TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX SPRINT CAR FORMAT, PURSE & UPDATES
By Lance Jennings
NOVEMBER 22, 2019... Officials with the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series have announced the format and purse for the “79th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Ventura Raceway. As the entry list continues to grow for the November 27th and 28th non-point USAC West Coast and VRA Sprint Car events, extra bonuses will be up for grabs from Automotive Racing Products (ARP). Thursday’s “ARP Battle at the Beach” mini-series finale will also feature the NOS Energy Drink USAC National and Western States Midget Series.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- TURKEY NIGHT ENTRIES: Thursday, October 31st, was the deadline for the $50 early entry fee. The entry fee is now $100, including entries submitted on raceday. The 360 Sprint Car Entry Form can be found online at westcoastsprintcars.com/2019/tn19.pdf.
- USAC West Coast Sprint Car series rules will apply.
- 2019 APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535, BILLY BOAT: FRAC-0375S, COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S, FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78, SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS ARE ALLOWED.
- The Hoosier 105/16 Medium is the ONLY legal right rear tire and all four corners must be Hoosier.
- Engine restrictor rules are 1-7/8” with open heads and 2-3/16” with ASCS cylinder heads.
- The weight rule is 1,475 lbs. with driver and the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at westcoastsprintcars.com and usacracing.com.
ARP BONUS: $5,000 in ARP bucks will be handed out during driver introductions for Thursday’s sprint car main event. All twenty-two (22) positions will get a random envelope with a check from ARP.
THURSDAY FEATURE: Thursday’s “ARP Battle at the Beach” main event will be 41 laps in honor of Jason Johnson. Lap 40 will pay an additional $141 in lap money and Bobbi Johnson will be sending a care package of giveaways for racers & fans.
PROVISIONALS: There will be 2 ARP provisionals for the Thursday night feature.
WEDNESDAY FORMAT:
- PILL DRAW: Racers will pill draw for heat race lineups.
- HEAT RACES: There will be no more than 10 cars per heat race for ten (10) laps each.
- QUALIFYING RACES: Depending on car count, there will be 4 or 5 twelve (12) lap qualifying races with a four (4) car inversion.
- A PASSING POINTS SYSTEM WILL BE USED FOR HEAT RACES AND QUALIFIERS.
- DASH: The top-10 cars in points will make the fifteen (15) lap dash. The lineup will be straight up by points and the finish will set the first five rows of Thursday’s 41-lap main event.
- WEDNESDAY DASH PURSE: 1-$1000, 2-$600, 3-$400, 4-$300, 5-$250, 6-$225, 7-$200, 8-$150, 9-$150, 10-$150.
THURSDAY FORMAT:
- SEMI-MAINS: Depending on car count, there will be 2 or 3 twelve (12) lap semi-mains.
- SEMI-MAIN TRANSFERS: The top 3 or 4 finishers will transfer to the feature, which also depends on car count.
- SEMI-MAIN LINEUP: The lineup is based on total passing points from the Wednesday heat races and qualifiers. The lineup will be straight up by points.
- FEATURE: The main event will have twenty-two (22) cars with two possible ARP provisionals.
- THURSDAY PURSE: 1-$3000, 2-$2000, 3-$1500, 4-$1000, 5-$800, 6-$700, 7-$600, 8-$500, 9-$400, 10-$300, 11-22-$200. All non-transfers = $75.
As this writing goes to press, it has been announced that Chris Windom (Canton, IL) will replace Cody Majors in Steve Watt’s potent #81X Maxwell Industries machine. Windom captured the USAC National Sprint Car Championship in 2017 and topped the Budweiser Oval Nationals in 2010.
Carson Macedo (Lemoore, CA) will be at the helm of the famed black #21 Tarlton Motorsports entry. Macedo won last year’s sprint car portion of the Turkey Night Grand Prix and claimed the King of the West Sprint Car Championship in 2015.
Dominic Scelzi (Fresno, CA) will make a rare non-wing start at Ventura Raceway. The young standout earned rookie of the year honors with the King of the West Sprint Car Series in 2013.
