Indianapolis, Indiana (November 26, 2024)………Kevin Thomas Jr. will make his first start with Abacus Racing at the famed 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame at California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 30.
The Cullman, Alabama native will drive the No. 57KT with primary sponsorship from the Indy Fuel. He will be a teammate to Logan Seavey and Kaylee Bryson for the event which now has 57 entries,
Said Thomas, “Well, first of all, this started with a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) for me as I have loved driving the California races in the past, so I reached out to Brent (Cox, Team Principal for Abacus Racing) and said, ‘Let’s get that backup down and make it a three-car team.’ After some back and forth and a few conversations, we worked out the details and got it done.”
Said Cox, “Kevin and I have become really good friends over the past few years and we have had discussions in the past about him driving some select races for us. I am glad we finally get a chance to make that happen.” He went on to say, “That is one of the things that I have loved about this team. It seems we have had this situation come up a lot. We have had so many great drivers in our cars in the short period of time we have been a team, and to add Kevin to that list is something that makes us very proud.”
Another element to this story is that Thomas has recently taken up the sport of hockey. Continued Thomas, “I had never played hockey before, but have just recently got on the ice to start learning the game. I tell you what, no matter how good of an athlete you are, if you have never skated or played hockey before, it is a humbling experience, but I am enjoying the efforts it will take to get better. Being a fan of the game, it will be fun to drive the Indy Fuel car.”
The Indy Fuel are an ECHL team located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and have just started their 11th season in the league. They are an affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.
With Thomas joining the line-up, Abacus Racing has a strong three-car team for the event. Logan Seavey won the 2021 Turkey Night Grand Prix, a race for which Kaylee Bryson was the fast qualifier and pole sitter. It is the kind of line up Cox wanted to have if the team was going to run three entries in a race for the first time as a team.
Cox elaborated, “When I called John (Lunsford, partner in Abacus Racing) about the possibility of running Kevin, we worked through all the logistics. What we loved is the experience all the drivers bring, and with it being in California, we knew we would have a lot of help. That is the benefit of having a crew that is almost entirely from California. John and I figured if we were going to run three cars for the first time, this is the track and this is the line up. We could not be more excited.”
Concluded Thomas, “I can assure you, all three of us drivers are here to win. There is a lot of competition at this race, so I want to do my part to help the team win, and support the team, Logan and Kaylee any way I can in the process.”
In addition to primary sponsorship from the Indy Fuel, the #57K will have support from Indy Powersports, Indy Custom Stone, CG CPAs, Forecheck Marketing, Prime 47, Chernoff Cosmetic Surgeons, Drexel Interiors, Audiology Associates, MPV Express, Dozerz Nutz & Boltz and Carrington Homes.
The Turkey Night Grand Prix will take place on November 30, 2024 at Ventura Raceway in Ventura, California. The Indy Fuel will make their home debut in their new arena (the Fishers Event Center) on December 6, 2024. All USAC races, as well as all Indy Fuel games are broadcast on FloSports.
RACE DETAILS:
This year’s Turkey Night weekend will also host the Ultimate Sprint Car Series for both nights of on-track action on November 29-30.
On Friday, November 29, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget practice, plus sprint car racing.
On Saturday, November 30, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget and sprint car racing.
Advance tickets can be purchased now at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.
Both nights of the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
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