RUTHERFORD, BENDER, ROA & JOHNSON AMONG EARLY TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX SPRINT CAR ENTRIES
By Lance Jennings
NOVEMBER 11, 2022... The competition continues to grow for the upcoming “ARP 81st Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Ventura Raceway. At press time, there are 30 early entries for the non-point USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car portion of the November 25 & 26th events with more expected to be announced soon. Also featuring the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series, the prestigious race will draw a talented roster of drivers from across the country. For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Due to the current tire shortages, ANY Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition until further notice. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78, FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101, COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S, B&B: FRAC-0375S, SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
- California state protocol calls for competitors, crews, officials, and anyone on the grounds to practice safe social distancing, proper sanitizing, and follow local regulations regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
Troy Rutherford of Ojai, California finished second in USAC West Coast point standings, Piloting his Ford powered #11 Trench Shoring / Woodland Auto Display Spike, Rutherford scored the May 21st victory at Ventura and had four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards. Despite missing the February 26th season opener at Kern County, the Ventura track record holder finished 27 points behind Trent Carter.
Defending race winner, A.J. Bender of San Diego, California will return to USAC West Coast action in the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Schweitzer Racing DRC. The versatile driver had a full schedule in 2022, racing with the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, USAC/BCRA Midgets, and the California Lightning Sprints. For his efforts, Bender scored two Bakersfield CLS wins and earned Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC Western States Midgets.
Garden Grove, California’s Brody Roa and Chase Johnson of Penngrove, California will drive team cars for May Motorsports. Johnson claimed the February 26th season opener at Kern County and Roa topped the August 27th Ventura feature in the potent RDM Mechanics / Keen Concrete #8M entry. In addition, both drivers have raced the May 360 powered cars to victory with the USAC/CRA 410 Sprints. Roa, the 2016 USAC West Coast Champion, topped the August 6th Santa Maria return and Johnson scored a Bakersfield win on May 8, 2021.
Max Adams of Loomis, California will race Kaleb Montgomery’s #3 Luxton / David Crye Maxim. Now primarily racing in the Midwest, the 2016 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has one career USAC West Coast triumph, coming at Santa Maria’s “Bud Stanfield Memorial” on August 12, 2017.
Ferndale, California’s Daniel Whitley will pilot Ted Finkenbinder’s #3F Western Industrial X-Ray DRC. The young driver had one West Coast start during the season and raced to victory on June 4th at Ventura Raceway.
2015 Santa Maria Sprint Car Champion, James Herrera of New Cuyama, California will compete at the Turkey Night Grand Prix. The owner/driver of the #5J Cuyama Buckhorn / Santa Barbara Pistachios Ellis will also field a team car for his daughter Elexa.
Rick Hendrix of Palmdale, California has entered the prestigious event in his #15 Rick’s Gate Works / Wilwood Disc Brakes Maxim. The veteran driver has won championships with the USAC Western Pavement Sprints, USAC Western States Midgets, USAC TQ Midgets, VRA Sprints, and PAS Senior Sprint Cars.
Phoenix, Arizona’s Shon Deskins was the first driver to enter the Turkey Night Grand Prix. The 2017 NMMRA Sprint Car Champion recently won at Imperial Raceway (El Centro) aboard his #20 Mesilla Valley Transportation / Premium Coach Group entry.
2022 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, Tyler Hatzikian of Murrieta, California has joined the talented driver roster. The owner/driver of the #27 Tyler Surfboards / ZARP Incorporated Maxim is known for his tribute paint schemes. This season, his car honored the famed Gas Chem Products / Bubby Jones entry and previous cars have paid tribute to Bruce Bromme and the Alex Morales “Tamale Wagon.”
Fountain Valley, California’s Kyle Edwards finished third in the chase for the championship. Driving the family owned #39 Safehouse Security / Simpson Race Products Triple X, Edwards set a new track record at Kern County in February and had a shot at the crown at the October 15th “Championship Night.”
Ricky Lewis of Oxnard, California will pilot his #41 Beyoutiful Foundation / Physical Medical Consultant DRC. Now primarily racing in the Midwest, the young driver scored the first USAC West Coast victory of his career at Bakersfield on March 12th.
Bakersfield, California’s Brody Fuson had two USAC West Coast Sprint Car and USAC Western States Midgets wins in 2022. Driving Bob & Toni Van Meter’s #51 RacePa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson became the 60th USAC West Coast winning driver at Bakersfield on September 10th.
Verne Sweeney of Lomita, California will make the first USAC West Coast start of his career at the Turkey Night Grand Prix. The driver of Ken Tracy’s #98 Bill’s Ol Fashion Jerky / Faas Cores DRC scored a victory with the original California Racing Association (CRA) at Manzanita Speedway (Phoenix, Arizona) on February 2, 1991.
