Thanksgiving Dirt Racing, Oh Yea!!

[CIRF]

Flyin' out early tomorrow (Wednesday) morning headed nonstop for Southern California. Been looking forward to the Turkey Night Grand Prix event since it was announced it was going to be held at Ventura Raceway way back in the Spring.

The entry list is rumored to number over 60 midgets.

Ventura is the coolest dirt racetrack on the planet.

California here we come!! LOL!!

An aerial view of Ventura and it's proximity to the mighty Pacific Ocean. Too cool, can't wait!!

[dirtdobber45]

Have a good time CIRF. Bsafe

[CIRF]

Have a good time CIRF. Bsafe

Thanks dd45. Appreciate the well wishes. You have a great Thanksgiving, as well.

[mudslinger47]

Enjoy!!! Weather hasn't been bad yet.... maybe a little cool but not cold...

[CIRF]

Enjoy!!! Weather hasn't been bad yet.... maybe a little cool but not cold...

Thanks, man. We're hoping for some warmth but expecting a cold, damp breeze off the ocean. We're fixin' to dress like we're going to a December football game in the Midwest.

Got a question for you mud, is Jim Naylor still the announcer at Ventura? He's the most annoying PA announcer I've ever heard. The best we can hope for is that if he's still announcing he only does the sprint cars and the regular USAC announcer does the midgets. I feel a bit bad saying that because when we were at Ventura in March of 2012 he comped us admission tickets after we e-mailed him for information and that we were from the Midwest and were driving up from Long Beach just for the races.

[CIRF]

It's raceday at Ventura. We're looking at around 55-60 degrees at racetime and the breezed is supposed to die down after sundown.

Brady Bacon was fastest of the 54 cars that ran practice laps last night, "The Demon" Damion Gardner was second fast, Kyle Larson was 3rd fastest overall in practice and Tanner Thorson was 4th quick overall.

Tonight's the night!! found a great restaurant for Thanksgiving Dinner and then to the Ventura Pier for some relaxation and sight seeing before the big show towards evening.

Anyone who loves dirt track racing really needs to see and attend a race at Ventura. There isn't another dirt track like it in the country!

Let's go RACIN'!!!

[mudslinger47]

Hope the wind dies down that place is colder then a well diggers boot in January.... Last time I went to Ventura was like in July and it was still chilly... that ocean breeze is killer...

[CIRF]

Well, the 76th edition of The Turkey Night Grand Prix is in the books and the great Kyle Larson won his second TNGP. Kyle stunk it up just a bit in the middle portion of the 98 lap race but Brady Bacon really put the pressure on in the last 20-25 laps. Bacon got along side Larson several times in the waning laps and made Kyle work for Aggie's Stetson Hat trophy.

Great crowd for this race and the weather was just about as good as can be expected at Ventura, California on Thanksgiving Day. I'm really optimistic that this starts a new era for this sacred Thanksgiving tradition. Hopefully this race endures here at Ventura for decades to come 'cause it's a great match.

Over 50 good quality midgets were on hand and the LCQ's were as exciting as the A-main. The wingless 360 sprinters put on a very good show as well. Those two divisions really work very well together, it's almost like there is no support class.

Gonna' look around the Ventura area and do some sight seeing on the Pacific Coast today (Friday) and fly back to reality on Saturday afternoon.

Great weather, great racing and an all around great trip!!

Next up: DU QUOIN USAC National midgets the weekend before Christmas and then 2 weeks after Christmas it's one of the biggest and best shows on dirt, THE CHILI BOWL!! Who says racin' season ends in October! LOL!!

[ss12]

Well, the 76th edition of The Turkey Night Grand Prix is in the books and the great Kyle Larson won his second TNGP. Kyle stunk it up just a bit in the middle portion of the 98 lap race but Brady Bacon really put the pressure on in the last 20-25 laps. Bacon got along side Larson several times in the waning laps and made Kyle work for Aggie's Stetson Hat trophy.

Great crowd for this race and the weather was just about as good as can be expected at Ventura, California on Thanksgiving Day. I'm really optimistic that this starts a new era for this sacred Thanksgiving tradition. Hopefully this race endures here at Ventura for decades to come 'cause it's a great match.

Over 50 good quality midgets were on hand and the LCQ's were as exciting as the A-main. The wingless 360 sprinters put on a very good show as well. Those two divisions really work together well together, it's almost like there is no support class.

Gonna' look around the Ventura area and do some sight seeing on the Pacific Coast today (Friday) and fly back to reality on Saturday afternoon.

Great weather, great racing and an all around great trip!!

