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Los Angeles, CA. - The annual USAC Thanksgiving Night
Grand Prix is so important for USAC open-wheel teams that many come
to the race site-Irwindale Speedway-to practice for the prestigious
race. Several groups of midget and sprint car teams rent the track
for a day and share track rental costs. With open-wheel cars using
the track, an AMR ambulance is present whenever cars are using the
track. The IS Rescue 1 paramedic operated rescue truck also is
track-side. Drivers ran solo hot-laps in daylight and under track
lights to simulate practice, qualifying (usually about 3:00 to 4:30
p.m on Thanksgiving) and race conditions.
USAC will present a "three-ring
spectacular" as usual at IS on Thanksgiving (November 24). The
featured 100-lap Midget GP on the half-mile carries both USAC
National and Western Series points. A 30-lap Ford Focus Midget main
on the third-mile and a 40-lap Western 360 Sprint Car feature on the
half-mile will precede the Midget GP. The race this year will be the
65th running of the event that dates back to 1934 at Gilmore Stadium
in Hollywood. The 2005 GP, presented by Agajanian Enterprises, will
mark the 50th consecutive Turkey Night GP organized by the late J.
C. Agajanian and his family. J.C renewed the classic race in 1955 at
Gardena Stadium.
On Wednesday, November 16 (a sunny, warm 84
degree perfect So. Cal. day) ten open-wheel cars practiced from 12
noon to 7:00 p.m. Midget teams included that of Wally Pankratz,
60-year old 2000 USAC Western Midget champion, will be retiring as a
driver after the January, 2006 Tulsa, OK. Chili Bowl Midget classic.
He ranks 12th, only 40 points from tenth, in 2005 USAC Western
Midget points. Wally drove his No. 8 Edmunds Autoresearch/Fontana
and assisted other drivers present with their set-ups. Busy Wally
even had a push bar on his truck at IS and pushed off other drivers
between his runs. He also practiced the No. 32 Edmunds AR/Ford Focus
on the third-mile, as did Alan Budnik of Budnik Wheels. Danny
Ebberts, 24, had his brand new Beast sprint car out to test.
Although unpainted and unnumbered, it will be No. 14 Turkey Night
for the 2001 USAC
Western Midget Series champion.
Jerome Rodela drove Tres VanDyne's No. 5 Beast/VanDyne
that he will race Turkey Night instead of his own black Beast/Ed
Pink Ford that is for sale. The blue No. 5, which will carry
Jerome's No. 25, is a 1998 Beast chassis raced as No. 9 for Steve
Lewis by Jason Leffler. Matt Mitchell, 18, practiced in his No. 37
Edmunds AR/Esslinger from 3:30, when he arrived after attending
classes at Santiago Jr. College. Matt is 11th in points, only 23
points behind tenth. WMRA driver Spencer Cottrell, an 18-year old,
11-year quarter midget veteran, came south from his Portland, OR
home to practice his No. 81 Hawk/ProFab Chevy. FF Midget grads who
practiced their midgets were Tyler Brown, 20, in a Beast/Esslinger
and Garrett Hansen, 20, in a Beast. A 16-year old newcomer, Nic
Faas, of Huntington Beach, practiced Hansen's No. 24 Beast/FF
Midget. It was his first time in a FF Midget. He is the grandson of
racer Leonard Faas and second cousin of veteran sprint car driver
Cary Faas. He looked smooth as he built speed.
Another midget of note at the Wednesday practice
was the brand new all black Gerhardt Western Speed/Fontana that was
making its first track appearance. Although numberless, it will
carry No. 71 Turkey Night. NHRA drag racing star Cruz Pedregon owns
the new midget and he has 2005 USAC/CRA sprint car champion Damion
Gardner, of Concord, CA, driving it. Helping in the IS infield
Wednesday were veteran open-wheel builder Dennis Hart, from Ventura,
and drag racer Frank Pedregon, a top three USAC Western Midget
driver in the late 1980s. Gardner won his first career USAC Western
Midget 30-lap main at the third-mile clay Bakersfield Speedway on
7/9/05. He drove Cruz Pedregon's No. 71 Spike chassis. Although he
is known primarily as a dirt track star, Gardner told me, "I
like the Irwindale track. I raced here four years ago in my own No.
20 silver & green Beast/Chevy USAC 360 sprint car." Damion
competed in 16 of 17 races in
the all-paved track series and finished sixth in 2001 points (of 55
drivers with points). Damion's three Irwindale feature finishes were
12th, 14th and 14th.
On Thursday, November 17 four teams practiced at
IS from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. A sunny, warm 86 degree day greeted the
Steve Lewis Beast/Ed Pink Ford team No. 9 cars. They will be
Toyota-powered next season. Jay Drake, 36, practiced in both cars,
one of which Bobby East drove to victory in the 2004 Thanksgiving
GP. J. J. Yeley, the 2003 USAC triple crown champion and current
NASCAR Busch Series driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, was at Homestead,
FL preparing for the November 19 Busch race, so Jay practiced both
cars. Lewis said J. J. will race No. 9 and Jay will race No. 19 on
Thanksgiving as both drivers try to win their first Turkey Night GP.
