Clauson closes out 2014 with Canyon Park USAC Sprint win .
Darland 2nd Clauson 1st Bacon 3rd at Canyon Park
Credit pic- USAC
After conceding the Championship race to Brady Bacon before the start of the final race in the 2014 race calendar Bryan Clauson drove his TSR/Chev/Performance Beast race car to a wire to wire win beating Dave Darland and Brady Bacon across the line . Clauson won the race but Bacon took the Championship honors for 2014 by 56 points with Darland a further 13 points back in 3rd ..
The night started with Bacon holding a 60 point lead with 63 points available . Darland set the canyon Park Speedway alight with a blistering lap during qualifying to break Bryan Clauson’s track record set in 2012 .After the heats and the Feature lineup confirmed there was no way back for Clauson or Darland and in true Championship style both Clauson and Darland raced as if their title chances were still alive . Darland was the big mover running from P8 to P2
.It was fitting that the three leading driver all year in the series finished the year on the podium . While the race win and the $5,000 were welcomed by Clauson and his team it must tough to see your Title slip away .
Brady Bacon and his Hoffman Race Team are the USAC/AMSOIL Champions for 2014 .This was Bacon’s first USAC Title and for Hoffman Racing their 10 USAC Title and 87th win since being founded in 1929
Brady Bacon with Team Owner Richard Hollman
pic- USAC
Driver quotes
Bryan Clauson . “I just love Canyon Speedway. We may not have won the war, but we won another battle. Tonight wasn’t nearly as easy as the box score will read. I was moving all over trying to find a way through traffic, knowing I had two guys behind me who are just waiting to pounce. I never knew how close they were, but I knew I was probably a sitting duck. I tried to mix it up when I could, but I felt really good in open track,” Clauson said.
Dave Darland : “I don’t know what would have happened, but I know my opportunities were better if we had stayed in traffic those last five laps. But we had a shot at it, and the track was racy and getting better as it went. Traffic put us in position to take second and have a shot at the win, too. I’m so proud of my team, and what we’ve been able to accomplish racing against the caliber of racers and teams out here. Its fun racing with those guys up there,” Darland said
. 2014 Champions Brady Bacon : “It’s a pretty cool feeling, especially doing it with a team like this. They know what they’re doing and take so much pressure off me. It’s nice to just show up and drive it, and know that it’s gonna be good. We didn’t have a DNF all year, and that’s a major contributor to the championship. They’re never satisfied, and neither am I. It was relieving to get it out of the way tonight before the feature, especially after the tumultuous night last night. It was fun to just be able to race for the win in the feature, and the top three in points finishing in the top three of the feature was cool. We had a couple shots tonight, but it just didn’t work out,” Bacon said
Brady’s feet ae all sqarely on ground after his 2014 Championship win
Pic -Hoffman Racing
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MAIN (30 laps) 1. Clauson, 2. Darland, 3. Bacon, 4. Spencer, 5. Stanbrough, 6. Grant, 7. Gardner, 8. Rossi, 9. Stockon, 10. Ballo , 11. Thomas, 12. Coons, 13. Leary, 14. Mitchell, 15. Johnson, 16. A.Williams, 17. Hines, 18. C.Williams, 19. Windom, 20. Boespflug, 21. Martin, 22. Gansen, 23. Curtis, 24. Andretti USA
Final USAC/AMSOIL Standing :
1-Bacon-1,974; 2-Clauson-1,918; 3-Darland-1,885; 4-Stanbrough-1,765; 5-Stockon-1,637; 6-Hines-1,537; 7-Grant-1,508; 8-Ballou-1,507; 9-Windom-1,374; 10-Leary-1,337.
