Although it may not be my idea of a traditional Thanksgiving, the Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars traditionally held every Thanksgiving night since 1934. It’s an important race in the midget car series, often attracting drivers from other fields of racing including NASCAR and Indy.
The event included United States Auto Club National,Western Midgets races, and national Sprint Car races as an audience for 5,000 cheered at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. Bryan Clauson won the 69th running of the Lucas Oil Turkey Night Grand Prix. His teammate Levi Roberts followed, finishing second in front of 5,000 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Clauson passed Josh Wise in Turn 3 on the 41st lap and held the lead to win his 11th USAC race this season. The 20-year-old from Noblesville, Ind. raced in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series last year. Roberts, from Broomfield, Colo., passed Wise for second place with 21 laps to go in the 98-lap race. In only his third national points race, Roberts won “rookie of the race.”
Midget cars are very small racecars with a high power-to-weight ratio that typically use four-cylinder engines. The term “midget” only refers to the car size as they fit average-sized drivers.
Many IndyCar and NASCAR drivers have used midget car racing as a stepping stone to more high profile divisions. Drivers like Tony Stewart, Sarah Fisher, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, and Ryan Newman have all participated in Midget car races. Typically held on weeknights the events allow for more famous drivers to fit the races into their schedules because they don’t conflict with more high-profile races.
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