Next up: DU QUOIN USAC National midgets the weekend before Christmas and then 2 weeks later it's one of the biggest and best shows on dirt, THE CHILI BOWL!! Who says racin' season ends in October! LOL!!

CIRF, how it the seating at Du Quoin? Do they allow you to save your seats?

[CIRF]

CIRF, how it the seating at Du Quoin? Do they allow you to save your seats?

ss12, the last I heard there will be no reserve seating at the December 17th races at Du Quoin, all seating will be general admission. However, I'm about 90% sure you can purchase general admission tickets ahead of time and pick them up at a will call window on the West side of the Southern Illinois Center starting early in the afternoon on race day.

At the time you pick up your tickets you can enter the building and seating area and put down a blanket. In the past we've arrived at The Southern Illinois Center building at around 3 PM and in the past there weren't all that many blankets taped down at that time of afternoon. If you wait until later the stands will naturally get more and more blankets taped down. If you wait until hot laps to enter the stands it will be pretty full. The stands have been about 80% to 90% full for last 3 or 4 midget shows at Du Quoin.

Given those circumstances you'll want to get to the fairgrounds relatively early.

ss12, as information becomes available I'll post it here or shoot you a PM as to what the schedule will be.

If you are going to need rooms you would do well to consider the Rend Lake Resort. It is only about 14 miles East of the fairgrounds and they have plenty of off season rooms for $71.00 tax included. We stay there every year and they are nice, clean rooms that normally go for well over $100.00 in season. There is also a bar and restaurant right on the lake within walking distance of the hotel rooms.

Hope you can make it!! This race has been going on for amost 10 years now and I've been to all but 1. This race has never disappointed us and more often than not it's a GREAT show!

[mudslinger47]

Glad you had a good time..... I had a few friends that went to the show said it was a heck of a crowd and a pretty good race...

[CIRF]

Glad you had a good time..... I had a few friends that went to the show said it was a heck of a crowd and a pretty good race...

It was a GREAT show but it was a bit chilly, too. But we knew that going in so we just had to prepare for it.

This jet lag is killin' me! LOL!! I'm awake at 4 AM local time and want to go to bed at 7 PM.

Comparing what I remember from the 2012 Turkey Night we attended down at Perris to this one I'd say the total number of people in the grandstands was about the same. It's tough to compare because Perris is a short 1/2 mile with a lot more bleacher space and people are spread out a lot more than at Ventura. In 2012 at Perris the car count was somewhat higher with 79 and they had 53 or 54 at Ventura. I attribute that to the fact that prior to Turkey Night being run at Perris in 2012 it had been run on asphalt for many years. Either way it's a sure bet that everyone involved made money and I don't think anyone left disappointed, least of all me and my wife.

Already looking forward to next year.

Next year we will try to work it out that we're able to come a few days early and stay a few days after Thanksgiving to look around the California coastline a bit more.

[ss12]

ss12, the last I heard there will be no reserve seating at the December 17th races at Du Quoin, all seating will be general admission. However, I'm about 90% sure you can purchase general admission tickets ahead of time and pick them up at a will call window on the West side of the Southern Illinois Center starting early in the afternoon on race day.

At the time you pick up your tickets you can enter the building and seating area and put down a blanket. In the past we've arrived at The Southern Illinois Center building at around 3 PM and in the past there weren't all that many blankets taped down at that time of afternoon. If you wait until later the stands will naturally get more and more blankets taped down. If you wait until hot laps to enter the stands it will be pretty full. The stands have been about 80% to 90% full for last 3 or 4 midget shows at Du Quoin.

Given those circumstances you'll want to get to the fairgrounds relatively early.

ss12, as information becomes available I'll post it here or shoot you a PM as to what the schedule will be.

If you are going to need rooms you would do well to consider the Rend Lake Resort. It is only about 14 miles East of the fairgrounds and they have plenty of off season rooms for $71.00 tax included. We stay there every year and they are nice, clean rooms that normally go for well over $100.00 in season. There is also a bar and restaurant right on the lake within walking distance of the hotel rooms.

Hope you can make it!! This race has been going on for amost 10 years now and I've been to all but 1. This race has never disappointed us and more often than not it's a GREAT show!

Thanks CIRF I appreciate the info. I'll see if I can get Kidrock to go down with me.

[CIRF]

Thanks CIRF I appreciate the info. I'll see if I can get Kidrock to go down with me.

ss12, FYI. I just got off the phone with Rend Lake Resort and for the first time they will be shutting down the hotel and the bar & restaurant on December 16th thru the 4th of January for the holiday period. I suspect that it's very slow that time of year.

