Corey Day’s first attempt on the ARP Turkey Night time Grand Prix Offered by the West Coast Inventory Automobile/Motorsports Corridor of Fame in 2023 marked a grand entrance to the occasion for the Clovis, Calif. native.
In his encore efficiency on Saturday evening at California’s Ventura Raceway, Day rose to the event fairly actually and figuratively as he made the successful transfer 17 laps from the end line to earn $15,000 and turn into a first-time winner of the 83rd operating of the celebrated occasion.
In doing so, Day turned the youngest winner within the historical past of the Turkey Night time Grand Prix after celebrating his nineteenth birthday simply two days earlier. Caleb Armstrong was the earlier file holder, having received the 2011 occasion on the age of 19 years, 3 months and eight days.
Moreover, Day secured the fifth consecutive Turkey Night time USAC Midget characteristic victory for a driver from the state of California, following within the footsteps of Kyle Larson (2019), Logan Seavey (2021), Justin Grant (2022) and Kyle Larson (2023).
In the meantime, Daison Pursley completed off a outstanding private comeback from damage to seize the 2024 USAC NOS Power Drink Midget Nationwide Championship for himself and his CB Industries group with a third-place exhibiting within the season finale.
Lower than every week after supplying automotive proprietor Willie Kahne his first profession USAC Nationwide Midget triumph at California’s Merced Speedway, Day delivered as soon as extra within the 98-lap occasion at Ventura’s 1/5-mile grime oval with a 20-year-old powerplant – a full yr older than Day himself – on the wheel of his Durst – 4 CCCC’s Building – Sander Engineering/Triple X/Wirth Mopar.
“Hats off to Willie Kahne, Will Durst and Bob Wirth for giving me a superb motor that nobody thought would work, and it does,” Day mentioned.
Day additionally admitted that he’d by no means earlier than capped off a season with a victory. To do it in some of the prestigious motorsports occasions on the calendar, that’s icing on the cake for the driving force who was a daily with the Kubota Excessive Restrict Collection all year long and likewise made a handful of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection and ARCA Menards Collection begins.
“This was my final race of the yr, and I’ve by no means ended the yr with a win in all my years racing,” Day famous. “To do this feels actually, actually good. I look ahead to this swing a lot, and to simply have the ability to come race and virtually calm down. It’s not as excessive strain as the traditional stuff I’m doing and I’m simply actually glad Willie and I might get a pair wins down right here, and I’m glad to be one spot higher right here this yr.”
Beginning eighth, Day steadily moved ahead and had labored himself into the top-five by the halfway level on the forty ninth lap. Jacob Denney flexed his muscle tissues early by main the preliminary 25 laps as he exchanged the high and low traces with fixed pursuer Pursley.
Because the front-runners labored a gauntlet of site visitors, Buddy Kofoid superior his approach to the pinnacle of the herd as he labored underneath Pursley for second on lap 23, and shortly thereafter, went to the excessive facet to journey round Denney for the race lead on the twenty sixth circuit.
All of a sudden, four-time Turkey Night time winner Kyle Larson appeared within the body as he slotted into fifth by lap 44 after beginning within the tenth place. Nonetheless, simply three journeys in a while lap 47, Larson’s reign, for all intents and functions, ended when a series response ranging from Pursley to Larson to Day resulted in rear bumper contact from Day to Larson. That chrome to chrome contact despatched Larson right into a 360 diploma spin in flip two. By rule, Larson needed to restart the race from the tail the place he managed solely to get again to the twentieth spot after dropping out with 21 laps remaining, his first Turkey Night time end exterior the top-five in 12 begins.
Following the restart, Tanner Thorson emerged as a contender and was capable of slide Kofoid the lead, albeit briefly, in turns three and 4 on the forty ninth lap earlier than Kofoid reduce underneath to reassume the lead. Whereas these two duked it out up high, Denney was continually crawling the infield berm. After Thorson slammed the flip two cushion along with his proper rear tire on lap 50 and dropped again to fourth, Denney disposed of Thorson, then surpassed Kofoid to retake the primary spot.
When Kofoid bounced off the again straightaway wall on lap 55, Day took benefit of his fellow competitor’s white wall misfortune to seize second, then set his sights on Denney who patrolled the low line because the chief with 43 to go. Because the rubber started to turn into a outstanding streak across the internal perimeter, Day stalked Denney from a mere single automotive size behind.
“I knew that the rubber was going to return in, sadly,” Day defined. “With so many laps on this place, you simply actually can’t preserve it off it. I knew it was going to return in; it was only a matter of when it was. I attempted the underside after which I’d transfer up, then I saved making an attempt the underside simply to see. I noticed Denney down there get by a few vehicles, so I knew it was in. I knew I wanted to get down there and get my tires labored in for it.”
