By Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA, November 8) Even though the 72nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix for the Mopar USAC National and Western States Midgets at Perris Auto Speedway is still 14-days away, 55 cars have confirmed their participation in what is Midget racing’s longest running and most prestigious event.
The race will be held on Thanksgiving night and for the first time since 1998, it will be contested on a dirt track. The return to dirt has created a huge amount of interest and speculation is there may be over 70 cars entered by the time everyone has finished their turkey dinner.
“The buzz about the Turkey Night Grand Prix is amazing,” promoter and new grandfather Don Kazarian said on Friday. “Being back on dirt, a lot of cars are coming out of the woodwork to race. Most of the best drivers in Midget racing will be here. For sure, it is going to be one of the biggest events in the 17 year history of Perris Auto Speedway. We are very excited that the Agajanian family is bringing it back to the dirt.”
As it stands now drivers from four countries (USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and 10 different states have already entered.
Car # Driver Hometown Owner Chassis/Engine
0 Johnny Murdock Dallas, TX Zero Motorsports
05 Jake Swanson Anaheim, CA Swanson Motorsports Stealth/Honda
2 Levi Roberts Broomfield, CO Dave Roberts Spike/Esslinger
3 Darren Hagen Riverside, CA RFMS Racing DRC/Esslinger
3F Dave Darland Lincoln, IN RFMS Racing DRC/Esslinger
4 Bobby East Brownsburg, IN Klatt Enterprises Beast/Chevy
5 Danny Ebberts Canyon Lake, CA Tres Van Dyne Edmunds/Van Dyne
5D Zach Daum Pocahontas, IL Don Daum Eagle/Fontana
7 Shannon McQueen Bakersfield, CA McQueen-Eskesen-Rescino Spike/Esslinger
7A Dalton Armstrong New Castle, IN C&A Motorsports Spike/Toyota
7C Caleb Armstrong New Castle, IN C&A Motorsports Spike/Toyota
8 Randi Pankratz Atascacadero, CA Wally Pankratz Edmunds/Fontana
9 TBA Sean Dodenhoff Spike/Fontana
9D Sean Dodenhoff Bakersfield, CA Sean Dodenhoff Spike/Fontana
9E Wink Schweitzer Bakersfield, CA Sean Dodenhoff Spike/Fontana
10 Brad Kuhn Avon, IN Mason Cook
11 Brady Bacon Broken Arrow, OK Wilke-Pak Racers Stanton/Toyota
11W Shane Golobic Freemont, CA Wilke-Pak Racers Stanton/Toyota
11X Greg Bragg Visalia, CA Dave Thurston Spike/Esslinger
12 Riley Emmel Estavan, SK, Canada Dave Ray Spike/Mopar
12JR Chad Boat Phoenix, AZ Robbie & Gaye Allen Spike/Esslinger
12X Rick Hendrix Palmdale, CA Rick Hendrix TCR/Van Dyne
15 David Pickett Fresno, CA Neverlift Motorsports Spike/Van Dyne
17K Nathan Smee Sydney, Australia Kruseman Motorsports Spike/Esslinger
19 Richard Vander Weerd Visalia, CA Mike Sala Spike/Chevy
19W Jonathon Henry San Luis Obispo, CA Mike Sala Spike/Chevy
21K Cory Kruseman Ventura, CA Kruseman Motorsports Spike/Esslinger
24 Tracy Hines New Castle, IN Bob Parker Spike/Toyota
25 Danny Stratton Riverside, CA Jerome Rodella Toyota
27 Nick Chivello Manteca, CA Paul Chivello Spike/Esslinger
27 Casey Shuman Mesa, AZ Calvin Martens TCR/Mopar
33 Davey Raye Davenport, IA Team RayPro Spike/Speedway Toyota
35 Scott Pierovich Alamo, CA Lance Pierovich Spike Mopar
39 Dillon Welch Carmel, IN Tucker-BCI-Curb-Agajanian Spike/Esslinger
39K Kyle Edwards Fountain Valley, CA Gordon Edwards Ellis/Van Dyne
47 Damion Gardner Concord, CA Andy Bondio Bondio Barnes
49 Brad Sweet Grass Valley, CA Kasey Khane Racing Spike/Speedway Mopar
50 Evan Margeson Tacoma, WA Evan Margeson Beast/VDS
51 R.J. Johnson Phoenix, AZ Bobby Martin Spike/Fontana
