It’s arrived, my Bryan Clauson handmade midget model

It’s arrived, my Bryan Clauson handmade midget model

We all have our favourite Speedway driver and mine is  Bryan Clauson. Sadly last August Speedway lost this wonderful young racer as a result of an accident in his #63 Midget race car at the Belleville Midget Nationals.

Heart break was felt around the Speedway World and the devastating effect on his family trying recovering from this tragic loss is only softened by the memories of his selfless actions in being an organ donor.

Today I have unpacked the handmade die cast of Bryan’s #63 and must admit to a fair bit of emotion as I slowly and carefully unpacked the parcel.Beautifully crafted by John Stewart of Retro Racing Custom Model Cars,  it now sits proudly with my other speddway model collections .I had the pleasure of meeting Bryan  in 2013 at Lismore Speedway during a POWRi World Midget Show, short chat during a break in the pits, meeting Bryan is something I will always remember and cherish.

You can honor Bryan’s memory and help many other families by discussing with your family your wish to be an organ donor. This is a wonderful thing to do. Thanks John Stewart Retro Racing Custom Models the model has arrived and is truly fantastic, great craftsmanship.

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Shamrock Classic opens the USAC Season at Du Quoin.

Shamrock Classic opens the USAC Season at Du Quoin.

 

The USAC National Midget season hits the starter’s button for 2017 with the 2nd annual running of the Shamrock Classic at Du Quoin in the Southern Illinois Centre.It is fitting that Bryan Clauson Promotions should lead off the season with the Shamrock Classic attracting a 50 strong entry list.

Heading the entries is the current USAC National Midget Champion Tanner Thorson and together with Christopher Bell heads a 6 strong Keith Kunz entry .After their successful Chili Bowl campaign the Clauson – Marshall Racing brings the defending Shamrock Classic Champion Shane Golobic#17W, Tyler Courtney #7BC and Justin Grant #39BC to Du Quoin to start their assault on the 2017 National Midget Championship.

 On Saturday March 18th the Du Quoin Centre indoor dirt track will need to handle the best in USAC Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown drivers as they fight for first Midget season points and the $US3900.00 winner’s purse.

Indoor racing exciting and likely to cause unexpected upsets so be prepare for an unlikely winner. It all begins on Saturday before heading to Kokomo Grand Prix in April.

You can follow the results on our facebook and Twitter feeds

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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is giving Tony Stewart one heck of a retirement gift.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is giving Tony Stewart one heck of a retirement gift.

Story by  curt.cavin@indystar.com 9:03 p.m. EDT June 28, 2016

“Indianapolis Motor Speedway is building Tony Stewart a going away present of sorts, a 3/16th-mile dirt track inside Turn 3 of the big oval. Scott Horner/IndyStar

Tony Stewart, who is retiring from NASCAR at season’s end, will receive a going-away gift from Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week that will encourage him to return.
IMS is giving Stewart a dirt track inside Turn 3.

Yes, that Turn 3.

The plan, IMS president Doug Boles said Tuesday, is to install a 3/16th-mile oval for Stewart’s media appearance July 5. Several teams that own  dirt midgets have been invited for what amounts to an exhibition. It stands to reason Stewart will take anyone’s offer to take a spin around the new oval, and he might even be the first to do so.

Stewart was told of the plan last weekend, Boles said.

Assuming things come together as expected, IMS will modify the track so it’s large enough to host sprint cars, too.

“Tony doesn’t want gifts, per se, but we thought this was a great way to marry his love for dirt-track racing with his love for racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Boles told IndyStar.

For the July 5 test run, the dirt track will not have fencing, and the banking will be minimal – maybe 6 inches, Boles said – but all aspects of the presentation will be considered for the final product.

As for the real estate the dirt track will encompass, Boles said it will still be able to serve as primary infield parking area for major oval-track events such as the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.

