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DARLAND WINS TURKEY NIGHT MIDGET GP @ PERRIS – By Tim Kennedy
Perris, CA., Nov. 28 – Popular Dave Darland, from Lincoln, IN, made another profitable visit to the half-mile clay Perris Auto Speedway on Thanksgiving evening. The four-time USAC national series driving champion is known as “the people's champ” by thousands of fans nationwide. The 47-year old Hoosier started the 73rd running of the USAC Honda National and Western Series Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix sixth. He was one of three race leaders and a surprised winner. The unique 98-lap distance honors the late USAC race organizer J. C. Agajanian, who in 1955 revived the classic TNGP midget event that started in 1934 at Gilmore Stadium in Hollywood.
Darland won $6,000 from the $44,000+ TNGP purse to add to the $15,000 winner's share of the 18th annual PAS Sprint Car Oval Nationals 40-lap feature on November 2. His winning midget ride Thursday was the No. 73 Berry Pack/Fontana Automotive TCR/Fontana owned by Ventura County residents Keith Ford and George Ito. Darland led twice from laps 50-81 and 95-98 and won his second TNGP by 0.823. He became the third driver to win the TNGP on both dirt and pavement. He won his initial TNGP at the paved half-mile Irwindale Speedway in 2007, the first year the event was 98 laps instead of the usual 100. Mel Kenyon won at Gardena's Ascot Park in 1963 and at Irwindale's paved Speedway 605 in 1975. Stan Fox won in Ascot's final race (1990) and at paved Saugus Speedway in 1991.
Two of the 12 TNGP feature rookies occupied the front row. Both rookies broke the 17.025 one-lap track record set by Darren Hagen last Thanksgiving. The 48-car field qualified in 34 minutes from 5:40-6:14 pm. Missouri resident Andrew Felker, the 26th qualifier, broke the old mark with his 16.958. Then 41st qualifier Parker Price-Miller, a 15-year old midget racing rookie from Kokomo, IN., set the new record of 16.889 in a Spike/Esslinger owned by his step-father Scott Ronk. The 600cc mini-sprint graduate won the 2013 POWRi rookie of the year title and finished a close second in National Midget Driver of the Year 2013 rookie points.
The fastest qualifier received a unique Jason Leffler Memorial Fast Time Trophy, a 19” long, 7” high polished aluminum 1930s-era Bantam midget replica mounted on a two-level plexi-glass base. The one-time presentation of the Leffler award was suggested by his long-time friend and TNGP pit-man Danny Pearson, of Torrance. He purchased the tether car midget for several hundred dollars from an E-Bay ad in July. Marvin Reichert helped finish the Leffler trophy replica of 25 tether cars he hand-crafted years ago. He removed the model airplane engine of the trophy car. Renowned racing pin-striping artist Steve Feinberg, 80, had painted race cars for Parnelli Jones and Larry Howard. Feinberg painted the car numbers and striped the replica. Feinberg lettered Left Turn Special and Turkey Night on the trophy car hood and painted No. 9 on the LR tail and No. 32 on the RR tail. Leffler used those numbers on his 1999 and 2005 TNGP winning midgets at Irwindale Speedway.
FEATURE: The 33-car field started the longest midget race of the year at 9:14 pm with the 14 fastest qualifiers positioned straight-up in the first seven rows based upon qualifying times. The first eight finishers in a pair of 17-car, 12-lap qualifying races started in rows eight through 15 in order of their finishing positions in qualifying races. The feature ran under the green flag to lap 26 before a stalled car caused the first of 11 caution flags. A red flag flew on lap 78 after a solo flip on the front straight by Cody Swanson. The race concluded at 10:24 after 70 minutes that included intense competition on the well-groomed clay. Drivers used high, low and middle grooves to execute frequent passes.
At the green flag, Felker, 21, shot into the lead from outside row one as the field entered the first turn. He kept his Spike/Fontana out front for 49 laps. Price-Miller ran second to lap 18 when he faded from the lead pack with a tight car. Hagen, from nearby Riverside, started eighth and put the Shane Hmiel-owned Great Clips Beast/Esslinger into P. 2 on lap 19. Hagen dueled Felker for the lead to lap 41 when 2011 TNGP winner Caleb Armstrong took second briefly from Hagen. The top six drivers ran low and high grooves in a tight pack at lap 45 with Felker, Hagen, Armstrong, Darland, NASCAR Nationwide driver Brad Sweet and Damion Gardner the front-runners and position swappers.
