Kyle Larson took the lead on lap 27 and led the final 72 laps, holding off Corey Day late to win the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ 82nd annual ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix in front of a sold-out crowd at Ventura Raceway, Saturday night.
Logan Seavey would lead the race early with a host of drivers trading the second position with Ryan Timms, Kale Drake and Wiedeman all in the mix. Eventually, Timms would claim the spot and begin to close on Seavey.
On lap 26, Timms would take the lead, only to see Seavey attempt to slide back across him heading into turn one on lap 27, forcing Timms to lock it up to avoid Seavey and come to a stop, collecting his Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate Drake in the process. Each was able to continue, but were forced to the back of the field, effectively eliminating them from contention.
On the restart, Larson would take the lead with a turn three slider on Seavey and would never relinquish the lead beating Corey Day to the finish line by .224 seconds.
Carson Macedo would finish third, followed by Bryant Wiedeman, Jacob Denney, Emerson Axsom and Buddy Kofoid as Toyota-powered drivers captured six of the top seven finishing positions on the night.
The Turkey Night Grand Prix officially closes out the 2023 campaign. The 2024 midget racing season will kick off in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with the Chili Bowl Nationals, Jan. 8-13.
Toyota Notes and Season Highlights:
– Fifteen different Toyota-powered drivers from nine different teams combined to register 40 national midget feature wins during the 2023. In addition, Toyota Development driver Jade Avedisian became the first woman ever to win a national midget championship taking the Xtreme Outlaw crown on the strength of five wins, while KKM’s Gavin Miller earned USAC Rookie of the Year honors.
– Toyota-powered drivers have now won 14 Turkey Night Grand Prix events, with the first coming in 2007 with Dave Darland. Bobby Santos, Bryan Clauson, Caleb Armstrong, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tanner Thorson, Logan Seavey and Justin Grant also earned victories Turkey Night victories with Toyota power.
Toyota-Powered Drivers USAC Turkey Night Grand Prix Feature Results
Kyle Larson – 1st
Carson Macedo – 3rd
Bryant Wiedeman – 4th
Jacob Denney – 5th
Emerson Axsom – 6th
Jesse Love – 9th
Cade Lewis – 10th
Gavin Miller – 13th
Mariah Ede – 15th
Kale Drake – 16th
Jade Avedisian – 18th
Spencer Bayston – 19th
Just in Grant – 20th
Cannon McIntosh 21st
Ryan Timms – 23rd
Taylor Reimer – 24th
Toyota Racing PR
