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Jerry Coons Jr. came into the 70th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix in second place in the USAC National Midget Car standings. He had no chance of catching Bryan Clauson, the leader in the National Midget standings, but Coons said he didn't want to lose hold of second place either.
Jerry Coons Jr. grabs second place in the USAC National Midget Car standings.
He accomplished his goal with a 14th-place finish in the Turkey Night Grand Prix race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to end his season, but it was enough to keep Tracy Hines in third place in the final National Midget Car standings.
"We're sitting second in points. The big thing is to keep second when we could fall back to third," Coons said before the race. "We want to stay second in points even though the championship is out of reach. The way the season started, the first half of the season, I didn't even think we'd be in the top three."
Coons needed a surge in the second half of the season to crack the top-five in the National Midget standings. That he was in second place at the end of the season was a bit surprising.
"We've been out of the top five for most of the season," said Coons, a driver for Wilke-Pak Motorsports with support from K&N Engineering. "I don't think the season went nearly as well as what we would have liked. I've only had one win. We've run second a ton of times. We've had a couple races we were leading and fell out of. To be honest, it's been a little bit of a disappointing season.
This field's so competitive, you've got to finish races if you want to have a chance at the points."
Coons was the seventh-fastest qualifier in a field of 37 cars for the Midget race at Toyota Speedway. He qualified seven spots ahead of Hines, but was 0.164 seconds off the pace of Kody Swanson's top qualifying speed.
Coons was never much of a factor in the race, falling out of the top 10. But his 14th-place finish was seven spots better than Hines and secured a runner-up finish in the National Midget standings.
Coons has raced in his share of Turkey Night Grand Prix races, but this was his first visit to the traditional Thanksgiving night races in two years.
"I haven't been here in the last two years at Irwindale," said Coons, a driver from Tucson, Ariz. "I went back and ran the last Turkey Night at Ascot. It's kind of a hit and miss. I know we ran it at Ventura and Bakersfield once. I wouldn't even know if it was five or 10."
The Turkey Night Grand Prix has attracted some of the top open-wheel racers over the past 70 years. Clauson won the Midget race and became the first driver to win it in consecutive years since Billy Boat from 1995 to 1997.
"It's certainly one of the biggest races of the year for us," Coons said. "I certainly liked this better when it was on dirt. It's a very prestigious race. It certainly would be one we'd like to add my name to it."
Coons said K&N has supplied him with great products.
"In this sport, you gotta have a good product or we're not going to use it," Coons said. "We certainly appreciate everything K&N does."
The drivers for Western Speed Racing came away with mixed results at the 70th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Western Speed Racing at Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway
Michael J. Lewis, making only his fourth start of the season for the team, finished second in the USAC Ford Focus Midgets race of the Turkey Night Grand Prix.
Cody Gerhardt was involved in a three-car crash on lap 8 and ended up in 25th place in the Ford Focus Midgets race.
Despite the poor finish, Gerhardt won the USAC Western Pavement, California North and California South Ford Focus Midgets championships. He also ended up as the runner up in the Western Ford Focus Series standings.
Michael J. Lewis of Western Speed Racing
Gerhardt is the grandson of Fred Gerhardt, a USAC Midget and Indy car owner who produced and maintained cars for Bill Vukovich, Johnnie Parsons and Gary Bettenhausen. Fred Gerhardt was inducted into the USAC Midget Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.
Cody Gerhardt said before the race he was going to take a conservative approach and try to end the season on a high note.
"I'm just going to treat this like any other race, take it easy, don't force the issue, hopefully I finish the race," said Gerhardt, who added that K&N has provided him with the support he needed to have a successful season.
But his night ended early when he was collected in a three-car crash that stopped the race. He crashed with Taylor Ferns and Garrett Peterson. Gerhardt was running in eighth place at the time of the crash. Peterson was in seventh. It was the second red flag of the Ford Focus Midgets race.
Two laps prior, Michael Steele, Winn Frazin and Guy Sainsbury crashed in Turn 3. Frazin's car ended upside down and Sainsbury's car landed on its side.
Lewis was able to avoid both crashes. He had the second-fastest time in qualifying, 0.004 seconds off the pace of Dylan Capello, the fastest qualifier at 14.262 seconds.
Lewis, a driver from Laguna Beach, Calif., has been splitting his time racing in the Formula BMW Series and for Western Speed Racing in the Ford Focus Midgets. He won Ford Focus Midget races at The Orange Show in San Bernardino and All American Speedway in Roseville.
"When you win it's real good," Lewis said. "It's never easy. We had to work very hard for both those races to win. It's been going well with Western Speed."
Jake Blackhurst won the Ford Focus Midgets race. Nick Drake led the first 18 laps of the race. Blackhurst took the lead on lap 19 and held it for the remaining 11 laps of the 30-lap race.
Lewis said being able to race in the Formula BMW series and USAC Ford Focus Midgets has been valuable in his development as a driver.
"Any car you drive, it relates to any other car," Lewis said. "If you're driving a Sprint car, Midget, Formula car, whatever, it's all going to translate. It's never wasted experience. With me that's how I look at it. It has directly helped me in my approach to racing."
Bryan Clauson was going to be tough to beat in the USAC Midget race of the 70th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Bryan Clauson became the first driver to win consecutive Turkey Night Grand Prix races since Billy Boat from 1995 to 1997.
He had little to lose. He came into the race with the USAC National Midget championship wrapped up. Clauson admitted after the race he probably made some decisions that he might not have made if the national championship wasn't up for grabs.
"The pressure's kind of off once the points are thrown out the window," said Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana. "We were able to make some three-wide moves there and thread the needle a couple of times. Maybe if you're in a points championship battle, you don't do it."
Bryan Clauson at Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway
But the race ended with some uncertainty. Clauson said the right front tire on his car was going flat with about 20 laps to go in the 98-lap race. He said he thinks he ran over some debris in the waning laps of the race and it affected the handling on his car.
Luckily for Clauson, he built up a substantial lead on the Armstrongs, Caleb and Dalton, and was able to cruise to his second Turkey Night Grand Prix win in a row.
Clauson became the first driver to win consecutive Turkey Night Grand Prix races since Billy Boat from 1995 to 1997. He is one of only five drivers to win Turkey Night Grand Prix races in consecutive years and the only the second driver to do it at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Jason Leffler is the other.
"It's pretty special," said Clauson, who races for Corey Tucker Racing-Keith Kunz Motorsports with support from K&N. "A guy like Billy Boat is synonymous with Midget racing. The things he did in Midget racing were unbelievable."
Clauson took the lead on lap 9 from Cole Whitt and held it for the remainder of the race. Kody Swanson started on the pole and led the first lap. Dakoda Armstrong took over the lead on lap 2 and held it for two laps. Whitt passed Armstrong on lap 4 and was out front until lap 8.
Clauson pulled away from the rest of the field and had little trouble maintaining his lead.
"It's so hard to race yourself," Clauson said. "You're just trying to keep a pace your car can hold for 98 laps and hope it's fast enough to hold off the rest of them."
Clauson started the race in fourth and quickly made his way to the front. Racing with the National Midget championship already won didn't factor into Clauson's approach in the opening laps of the race.
"I don't think it really would have made a difference," Clauson said. "We had such a good car the first half of the race, we would have found our way to the front no problem. We were able to keep it close and not use up our tires too much working through the field."
Part of winning the USAC National Midget championship includes a scholarship to race in the Firestone Indy Lights season. Indy Lights team owner Sam Schmidt and Izod IndyCar Series chief executive officer Randy Bernard were in attendance at the track to watch Clauson race.
"It's been a great year," Clauson said. "We've won a lot of big events. We've had five USAC wins and some other special victories. It's a special year for us."
Glidewell's last minute gear change improved his cars handling enough to allow him to win the title.
After discovering that his car wasn't running up to its full rpm potential during practice at Orange Show Speedway (OSS), David Glidewell made a couple of quick gear changes. "Man what a difference that made," said the K&N sponsored Pro-4 Late Model racer. The cog alteration allowed Glidewell to glide to victory in the abbreviated 15-lap main, and to his first ever ASA Pro-4 Championship.
This is K&N sponsored David Glidewell's first ever ASA Pro-4 Championship.
"Winning my first championship is bittersweet," remarked Glidewell. We fought hard against some good cars and did a lot of work to make our car handle and be fast. Our class has had low car count due to the economy and a lot of the classes at OSS have been down this season."
"After getting with Eddie Secord of Fastrack engineering and going over the car for the first time since its completion we found that the rear end was out of square. Eddie worked his magic on the car, and we got it all back in tune. I have to blame myself for the gearing being wrong."
The Glidewell31 team now plans on taking their state-of-the-art car up north to see how they fair in the Northwest Pro-4 Alliance Series.
"After looking at the recall on the tech I discovered that it was only turning 7900 rpms and the motor needs to turn 8400 to 8600 rpm. I ordered the wrong gear and looked at the wrong gear chart. It wasn't until race day morning that I figured out I had misread the gear chart. So I rushed to Harold at Racing Plus and picked up a new 6-splines 21 gear set. It was amazing how much that few hundred rpm changed the way the car handled going into the turns and improved our exit speeds."
The Riverside, California driver and his Glidewell31 team won three of their six races, they were the number one qualifiers and won some of their trophy dash races, their clear frustration stems from the fact that the scheduled awards banquet for 2010 was canceled and that they wouldn't be receiving anything for winning the championship. "We looked forward to it for our sponsors as well as for ourselves," said Glidewell. "We're very disappointed with best in the west racing and their decision with the Pro-4 class."
The Glidewell31 team plans on going up north to race in the Northwest Pro-4 Alliance Series now. Glidewell feels that the change of venues and challenges for himself and his state-of-the-art car will be good. They also want to see what their Fastrack built car is capable of doing on bigger tracks.
"We will not race at OSS as long as best in the west is in control," declares Glidewell. "Eddie Secord has raced up north for some time now and I look forward to being able to race with him - he's a mentor and friend. I'm trying to learn as much as possible, but it's not always easy, having Eddie on our side just helps make it a little easier."
