VENTURA, Calif. — Keeping with his strong late-season form, Brady Bacon powered to the win in Wednesday night’s USAC West Coast/VRA Sprint Car opener to the 77th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix at California’s Ventura Raceway.

Bacon stormed past early leader Troy Rutherford on lap five of the 20-lap feature and never trailed again, powering away to a 2.512-second victory in the famed Dooling-Hayward No. 63 sprint car.

The two-time USAC National Sprint Car champion and former Hoffman Auto Racing driver adds his Turkey Night opener win to a USAC National Midget triumph from last weekend at Bakersfield Speedway in the FMR Racing No. 76M.

In all, Bacon has five USAC National victories this season (two Sprint Car and three Midget wins). He also picked up a USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series win on Nov. 3 at Arizona Speedway.

Rutherford hung on to second for the duration of Wednesday night’s main, followed by BR Motorsports/King Racing Products Hard Charger Klint Simpson, who advanced from ninth to finish third.

Tyler Courtney and Colby Copeland completed the top five.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Chase Briscoe finished seventh, while New Zealand midget ace Michael Pickens was 10th in the first sprint car feature of the week.

Courtney was the fast qualifier for the night, with a lap of 12.289 seconds (58.589 mph) around the fifth-mile clay oval, while Simpson, Briscoe, Tristan Guardino, Max Adams, Pickens and Carson Macedo each won their respective 10-lap heat races.

The night was punctuated by two sizable flips. The first came during qualifying, when Stewart Friesen went tumbling before completing a timed lap, while Shon Deskins flew into the catchfence during the third heat.

USAC West Coast/VRA Sprint Car action returns to Ventura Raceway on Thursday night as part of the finale to the 77th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix, which will feature a $50,000 bonus should one driver win both the sprint car and midget features.

Full race results can be viewed on the next page…