Tanner Boul of Auberry, California placed fourth in the USAC West Coast point chase. Driving the family owned #99T King Racing Products / BR Motorsports Triple X, Boul won Ventura’s USAC/CRA Sprint Car feature on June 11th using a 360 engine.
Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. Advance tickets are on sale and for more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing.com, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tire, Rod End Supply, ROW Signs and Graphics, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond/Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Vahlco Wheels, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 2010-Craig Stidham, 2011-Richard Vander Weerd, 2012-Bud Kaeding, 2013-Danny Faria Jr., 2014-Matt Mitchell, 2015-Danny Faria Jr., 2016-Brody Roa, 2017-Jake Swanson, 2018-Austin Liggett, 2019-Tristan Guardino, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-D.J. Johnson, 2022-Trent Carter.
2022 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX SPRINT CAR ENTRIES:
Car # - Driver – Hometown – Car Owner
2J-James Turnbull II / Indio, California / James Turnbull Sr.
3-Max Adams / Loomis, California / Kaleb Montgomery
3F-Daniel Whitley / Ferndale, California / Ted Finkenbinder
5J-James Herrera / New Cuyama, California / James Herrera
6-Logan Calderwood / Phoenix, Arizona / Rex Calderwood
8M-Brody Roa / Garden Grove, California / May Motorsports
8W-Chase Johnson / Penngrove, California / May Motorsports
11-Troy Rutherford / Ojai, California / Troy Rutherford
15-Rick Hendrix / Palmdale, California / Rick Hendrix
16J-Elexa Herrera / New Cuyama, California / James Herrera
17-Todd Pratt / Las Vegas, Nevada / Todd Pratt
17A-Tom Dunkel / Menifee, California / Tom Dunkel
19-Dennis Rodriguez / Las Vegas, Nevada / Matt Streeter Racing
20-Shon Deskins / Phoenix, Arizona / Shon Deskins Racing
21-A.J. Bender / San Diego, California / Kim & Richard Bender
21-Austin Ervine / Henderson, Nevada / Jay Ervine
25-Chris Muraoka / Makaha, Hawaii / Chris Muraoka
27-Tyler Hatzikian / Murrieta, California / Tyler Hatzikian
29C-Camie Bell / Bakersfield, California / Tim Bell
39-Kyle Edwards / Fountain Valley, California / Gordon Edwards
39T-Troy DeGaton / Live Oak, California / Troy DeGaton
41-Ricky Lewis / Oxnard, California / Ricky Lewis
51-Brody Fuson / Bakersfield, California / Bob & Toni Van Meter
52-David Lindt / Sebastopol, California / Davis Lindt
54-Nate Robinson / Ventura, California / Bill Perkins
63D-Jon DeWees / Lemoore, California / Jon DeWees
79-Mark Hanson / Sacramento, California / Danny Matranga
98-Verne Sweeney / Lomita, California / Ken Tracy
99T- Tanner Boul / Auberry, California / Boul Racing
$-Cash Culp / Apple Valley, California / Cash Culp
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Troy Rutherford - 11.941 (06/04/22)
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: (Includes Non-Point Races) 3-Tristan Guardino, 3-Troy Rutherford, 3-Jake Swanson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Daniel Whitley.
2022 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Brody Fuson, 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Troy Rutherford, 1-Daniel Whitley.
FINAL 2022 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Trent Carter-531, 2. Troy Rutherford-504, 3. Kyle Edwards-485, 4. Tanner Boul-423, 5. Tyler Hatzikian ®-390, 6. Joey Bishop ®-386, 7. Brent Yarnal ®-350, 8. Hannah Mayhew-348, 9. Ricky Lewis-329, 10. Camie Bell ®-325, 11. Steve Hix-303, 12. Brody Fuson-295, 13. James Herrera-274, 14. Chase Johnson-242, 15. Elexa Herrera ®-224, 16. Cody Majors-212, 17. Rick Hendrix-185, 18. Travis Buckley-155, 19. Logan Calderwood ®-149, 20. Jake Andreotti ®-143, 21. Brody Roa-135, 22. Ryan Timmons-109, 23. Jacob Tuttle-107, 24. Ben Worth ®-104, 25. Nathan Byrd-98, 26. Daniel Whitley ®-81, 27. Jarrett Soares-76, --. Charlie Butcher-76, 29. Matt Day-74, --. Sterling Cling-74, 31. Dawson Faria ®-64, 32. Randy Nelson-63, 33. Troy DeGaton ®-53, 34. Chris Ennis-51, 35. Christopher Muraoka-49, 36. Bryan Whitley-48, 37. Gage Rucker-46, 38. Todd Pratt-45, 39. Jonas Reynolds-35, 40. Dale Curran-33, 41. Tuesday Calderwood ®-13.
2022 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 26: The Dirt Track at KCRP – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
March 12: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
May 21: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
June 4: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Daniel Whitley)
August 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 10: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
September 24: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
October 15: The Dirt Track at KCRP – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
November 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 26: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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SE = Special Event / Non-Points.