On lap 48 Darland took third from Armstrong and Gardner followed him to fourth. Darland passed Hagen for second on lap 49 and on lap 50 took the lead from Felker on the inside entering turn one. A lap later P. 2 Felker had a flat LR tire and went to the work area. Gardner, Hagen, Armstrong and Sweet became the new positions two-five to lap 75 when caution laps stopped counting. Twenty-six cars were still racing at that point. At lap 78 Cody Swanson caught the wall leaving turn four and rolled twice without injury. An “open red flag” ensued and allowed crews to add fuel and perform other work. However, a right rear tire change would result in loss of one lap so no teams changed tires. Leader Darland's team added ten gallons of fuel.
On lap 82 P. 3 Hagen stalled with ignition failure. A trip to the work area could not remedy the problem; he finished 24th in his new ride after quitting the RFMS No. 3 before November races in Arizona. At the lap 82 green flag 2013 USAC-CRA 410 sprint car champion Gardner shot past Darland for the lead in turn four. He extended his advantage steadily in Terry Klatt's No. 4 Beast/Chevrolet with 20 cars still racing. Gardner was subbing for regular driver Bobby East,who was ill with a virus in Indiana.
On lap 85 the top ten were: Gardner, Darland, Sweet, Armstrong, 2013 POWRi champion Zach Daum, 2013 USAC National Midget and 2013 National Midget Driver of the Year champion Christopher Bell, 18, National Midget Driver of the Year rookie point leader Tanner Thorson, 17, Rico Abreu, Jake Swanson and Nic Faas. Then Bell slowed with a flat RR tire and pitted. Taylor Ferns, 17, started fourth in her dad's Spike/Stanton SR11 and ran fifth for 20 laps until problems caused her to go to the work area several times.
At lap 90 Gardner held a growing 30-yard lead over Darland. Armstrong, Daum, Sweet, 2013 USAC Western Midget champion Ronnie Gardner, J. Swanson, Faas, Thorson, Abreu and five-time USAC-CRA 410 sprint champion Mike Spencer followed closely. Gardner, seeking to become a first-time TNGP winner and Basile Rookie of the Race as well, opened a half straightaway advantage after 94 laps. On lap 95 in the fourth turn Gardner's car lost the LR wheel after the spline stripped and his car stopped near the crash-wall. Darland and Armstrong barely avoided contact with Gardner's car. A wrecker took Gardner's car to the work area for repairs. Yellow flag laps were not counting so he returned on the lead lap. Starting at the back, Gardner raced forward to 12th place with 18 cars still racing at the finish.
Darland nailed the lap 95 green flag and opened a semi-comfortable lead. Sweet shot past Armstrong in the inside groove on lap 95 entering the first turn to take second. Other top positions remained unchanged during the final four circuits. Darland won by ten yards over Sweet, who drove Willie Kahne's Factory Kahne No. 67z Esslinger-powered Breca chassis from New Zealand. Armstrong, Daum, R. Gardner, Faas, J. Swanson, Abreu, Spencer and Thorson completed the top ten. Thorson, from Minden, NV, won the 16th annual presentation of the Don Basile Rookie of the Race plaque and $500. Don's son Bob commissioned the award to honor his late father, who was J. C. Agajanian's right-hand man and a racing promoter himself for years at Speedway 117 in Chula Vista near San Diego.
Tracy Hines was tenth on lap 75 when he stalled with a flat RR tire. He returned to place 11th on the lead lap, as was 12th place D. Gardner. Provisional starter Brad Kuhn came from 31st to finish 13th. TNGP rookie Tyler Thomas, USAC sprint car feature winner Kevin Thomas, Jr., Nick Drake, 17, and Danny Stratton were the next finishers. Price-Miller dropped out of P. 15 on lap 95 with a dead battery and finished 18th. Dalton Armstrong placed 19th after losing numerous laps to repair a mechanical problem. On his cool-off lap, winner Darland spun celebratory donuts at the fourth turn exit until his car tipped onto its side. The winner walked to victory ceremonies as crewmen pushed his car to join him at the finish line.
