IRWINDALE, Calif. — Indianapolis 500 veteran Davey Hamilton and NASCAR competitor Jason Leffler join defending Turkey Night Grand Prix champion Bobby Santos III on the list of entries for this years Lucas Oil Turkey Night Grand Prix.
The event, scheduled for Thursday at Toyota Speedway @ Irwindale, is in its 69th year and will play host to some of the top midget and asphalt sprint-car teams from around the country.
Many race fans will prepare Thanksgiving dinner in the speedway’s parking lot Nov. 26, leading up to an evening of 200 laps of racing that includes tripleheader featuring the USAC Mopar National and Western Midgets, USAC Western Sprint Car Series and the USAC California Pavement Ford Focus Series.
The 98-lap midget feature race honors the memory of the late race organizer J.C. Agajanian, with whom the number 98 was synonymous with the famed No. 98 Agajanian entry in the Indianapolis 500 that featured wins by Troy Ruttman in 1952 and Parnelli Jones in 1963.
Champions will be crowned in each of the series competing in the event with Brad Kuhn (USAC Mopar National Midget), Garrett Hansen (USAC Western Midget), Tanner Swanson (USAC Western Sprint Car) and Nik Romano (USAC California Pavement Ford Focus) leading their respective series.
In the USAC Mopar National Midget Championship standings, Kuhn has a 40-point lead over Brad Sweet and a 53-point margin over Darren Hagen. A total of 66 points are available and a 19th place finish for Kuhn would eliminate Hagen from the championship hunt and a 13th place finish would eliminate Sweet.
Hansen leads the USAC Western Midget standings and is seeking his first ever USAC Championship.
Swanson leads the USAC Western Sprint Car Series standings and is going after his second USAC Series championship in a 40-lap race.
Nik Romano is seeking his first California Pavement Ford Focus Midget championship when he competes in the Hoosier Tire 40 on the speedway’s third mile oval.
Spectator gates open at 4 p.m. A fan appreciation autograph session with drivers and cars on the track is scheduled at 5:45 p.m., with racing scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
Toyota will have the Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Camry show car available in its vehicle pavilion and will allow fans to sit behind the wheel of the car and get pictures taken.
From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., track officials and key vendors along with many of the Turkey Night racers, in association with the Foothill Unity Center, will be serving a special turkey dinner to needy families from the surrounding San Gabriel Valley communities. Later that day, Toyota and the Southern California Toyota dealers will be hosting a busload of Marines from the Camp Pendleton, Calif. Marine Corps base. The Marines will tour the pits before the races and will be served turkey dinner.