Advance tickets for the “79th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix” are available online through venturaraceway.com or by calling 805.648.7223. Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Racing Technology, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 westcoastsprintcars.com and the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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2019 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX SPRINT CAR ENTRIES:
Car # - Driver – Hometown – Car Owner
1S- Nate Schank / Santa Rosa, CA / Janis Schank
2- J.J. Ringo / Morgan Hill, CA / Keller Motorsports
3- Kaleb Montgomery / Templeton, CA / Jason Montgomery
8- Danny Faria Jr. / Tipton, CA / Jim Richardson
12- Stevie Sussex / Tempe, AZ / Robbie & Gaye Allen
15- Rick Hendrix / Palmdale, CA / Rick Hendrix
15T- Tristan Guardino / Fremont, CA / Rick Guardino
17- Bruno Bianchi / Petaluma, CA / Dan Phillips
17R- Jeff Fillingame / Fillmore, CA / Jeff Fillingame
21- Carson Macedo / Lemoore, CA / Tom Tarlton Sr.
24- Chase Johnson / Penngrove, CA / Don Johnson
29T- Ryan Timmons / Pleasant Hill, CA / Dave Timmons
34AZ- Jake Swanson / Anaheim, CA / John Grau & Mike Burkhart
38- Colby Johnson / Penngrove, CA / Don Johnson
39- Kyle Edwards / Fountain Valley, CA / Gordon Edwards
52V- Trent Williams / Apple Valley, CA / Toby & Linda Stanford
57- Tyler Edwards / Salina, OK / Steve Hix
71- Brent Owens / Rancho Cucamonga, CA / Russell & Jean Martin
81- Ricky Lewis / Oxnard, CA / Steve Watt
81M- Slater Helt / Harrisonville, MO / Steve Watt
81S- Michael Pickens / Auckland, NZ / Steve Watt
81T- Tyler Courtney / Indianapolis, IN / Steve Watt
81X- Chris Windom / Canton, IL / Steve Watt
83- Austin Liggett / Tracy, CA / Tim Liggett
87- Ricky Kirkbride / Bakersfield, CA / Bob & Toni Van Meter
99T- Tanner Boul / Auberry, CA / Boul Racing
09S- Geoffrey Strole / Laton, CA / Mark Strole
TBA- Dominic Scelzi / Fresno, CA
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.
TURKEY NIGHT 360 DIRT SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2016-Geoff Ensign, 2017-Tyler Courtney, 2018-Carson Macedo.
2019 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Austin Liggett, 3-Tristan Guardino, 2-Jake Swanson, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Kaleb Montgomery, 1-Brody Roa, 1- Troy Rutherford.
FINAL 2019 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Tristan Guardino-860, 2. Ryan Timmons-710, 3. Koen Shaw-622, 4. T.J. Smith-550, 5. J.J. Ringo ®-539, 6. Hannah Mayhew ®-497, 7. Austin Liggett-468, 8. Austin Ervine-458, 9. Slater Helt ®-428, 10. Jake Swanson-400, 11. Troy Rutherford-328, 12. Steve Hix-308, 13. Danny Faria Jr.-294, 14. Michael Faccinto-275, 15. Cody Majors-266, 16. Ricky Kirkbride-255, 17. Tanner Boul ®-243, 18. Tom Hendricks-228, 19. Brandon Wiley-213, 20. Brent Owens ®-210, --. Kaleb Montgomery-210.
BATTLE AT THE BEACH POINT STANDINGS: 1. Troy Rutherford-595, 2. Tristan Guardino-550, 3. Ryan Timmons-510, 4. Steve Hix-495, =. Jake Swanson-495, 6. Rick Hendrix-485, 7. Koen Shaw-480, 8. Slater Helt-450, 9. Tanner Boul-385, 10. Austin Ervine-360, -. Cody Majors-360, -. J.J. Ringo-350, 14. Charlie Butcher-330, 14. Gage Rucker-352, 15. Tom Hendricks-265, -. Ricky Lewis-265, 17. Brandon Wiley-240, 18. Hannah Mayhew-235, 19. T.J. Smith-555, 20. Carson Macedo-215.
2019 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE-TRACK-LOCATION
February 27: The Dirt Track at LVMS - Las Vegas, NV (Winner: Brody Roa)
February 28: The Dirt Track at LVMS - Las Vegas, NV (Winner: Jake Swanson)
March 16: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
March 23: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Tristan Guardino)
April 27: Santa Maria Raceway - Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 17: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 18: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (RAINED OUT)
June 1: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
June 7: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA (Winner: Tristan Guardino)
June 15: Santa Maria Raceway - Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tristan Guardino)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway - Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
August 24: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Winner: Jake Swanson)
October 5: Santa Maria Raceway - Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Kaleb Montgomery)
October 12: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
November 27: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / Non-Points)
November 28: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / ARP Battle at the Beach Race #4 / Non-Points)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with VRA Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.