TOP THREE: Darland said, “I had a good feeling today. This team gave me a good race car here and over at Canyon Speedway in Arizona two weeks ago. The race track was in great shape with a couple of grooves. I tried to do restarts right and did at times. Thanks to Keith Ford, Josh Ford and crew chief Jimmy May and to Don Kazarian for the track and the Agajanians. I'm happy to get this team their first Turkey Night win. It wasn't easy, there were a lot of restarts. It looked like the 4 car of Bobby East had it won (someone told him it was Gardner). We were lucky to get past him when he broke. It was the break we needed. The race track was really racy early. You could run high, low or in the middle. Then the top got better than the center. I was in the right spot to realize it and get the better of them. A few restarts I got right and some I didn't. I get around this place good. I love Perris. I'm glad the Turkey Night GP is back on dirt. Now I have one on pavement at Irwindale and one on dirt here.” Later “Double D” continued the year-old TNGP tradition of kissing J. C. Agajanian's bronzed Stetson hat atop the perpetual Aggie Trophy.
Runner-up Sweet stated over the infield microphone, “It was a good race. The track changed a lot in 98 laps. We brought a new Breka chassis, Esslinger motor and factory shocks. This car was a bare frame four days ago and to bring it home second feels great. With Willie Kahne and Gary Zarounian and my old USAC crew it was good to be back together. I started on the bottom and moved to the top. I started too tight and gave up too much at the start.”
Third place Armstrong told the crowd, “I took a break and got it dialed in. I won this race in 2011. This race is like our Indianapolis 500. Thanks to the PAS for putting on this race. I'd rather win. Dave got me on restarts and Brad got by me low entering turn one on the last restart.” Asked about returning next year, the Indiana driver replied, “We'll always be back for Turkey Night.”
QUALIFYING RACES: A pair of 17-car, 12-lap qualifying races for 15th and slower qualifiers advanced the first eight finishers from each qualifier to rows eight through 15 in their qualifier race finishing order. Odd number qualifiers were in race one and even number qualifiers ran in race two. The first qualifier event transferred drivers to the inside row and the second race drivers occupied the outside row. Three provisional starters based on 2013 USAC National and Western points occupied rows 16 and 17.
Two-time TNGP winner Bryan Clauson, a 2012 Indy 500 starter, started on the pole in the first qualifier as 15th fastest qualifier. He was hit hard from behind on the first lap and spun low in the first turn. An eight-car crash followed with Brad Kuhn's Mason Cook Beast/Toyota rolling one and a half times. Other drivers involved were: Shane Golobic, Kyle Edwards, Rick Hendrix, Terry Nichols, Terry Goodwin and Tony Everhart. No drivers were injured, but the Hendrix and Nichols cars were removed to the pits by wreckers. Three restarts were needed with three different front rows before Daum shot from the outside front row and led all 12 laps. He won by 40-yards over Scott Pierovich, T. Thomas, Stratton, Spencer, Clauson, C. Swanson and K. Thomas, Jr. in P. 8. Twelve drivers finished the 22-minute race that had one red and two yellow flags.
The second qualifier had Faas and rookie Thorson in row one. Thorson, driving the No. 67 Keith Kunz Bullet/Toyota, led the first three laps over 2013 USAC Western Midget champion Shannon McQueen, who started fourth, and Abreu. On lap 4, P. 6 Ricky Shelton contacted the front straight crash-wall just past the starters' stand and flipped high in the air about 15 feet and cartwheeled five or six times to the first turn. It landed on its side near the wall and in front of the bleachers. Shelton, making a comeback after leaving racing a decade ago, crawled out as rescuers arrived and walked to the pits. At the lap 4 restart, Abreu shot from third to first and McQueen also passed Thorson with Faas fourth. They continued in that order to the finish. Abreu, from Rutherford, CA, extended his lead in the Kunz No. 67K Bullet/Toyota to a full straightaway by the finish. Finishing fifth through eighth and transferring to the feature were: J. Swanson, Kevin Swindell, Jac Haudenschild and Thomas Meseraull, with Honda-power. Sixteen of 17 starters finished the 13-minute race.
Prior to the first race, D. Gardner drove his Terry Klatt midget on memorial laps for the late Jason Leffler. Gardner took two slow laps holding a checkered flag and then ran three hot laps around the half-mile before pitting. USAC/NASCAR veteran Leffler lost his life on June 12 in a winged sprint car flip at the 5/8-mile Bridgeport (N.J) Speedway. Leffler, an Indy 500 and Daytona 500 veteran, raced in the 2012 TNGP at PAS and led laps 4-7 in the same Hmiel Beast/Esslinger driven this year by Hagen. Ron “Sleepy” Tripp, a two-time USAC National Midget and seven-time USAC Western Midget champion, served as 2013 TNGP Grand Marshal.
