VENTURA, Calif. — The ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame annually presents the Don Basile Rookie of the Race Award, honoring the top performance by a first-time feature starter in the 98-lap classic each year.
The 2025 crop of 29 Turkey Night Rookies arrive to stake their claim and make their initial mark on the great race featuring USAC’s NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, which will take place for the 84th time this Saturday night, November 29, at California’s Ventura Raceway.
No Rookie has won the race since Warren Mockler’s last lap heroics in 1986. Zach Wigal topped the field of Turkey Night debut starters in the 2024 race, finishing 11th.
More than half of this year’s 50-car field will be in contention for the Don Basile Rookie of the Race as they attempt to make their first Turkey Night midget feature start.
This year’s list includes 2025 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Steven Snyder Jr., USAC National Midget winner Drake Edwards, winged sprint car standout Justin Peck, NASCAR’s Ty Gibbs, USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Gunnar Setser, USAC Western States Midget champion Caden Sarale, plus USAC Western States Midget winners Jett Yantis and Dane Culver.
The Turkey Night Rookie list also consists of Connor Lundy, Anthony Bruno, Jakeb Boxell, Connor Speir, Austin Wood, Grant Schaadt, Drake Cardey, Todd Hawse, Brecken Reese, Kyle Hawse, Karter Sarff, Kyle Jones, Joey Bishop, Cole Wakim, Cale Coons, T.J. Smith, Bryan Drollinger, Preston Norbury and Brody Wake, all looking to crack the Turkey Night starting field for the first time.
International flair in the rookie class belongs to New Zealand’s Mathew Radisich and England’s Brandon Carr, making the trip across the pond.
The award, named in memory of track owner, promoter and 1999 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Basile, made its debut in 1998 with Kasey Kahne the first recipient.
Over the years, the Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors at Turkey Night have been awarded to some of the most talented young racers in America. A glance at the list reveals some of the top names from the sport over the past two decades, including two race winners – Kyle Larson (2011) and Corey Day (2023), plus Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019) and Jake Andreotti (2022).