"This year has been a hard one for us financially. Getting ready for the August 7th race Mike Williams of Keller Williams Reality stepped up and made it possible to get fuel and paid our entry fee to race. This is the first race he attended and we ended up sweeping the whole night with a top qualifier win, we won the trophy dash and the main event, it was a very good night for the Glidewell31 team. A lot of hard work and having good equipment paid off with us in winning this championship."
"I think our car is the best looking car out there by far," adds Glidewell. "It has the paint job that Dale Jr raced with for Mt Dew and it stands out. Long time friend Phil Rogers of Body systems has done all the work to make this thing shine, it's just amazing how the whole car turned out."
Glidewell expressed his sincere thanks to all the aforementioned people that made it possible for him to continue racing this year and to bring in the championship, including a special thank you to Bob Harris at K&N filters for his continuing support. Glidewell also wanted to be certain to thank his fiancée, Susan Hansen, "She doesn't really like racing but she's always been there to support me, and she's even done the job of spotting for me when my regular spotter Dwayne Blay wasn't able to make it."
Performance Supply Innovations' 2010 Chevy Camaro SS 6.2L
The SEMA show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the most highly anticipated auto events held each year. This year was no exception, and
it turned out to be a big success. After-market performance manufacturers and automotive enthusiasts collaborated while they experienced the latest technologies the industry had to offer.
2010 Chevy Camaro SS 6.2L
Performance Supply Innovations (PSI) was one of many companies who supplied the event with impressive and innovative vehicle designs that drew crowds and impressed peers from all around the show. PSI's main focus is on building supercharger kits. "Our goal is to create a quality yet affordable power adding solution that is easy to install for the average car enthusiast in his or her very own driveway," adds car builder Brett Gish of PSI. "We have a few unique projects already in the works for next year as well. "
2010 Chevy Camaro SS 6.2L with K&N
"This was my second year at SEMA," Gish mentioned. "Last year I helped build a 2010 Chevy Camaro and a 2010 Ford Taurus for which I fabricated our first centrifugal supercharger kit."
2010 Chevy Camaro SS at SEMA
Gish is certainly not a newbie to building custom vehicles with enhanced performance add-ons. "I have been building cars with my father since I could turn a wrench at the age of 8," Gish explains. "I started by helping him with his Pro Street 1967 Camaro. When I was in high school, we built a tube chassis steel bodies 1933 Willys coupe which we entered in the local ISCA World of Wheels and beat out the points runner and won the largest award at the show. "
By the time Gish was a senior in High School, he was ready to get some wheels of his own and built a big block 1982 Trans Am. "This was my first car which I still own," Gish said proudly. "It has since been redone with a 540 cubic inch big block Chevy." Gish also mentioned that he has built numerous one-off supercharger kits as well as a twin turbo Silverado SS, twin turbo LS powered 3rd gen Camaro, a 1957 Chevy Sedan Delivery with a 502, and numerous other projects.
For the 2010 SEMA show, Gish delivered a 2010 Chevy Camaro SS boasting the 6.2L V8 engine. "My biggest inspiration was my urge to create a truly unique yet tasteful version of how I feel a 5th generation Camaro should look," explains Gish. "I didn't want to bring a car to SEMA with a bunch of different purchased items on it that were available to anyone."
"Our own first ever seen ram air hood, rear spoiler, front fenders, sheet metal intake manifold, wide angle mirrors, and centrifugal supercharger unit and kit, I feel, really made our car stand out from the crowd," said Gish, about this fully custom Camaro SS.
Gish was quick to point out that "many great sponsors stepped in to make this car the complete package. Many long days and nights in the final weeks prior to the show really brought this car together. Creating a supercharger kit using a new head unit that we produced and tested really took a decent amount of time to perfect. Everyone working together to build the plugs and develop a mold to get our production parts really paid off just one week before the show. With only one week to finish, our painter Mike Cramer did a great job finishing the car 2 days before we loaded it in the trailer headed to SEMA."
Performance Supply Innovations' custom Chevy Camaro SS was featured in the Convention Centers North Hall for the 2010 SEMA show and was equipped with a K&N air filter and oil filter. "We chose K&N due to their great reputation and quality products," remarked Gish. "Since I began building cars I have used K&N and plan to continue to do so for all of our supercharger kits."
We asked Gish what his plans were for the Camaro now. "Now that the car is complete, it will be driven quite regularly and shown as much as possible," he stated. "It will also see a decent amount of track time come next spring."
This year, SEMA was a great success for everyone involved. "I think this year was much busier than last year," Gish pointed out. "We will definitely be back with some new projects and products. Some vehicle will be strictly done by PSI and we will also be teaming with some other builders on some other cars for SEMA 2011."
Currently, PSI is working on a twin supercharged 1956 Chevy that is scheduled to debut at the Detroit ISCA show in January, 2012. "We are very excited for the upcoming year," expressed Gish. "I want to see where all of these new ventures will take us and I look forward to using K&N products in all of our kits."
