Kahne Set for ‘Turkey Night’

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and Team Mopar team owner/driver Kasey Kahne will return to his roots on Thursday for the 68th annual "Turkey Night Grand Prix" at Toyota Speedway/Irwindale.

Kahne will steer a Mopar-powered Seymour Paints entry for his Kasey Kahne Racing squad in the event sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC) as part of the Mopar Midget National Championship.

Last autumn, driving the very same machine, Kahne thrilled the Irwindale crowd by charging to second place after a dismal 25th-place qualifying effort. What makes such come-from-behind charges possible is the event’s extra-distance format. Rather than the common Midget feature length of 30 or 35 laps, the “Turkey Night Grand Prix" covers 98 laps in honor of the late promoter and car owner J.C. Agajanian, whose two-time Indy 500-winning entries bore the number 98.