On lap 82, Denney drifted ever so barely off the underside line and opened the door for Day to pounce. Pulling even with Denney exiting flip two and down the again straightaway, Day slipped previous for the lead coming into flip three earlier than crossing the road, with Denney simply behind, to finish the lap simply as seventh operating Cannon McIntosh slowed with a flat proper rear tire, which necessitated a yellow flag, ending any sliver of title hopes he held on to.
From the lap 83 restart onward, Day was untouchable as he pulled out to a full second lead virtually instantaneously. At that second, Denney started to fade as Kofoid (lap 84) and Pursley (lap 87) adopted swimsuit previous him into second and third, respectively. But, the sector bunched one closing time on lap 90 after Rookie Broedy Graham (18th) spun to a cease in flip one. In the course of the warning interval, Thorson (fifth) slowed with a shredded proper rear tire.
Regardless of seeing his one second lead evaporate with the yellow, Day acquired again on the horse and rode it to the end line over the ultimate 9 laps to attain a 1.009s margin of victory over Kofoid and Pursley with Denney fourth and Seavey rounding out the highest 5.
It was additionally a giant evening for Pursley’s CBI teammate Zach Wigal, who doubled up the honors on Saturday evening. His Eleventh-place outcome made him the 2024 Don Basile Rookie of the Race. Including to the accolades, Wigal additionally completed the yr by locking up the Max Papis Improvements USAC Nationwide Midget Rookie of the Yr award.
Tanner Carrick’s return to Turkey Night time after a three-year hiatus was a strong one. After beginning nineteenth, Carrick superior +9 to complete tenth, which earned him onerous charger honors for the night.
On Friday, Dalten Gabbard discovered himself the wrong way up on the observe’s exit ramp following a flip throughout apply. After thrashing to get the automotive repaired in a single day, he transferred his method into his first profession USAC Nationwide Midget begin on Saturday evening at Ventura. That earned him the Inferno Armor Fireplace Transfer of the Night time.
RESULTS:
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 switch to the characteristic) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Dalten Gabbard, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Cade Lewis, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Austin Torgerson, 8. Kyle Busch, 9. Randi Pankratz, 10. Stevie Sussex, 11. Drake Edwards, 12. Abby Hohlbein, 13. Bryan Drollinger, 14. Peter Paulson. NT
ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 switch to the characteristic) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Chase McDermand, 6. Caden Sarale, 7. Broedy Graham, 8. T.J. Smith, 9. C.J. Sarna, 10. Dane Culver, 11. Ty Gibbs, 12. Mathew Radisch, 13. Todd Hawse, 14. Barrie Valentino. 2:35.259
T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 switch to the characteristic) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Brody Fuson, 8. Alex Karpowicz, 9. Cale Coons, 10. Michael Faccinto, 11. J.J. Yeley, 12. Kyle Hawse, 13. Jim Vanzant. 2:40.057
ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 switch to the characteristic) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Cade Lewis, 3. Ronnie Gardner, 4. Broedy Graham, 5. Caden Sarale, 6. Austin Torgerson, 7. Dane Culver, 8. T.J. Smith, 9. Brody Fuson, 10. Michael Faccinto, 11. C.J. Sarna, 12. Randi Pankratz, 13. Stevie Sussex, 14. Cale Coons, 15. Alex Karpowicz, 16. Kyle Busch, 17. Jake Andreotti. NT
FEATURE: (98 laps, beginning positions in parentheses) 1. Corey Day (8), 2. Buddy Kofoid (3), 3. Daison Pursley (2), 4. Jacob Denney (1), 5. Logan Seavey (13), 6. Gavin Miller (9), 7. Justin Grant (15), 8. Kale Drake (7), 9. Jake Swanson (14), 10. Tanner Carrick (19), 11. Zach Wigal (11), 12. Cannon McIntosh (6), 13. Tyler Courtney (12), 14. Tanner Thorson (4), 15. Zach Daum (21), 16. Cade Lewis (23), 17. C.J. Leary (20), 18. Dalten Gabbard (17), 19. Broedy Graham (25), 20. Kyle Larson (10), 21. Emerson Axsom (26), 22. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 23. Ronnie Gardner (24), 24. Chase McDermand (22), 25. Kaylee Bryson (18), 26. Ryan Timms (16). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Jacob Denney, Laps 26-49 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 50-81 Jacob Denney, Laps 82-98 Corey Day.
