Turkey Night Grand Prix


The Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It has been held on Thanksgiving night most years since 1934 at various southern California race tracks, promoted by the J. C. Agajanian family. Traditionally a dirt track event, it has been held more frequently on asphalt since the turn of the 21st century, although it returned to dirt in 2012. The feature race is held over 98 laps, the same number that Agajanian used for his racecars.
The race is the traditional end of the midget and sprint car racing season in North America, although many top stars typically take a few weeks off before returning to racing in Australia or New Zealand, with the Southern Hemisphere summer leading to an "international season" that starts Boxing Day.

Drivers

The event is considered a major event in the midget cars series. It frequently attracts drivers from other disciplines, especially former drivers that have moved to the highest levels of auto racing; the major auto racing circuits in the United States end their seasons prior to Thanksgiving, so major drivers do not have any schedule conflicts with their main circuits. Drivers that have competed in the event include Parnelli Jones, A. J. Foyt, Johnnie Parsons, Bill Vukovich, Danny Oakes, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Larson.

Locations

Several locations have hosted the race.
SeasonDriver
1934Bob Swanson
1935Ted Sizemore
1936Ronney Householder
1937Ronney Householder
1938Bob Swanson
1939Mel Hansen
1940Roy Russing
1941Roy Russing
1945Danny Oakes
1946Perry Grimm
1947Johnny McDowell
1948Bill Vukovich
1949Perry Grimm
1950Bill Zaring
1955Johnnie Parsons
1956Edgar Elder
1957George Amick
1958Joe Garson
1959Tony Bettenhausen
1960A. J. Foyt
1961A. J. Foyt
1962Bill Cantrell
1963Mel Kenyon
1964Parnelli Jones
1965Dick Atkins
1966Parnelli Jones
1967Gary Bettenhausen
1968Sam Sessions
1969George Benson
1970Gary Bettenhausen
1971Bill Engelhart
1972Tony Simon
1973Bill Engelhart
1974Danny McKnight
1975Mel Kenyon
1976Bubby Jones
1977Gary Patterson
1978Rick Goudy
1979Ron Shuman
1980Ron Shuman
1981Ron Shuman
1982Ron Shuman
1983Kevin Olson
1984Ron Shuman
1985Brent Kaeding
1986Warren Mockler
1987Ron Shuman
1988Chuck Gurney
1989Chuck Gurney
1990Stan Fox
1991Stan Fox
1992Ron Shuman
1993Ron Shuman
1994Jordan Hermansader
1995Billy Boat
1996Billy Boat
1997Billy Boat
1998Jay Drake
1999Jason Leffler
2000Tony Stewart
2001Dave Steele
2002Michael Lewis
2003Dave Steele
2004Bobby East
2005Jason Leffler
2006Billy Wease
2007Dave Darland
2008Bobby Santos III
2009Bryan Clauson
2010Bryan Clauson
2011Caleb Armstrong
2012Kyle Larson
2013Dave Darland
2014Christopher Bell
2015Tanner Thorson
2016Kyle Larson
2017Christopher Bell
2018Christopher Bell
2019Kyle Larson