I know of a motel within just a mile or two of Rend Lake Resort that is supposed to be a pretty nice place and clean. It's called Lake Cove Resort. It's where all the State Police stay during the Du Quoin State Fair. You can get a room for $73.50 tax included. We've never actually stayed at Lake Cove Resort but I'm guessing if the state cops stay there it can't be too bad.

Also, I found a USAC link for advance ticket ordering link and information. The link to the race info is: http://www.usacracing.com/faqs/item/...ce-in-du-quoin

The link to the site where you can actually order tickets is: http://www.usactickets.com/

If you order the tickets in advance you save a few bucks on them. The tickets are $18.63 if purchased in advance of race day. I think they are either $20.00 or $25.00 if purchased at the door on race night. You can print them or you can have them sent to your smart phone via text message. They give you the choice either way.

Hot laps begin at 4 pm. Hope to see ya'll there!!!

If you get that ol' rascal Kid Rock to come down with you let me know. We'll try to hook up with you guys down there.

[CIRF]

What a great trip to Cali!! Got home late Saturday night after a 3.75 hour flight and a 1.75 hour ride home. I love the racing in SoCal but don't hate the traffic, the weirdo's and the inability to communicate with 'bout 1/3 of all the people we meet and attempt to interact with.

Mud, if you read this, I'd pay 100 bucks more to fly into Ontario as opposed to LAX. I'm sure one probably gets used to it but it too similar to using O'hare in chitcago. However, LAX is just a little weirder than O'hare, if that's possible. LOL!!

I would reiterate for the umpteenth time to all dirt track racing fans, put Ventura on your bucket list and leave it there until you get to go there. It is the coolest dirt track in the world!!

[Late_Model_Mark]

Glad you had a good time at Ventura CIRF. I went to about 75+ plus shows at Ventura when I lived out West. Even went when it had the old and smaller configuration and saw Vogler and Tripp duke it out. The only thing that was somewhat annoying was as we called him, "screamin Jim Naylor."


Turkey night sure has bounced around, went to the race at Ascot a zillion times, then 1 time at Speedway 605, then Ascot, Saugus, Bakersfield and so on, needs a permanent home. Ventura is much better suited for Midgets than Perris. Saw my favorite sprint driver Ron Shuman win all those Turkey nights. I sure don't miss the traffic or the need to habla Spanish.



Late Model Mark
Talladega Short Track Announcer

[formercrewguy]

CIRF...check out flying into Santa Barbara next time.

[CIRF]

Glad you had a good time at Ventura CIRF. I went to about 75+ plus shows at Ventura when I lived out West. Even went when it had the old and smaller configuration and saw Vogler and Tripp duke it out. The only thing that was somewhat annoying was as we called him, "screamin Jim Naylor.".
Late Model Mark
Talladega Short Track Announcer

Thanks Mark.

By the older and smaller configuration do you mean the 1/10 mile track that was used from the late 1970's until the mid 1980's? And, does Naylor own the track property or is the track part of the fairgrounds?

As I mentioned before, Jim Naylor is quite possibly the most annoying PA announcer of all time!! But that's where the criticism stops. Jim treated us very graciously when we made our first visit to Ventura. He had comp tickets waiting for us at the ticket booth when we arrived from Long Beach back in March of 2012. We e-mailed back and forth for a week or two upon our return home back then and he got a kick out of how us flatland Midwest clod hoppers gushed about how cool his place was. In addition Naylor has done incredible things for West Coast racing at Ventura. He really is a dedicated promoter of a lot of different racing genre's.

Scott Daloisio was at Ventura Thursday night and did an interview from the infield during one of the track prep intermission's. In my estimation Scott is the absolute best racing PA announcer in the business and the best I've ever heard and I've hear a lot of 'em.

CIRF...check out flying into Santa Barbara next time.

fcg, thanks for the heads up. I checked Santa Barbara this time and IIRC there were no Southwest nonstop flights that go in there and they were substantially more expensive, too. Can't speak for any other airlines because it was pretty much Southwest or nothing given our travel circumstances.

I waited a little longer than I should have to get things booked so that might have explained some of the higher fares. I can live with a stop and 1 layover if the price is right but it was easier (and cheaper) to go into Ontario, get our rental car, and then drive up the coast. Did I mention we love to do the Pacific Coast Highway? LOL!!

[CIRF]

Here's the Loudpedal video of the 98 lap A-main from Thanksgiving Night at Ventura. It was fun to see it again, this time on video with the best dammed racing PA announcer in the business, Scott Daloisio!

Here's the link to watch the race:

https://loudpedal.tv/2016/11/turkey-...ember-24-2016/