Yeley recently signed with Gibbs as a 2006 Nextel Cup rookie
replacement for Bobby Labonte in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries
Chevy. Drake had a best lap of 17.04 while testing at IS in the
mid-day heat. The
IS one lap track record is 16.556 (108.722 mph) by Dave Steele at
the 2003 Turkey Night GP. Ron Gregory hot-lapped his Irvin No. 22
Beast/Mopar midget. The team is staying in Ventura at a private home
until race day.
USAC Western Midget point-leader and four-time
champion Robby Flock, 41,
practiced in the black No. 79 Mike Sala Beast/Ed Pink Chevy. It is
the ex-No. 30 Johnny Rodriguez car of last year that Rodriguez drove
to 20th place last Thanksgiving and to USAC's 2004 Western Midget
championship. Robby didn't have a paved track ride for recent Turkey
Night GPs. Robby lost a lot of practice time in mid-afternoon
Thursday when his car broke off gears from the rear brake caliper
housing. They had to remove the rear axle and housing to repair it.
Robby has a narrow seven-point lead (767-760) over closing
challenger Rodela, 24, as they head into the Turkey Night season
finale. Rodela, who finished fifth in the 2004 Turkey Night 100-lap
GP, has finished third, third and second for the past three USAC
Western Midget seasons and is seeking his first USAC
championship in his fifth campaign. The fourth team in the
infield Thursday was Nick Carlson's 1999 Ellis/Ford Focus No. 44
Midget. He used the third-mile track.
Josh Wise, a 22-year old driver from Riverside
now living in the Eagle Creek area of Indianapolis, was present
Thursday in the IS infield watching his Turkey Night competitors
practice. He was in the area to race the No. 7 Mark Priestley sprint
car in the November 20 USAC/CRA race at Perris. The second-year Tony
Stewart Racing driver has already clinched the 2005 USAC National
Midget championship. Josh also drove Stewart's Mopar-powered cars to
second place in final Silver Crown Series points and fifth place in
final USAC National Sprint Car points. He said he will return to
Stewart's team next season to try for the elusive USAC triple-crown
championships. Josh, an outstanding qualifier, said he should have
won the 2005 S/C title also and he was disappointed with
fifth in USAC National Sprint points after being as high as third
earlier. He raced an Eagle sprint chassis this year, but no decision
has been made yet regarding the choice for a 2006 chassis. Mopar
will provide the power. Josh will race Stewart's No. 20 Midget
Turkey Night and his boss may fly to Irwindale to watch the Turkey
Night GP that he won in 2000. Of course, Tony's plans may change
with the demands on his time now that he has won NASCAR's 2005
Nextel Cup Championship last Sunday at Homestead-Miami, FL.
Practice at IS Friday, November 18 was from
11:00-4:30. Another beautiful, warm 84-degree day greeted four new
teams practicing on the half-mile for Turkey Night. Ryan Pace, 22,
drove his No. 44 Beast/Ed Pink Chevy Midget that he bought in
Indiana from Jim Mills (Turbines, Inc.). Brad Loyet, 17, practiced
in his No. 05 Beast/Ed Pink Ford that he drove as a rookie in USAC's
2004 National Midget Series. Two USAC 360 sprinters also ran laps
and Bob Consani, the USAC 2000 Western Sprint championship car
owner, gave technical advice to both teams. Bob sold all of his
sprint cars last year because of illness. Both teams bought Consani
Beasts. Brian McClish practiced in his new No. 4B Beast/Chevy.
Jessica Helberg, a petite 18-year old blonde
Sonoma State College student from Rohnert Park, CA, practiced for
the first time at IS in her colorful No. 4 Beast/Chevy. Her father
Joe owns the former Consani No. 4 that has been raced by Kasey Kahne,
Bud Kaeding and Davey Hamilton. Personable Jessica, who will race
her 360 cu. in. sprinter Turkey Night in her first Irwindale
competition, told me she was just trying to learn Irwindale's racing
line. She raced her No. 4 Beast as a sprint car rookie all year on
the touring CASA paved track circuit that ran at Altamont, Ukiah and
Madera in California and at Carson City, Nevada. Nick Rescino won
the CASA championship over teenage Nick Green, son of retired sprint
car champion Tim Green, of San Jose. Runner-up Green, in another
ex-Consani Beast, won CASA rookie of the year. Jessica
finished fifth in
CASA final points after a 17-race season.
Jessica also raced her No. 4 Beast in two USAC
Western Sprint Series events this season at Stockton Speedway.
On August 27 Jessica was 17th fastest qualifier in a 27-car USAC
field. She finished third in her heat race and 15th in a 22-car
main. On September 11 she was 18th quickest qualifier in a 23-car
field. She finished tenth in a 20-car feature. Jessica and her
dad attended the Toyota All-Star Showdown NASCAR stock car event
November 12 to get a feel for Irwindale racing from the grandstand.
In 2006 Jessica will compete as a NASCAR Super Late Model rookie at
Irwindale. She will race for a new No. 73 Dodge team owned by NHRA
drag racer Frank Pedregon, who was in the infield with her team
Friday. Jessica told me her goal is stock car racing. Her brother
Joe,
15, is following in her footsteps in outlaw karts and would like to
follow Jessica up the racing ladder.
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