FAST CAT IN THE HAT; Dave Steele wins the 2003 Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix.(News)

Byline: PATRICK C. PATERNIE

J.J. Yeley was hoping to celebrate Thanksgiving night at Irwindale Speedway by topping his hat trick. Yeley had wrapped up the 2003 USAC National Midget championship the week before at Tucson to go along with his Silver Crown and Sprint Car titles. The last driver to get a hat trick and win the Turkey Night race was Tony Stewart (AW, Dec. 1).

Yeley will also emulate Stewart's career path by joining Joe Gibbs Racing's NASCAR team next year.

Yeley's best Turkey Night finish came as runner-up to Dave Steele in 2001. So though he came to Irwin-dale's half-mile paved oval wearing USAC's triple crown, the hat Yeley wanted was the bronzed Stetson once worn by J.C. Agajanian that now adorns the new Thanksgiving Night trophy. He did not get it. And Yeley's budding career in NASCAR might preclude him from matching Stewart's accomplishment in 2000.

Doug Stokes, Irwindale's director of communications, was instrumental in establishing the Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix trophy that will list all the past and future winners. This year's race marked the 63rd running of Turkey Night, a tradition that began at Gilmore Speed-way in Southern California in 1934. Gilmore closed in 1950, but Agajanian resurrected the event a few years later, and its prestige grew when A.J. Foyt, Mel Kenyon and Parnelli Jones drove to wins at Agajanian's Ascot racetrack. Ascot closed after the 1990 Turkey Night race, but many of the drivers and 4990 fans at Irwindale remembered Thanksgivings spent at the legendary dirt track.

"I've been coming to Turkey Night ever since I can remem- ber,'' recalled Yeley, "although I probably spent more time on the video games at Ascot than watching the cars.''

Bob Higman's memory of the cars and the drivers is better. Although he now flies from Indiana to attend the race, for many years he drove out towing his race cars. A car owner and builder for 50 years, the 85-year-old produced a list of his drivers that matched many names on both the Turkey Night and Indy 500 trophies.