Hamilton & Spear Painting/Chevy/Beast F1 RYAN FLYNN/Chico, CA Flynn Motorsports/Flynn Gallager - M-Power Communications - Purchase Pro.com/Shaffer/Beast 04 CHUCK GURNEY, JR./Livermore, CA Bob Consani/Consani Construction - Redwood Oil/Chevy/Beast USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD at Irwindale Speedway 1 Lap 10/27/01 TONY HUNT 16.469 seconds