55 Taylor Ferns Shelby Township, MI Jim Ferns Spike/Stanton Mopar
56 Jason Leffler Long Beach, CA 5IVE-61X, Inc. Beast/Esslinger
57 Andrew Felker Carls Junction, MO Bill Ecker Spike/Fontana
63 Jerry Coons, Jr. Tucson, AZ Joe Dooling Spike/Esslinger
67 Bryan Clauson Noblesville, IN Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Bullet/Speedway Toyota
67K Rico Abreau Rutherford, CA Keith Kunz Motorsports Bullet/Speedway Toyota
68 Ronnie Gardner Norco, Ca Mitchell Johnson Stewart/Esslinger
71 Kyle Larsen Elk Grove, CA Kunz-Curb- Agajanian Bullet/Speedway/Toyota
71K Trevor Cooper Auckland, NZ Kruseman Motorsports Spike Esslinger
71X Cody Swanson Norco, CA Kirk Swanson Edmunds/Van Dyne
72 Nic Faas Huntington Beach, CA Keith Ford Spike/Wirth Fontana
73 Michael Pickens Auckland, NZ Keith Ford Spike/Esslinger
73X Ryan Bernal Hollister, CA Keith Ford Spike/Wirth Fontana
86 Troy Rutherford Ojai, CA Calvin Martens TCR/Mopar
115 Connor Kassik Lake Havasu, AZ Neverlift Motorsports Spike/Van Dyne
151 TBA Neverlift Motorsports Spike/Van Dyne
Fans can come out and watch practice for the Turkey Night Grand Prix for free on Wednesday night, November 21st.
Thank you to Kirk Spridgeon from USAC for comprising the above list.
The two nights following the 72 Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, The PAS will host the inaugural 1-800LoanMart Street Stock Turkey Bowl with a purse of $22,500. Thus far. the Turkey Bowl has drawn entries from as far away as Iowa (a separate release on the Turkey Bowl will be coming within the next few days).
Advance tickets for the Turkey Night Grand Prix and the 1-800LoanMart Street Stock Turkey Bowl are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling: 1-800-595-4849. You can also order tickets online at: http://www.perrisautospeedway.com/ or http://pas.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=7
The remaining 2012 PAS schedule is listed at the end of this release.
To keep up with all of the latest Perris Auto Speedway news, photos, gossip and receive special offers, sign up at The PAS Facebook site at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php – !/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/11387679868
You can also keep up with the latest news and receive special offers from The PAS Twitter site: http://twitter.com/perrisautospdwy.
Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate sponsors for the 2012 season. 1-800LoanMart, 777 Racecars, Aaron’s, Ahern Rentals, All Coast Construction, Amsoil, Ayers Hotel and Spa, Budweiser, Champion Towing, City of Perris, Comfort Inn, Day Construction, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Frazee Paint, Hoosier Tires, K&N Engineering, P.I.P.E., Pepsi-Cola, Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, Prolong Super Lubricants, Scott Sales, Snap-on, Soboba Casino, Square H, Swedish Speed, Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply, Trench Shoring, US Foods, Valley Auto Salvage, White Nuckl USA and Zanzabuku Sports Lounge.
Video and DVD productions of all racing events at Perris Auto Speedway are available from Loudpedal Productions. For more information on these productions you can contact them by calling (805) 844-3854, E-mailing mailto:trtruex@gmail.com or you can visit the web site http://www.loudpedalvideo.com/
For more information call The PAS at: (951) 940-0134.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of October’s Southern California Fair), approximately one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds.
racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment