Kyle Larson became only the fourth driver in the 79 years of the Turkey Night Grand Prix to win the event at least three times, winning Friday night’s rain-delayed event at the 1/5-mile Ventura (California) Raceway.
Larson’s third win in the signature USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget race came after the event was delayed a day by rain. Larson joins Ron Shuman (eight wins), Billy Boat (three) and Christopher Bell (three) as the only drivers to win the Turkey Night Grand Prix at least three times. Larson also became the first driver to win thee consecutive USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget races in the state of California since Boat did so in 1995.
“I’ve always run well at the Turkey Night Grand Prix,” Larson told USACracing.com. “To get another one feels great. I had to work hard for that one, everybody did, just to get to the checkered flag. It was extremely rough, but fun too because it was challenging, and the ruts changed all throughout the race.”
Larson passed Cannon McIntosh for the lead with 11 laps left in the 98-lap race to win. McIntosh led a race-high 67 laps before finishing second.
Larson also won the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2012 and ’16.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a rough night. He flipped twice and finished 24th in the 30-car field. Tyler Courtney, the 2019 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion, also flipped. He finished 18th.
KYLE LARSON WINS THE #TURKEYNIGHTGP pic.twitter.com/AzlBQlk3Pq
— USAC Racing (@USACNation) November 30, 2019
98 laps of this was a bit crazy but we got the job done and got my 3rd #TurkeyNightGP win! pic.twitter.com/OKmpAU3BBQ
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) November 30, 2019