Rookie Christopher Bell, 18, won the 2013 USAC National Midget championship by 117 points over Clauson. He won six of 20 USAC National main events at six tracks in four states driving one of three Kunz Bullet/Toyota cars. Ronnie Gardner won the 2013 USAC Western Midget championship by a whopping 326 points over J. Swanson. He won nine of 29 features at six speedways. He drove the Six-Eight Racing 2009 Rick Stewart chassis with Esslinger power for car owner Mitchell Johnson, 25. Both 2013 USAC Midget champions clinched their titles two weeks earlier in Arizona.
Kyle Larson, the 2012 TNGP winner at PAS and NASCAR Sprint Cup Target Ganassi driver for 2014, attended the 2013 PAS Thanksgiving TNGP classic after spending time at Disneyland in Anaheim earlier in the week as he did last year. Larson watched from the Kunz three-car team pits. He gave last minute advice to his Kunz teammate and pal Abreu at driver introductions on the front straight. His winning No. 71 Bullet/Toyota from last Thanksgiving sat in the pits as a spare car this year.
Despite excellent racing weather November 28, early week TV weather forecasts called for rain on Thanksgiving. Rain was absent from forecasts a day before the TNGP. Nevertheless, attendance was off this year by several hundred from the 4,400 paid last year at the PAS 2012 TNGP. More than 500 spectated from the pits both years. The sunny day, with minimal wind throughout the TNGP, produced a racy, multi-groove track. It resulted in an even better race than the outstanding 2012 TNGP. High temperature at the track was 72 and it was still 55 when racing concluded. It was jacket weather but more comfortable than last year because wind was calm all day/night.
The TNGP 26-page color printed program by the Program Guys, Harold Osmer and Neil Nissing, had an “In Memoriam” section on page 26 honoring Leffler and his racing achievements. The entire inside back cover was a tribute to Dwaine Esslinger, the founder of Esslinger Engineering in1968. He manufactured durable, affordable and winning engines in the San Gabriel Valley and won the National Midget Driver of the Year manufacturer champion from 2005 through 2013. He passed away in 2013; his son Dan carries on his legacy.
The well-attended annual driver autograph session for fans took place from 2:30-3:30 pm. Midgets were lined up diagonally in two rows on the front straight. Drivers posed for photos and signed photo autograph cards and TNGP race programs. As drivers and cars returned to the pits fans returned to the grandstand. Another “Turkey Night Legends” autograph session took place from 3:30-4:30 at the sports bar on the main concourse. Past TNGP winners who participated were: Rick Goudy (1978), Kevin Olson (1983), Chuck Gurney (1988-89) and Jordan Hermansader (1994).
The annual National Midget Driver of the Year point standings are kept by mid-westerner Bryan Gapinski, who originated the national rankings for midget racers from all sanctioning bodies. Points show the following as 2013 national midget champions.
> Driver – Christopher Bell over Zach Daum by 200+ points. Bell scored ten feature wins (six in USAC National events) in 41 races. Daum had eight wins in 44 features. USAC Western Midget champion Ronnie Gardner, of Corona, placed ninth and had the most 2013 midget main event victories with 13 in 29 races (nine in USAC and others with VRA in Ventura).
> Rookie of the Year - Tanner Thorson, 17, won by a few points over Parker Price-Miller, 15, in the closest point battle.
> Car Owner – Kunz-Curb-Agajanian (No. 71) won by 300+ points over Dan Daum (No. 05).
> Manufacturers Championships: Chassis – Spike (41 wins) beat Beast (34 wins) by 200+ points. Bullet (20 wins), Elite (10 wins) and Eagle (8 wins) followed. ... Engine – Ford-Esslinger (74 wins) beat Toyota (31 wins) by almost 200 points. Fontana (14 wins), Gaerte (13 wins) and Chevrolet (5 wins) followed.
The 2013 TNGP event was carried live on the Internet for a fee. There was a blackout of 100 miles from Perris. PAS announcer Scott Daloisio asked the crowd to turn towards the camera and wave to long-time open-wheel and PAS pit steward Evelyn Pratt. The 94-year old racing matriarch was watching the TNGP from her new home of six-months near her daughter in Texas. Fans turned and said “Hello Evelyn” and waved hats and racing programs. The 2014 TNGP will be held at the PAS again according to PAS promoter Donnie Kazarian and the Agajanian family.
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