Stewart has twice won the Cup race at IMS, but the July 24 race is scheduled to be his final start on the oval. Well, the big oval, anyway.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Curt Cavin on Facebook and Twitter: @curtcavin

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The blitz continues for Kunz Its Abreu at Kokomo

The blitz continues for Kunz Its Abreu at KokomoRico Kokomo

The final round of the USAC Indiana Midget Weeks was well and truly closed out by the Keith Kunz/Toyota Team when Rico Abreu in his DC Solar # 97K added a fifth win for Team owner Keith Kunz at Kokomo.Rico started the night without a Feature win during the Midget week but his pace during qualifying was an indication of what was to come .Posting fast time for the Prosource Qualifying time over Bell and Bacon and the stage was set for an exciting last night of racing in Indiana.abreu97K

Heat race wins went to Bryan Clauson, Carson Macedo, Ryan Greth and Davey Ray.

Chad Boat and Bryan Clauson shared the front row for the 30 lap Feature in the Final Indiana Midget Championship Week.Boat lead the Feature for 21 laps before the power of the Kunz team started to take affect with Abreu, Bell and Bayston all looking for a piece of the #84.If the powerful Kunz boys was not enough Clauson was lurking and intent on securing the Indiana Midget Week Title .Clauson entered the race with a 40 points advantage over Bayston.

For the next 9 laps Abreu made the pace up front while Bayston pushed Boat back to third and Brady Bacon got the better of Bell for fourth leaving Clauson to finish in sixth place but on top of the points for the week. It was Abreu’s Feature but Clauson left Kokomo as the 2016 Indiana Midget Week Champion

What can you say about the performance of the Keith Kunz/Toyota Team with wins by Larson, Bayston,Thorson ,Bell and finally Abreu. The Team sponsors will be overjoyed and just like the fans impressed with the management and ability to get all 8 cars  up and racy for each and every race during the week.Kunz lined up

Bryan Clauson’s work rate through this week has also been impressive driving both the Midget and the no winged Sprints .Champion in both classes for Indiana Midget Week.

Rico Abreu at the post race interview ““Running the top the way we did tonight is tough because you have to keep the tires spinning and not let the motor get bogged down,” Abreu explained.  “Midget racing is all about momentum and I felt like, running the bottom, you could get to the middle really quick, but then it would kill your exit because you are so sideways.  So, I just tried to keep it straight up top and keep the wheels spinning, so it didn’t start bouncing.  It means a lot to win another one of these races because this midget deal is so competitive right now with Clauson and guys like Brady Bacon, Tyler Thomas, plus eight Keith Kunz cars now.  So, instead of just four or five competitive cars, there’s more like ten.  Track position and qualifying are even more important now.  It was a great week for us, but we would’ve liked to have had a better start to the week.  But, big congratulations to Bryan because I know how tough it is to win this whole deal.  I want to run it next year and get a third one.”

Spencer Bayston ““I was running the top, just not running it right,” Bayston admitted.  “When Rico went by me, he kind of showed me a little different line.  I’d run it deep into three, but turn off too early and start bouncing.  So, when he went by, it showed me I could run in deeper and come across a little smoother.  I think if I’d gotten up there before he got to me, we would’ve been alright.”

Chad Boat ““It’s a little disappointing to lead that much and run third, but it was still a great run for us,” Boat said.  “We had a solid week and I was excited to get back here to the Indiana bullrings and to come here to Kokomo, which is my favorite track.  We obviously wanted to cap off the week with a win, but we’ll take the third and try to keep the momentum up for Arkansas.”Chad Boat

FEATURE FINISH: Abreu, Bayston, Boat, Bacon, Bell, Clauson, Thorson, Macedo, Ray, Robinson, Golobic, Kingshott, Johnson, T.Thomas, Quin, Greth, Budres, Daum, Shelton, Nelson, Walker, Darland, Buckwalter.

Clauson was not able to secure a win during the 5 night but his collection of points during the week ensure that the Team of  RKR-Dooling Racing/Cancer Treatment Centers of America – B & H Contractors/Spike/Stanton SR-11 took home the prize at the conclusion of the 5 nights of racing .

On receiving the Indiana Midget Week trophy Clauson had this to say ““We were strong all week long,” Clauson exclaimed.  “We knew tonight, seeing how rough and heavy the track was, that it wasn’t really our cup of tea, so we were just trying to make sure we did our job and finish this thing off.  We ran strong all week; we just came up a little short the first few nights to get a win, but a few years from now, the only thing people will remember is who won ‘Indiana Midget Week.’  I’m proud of these guys, so we’ll just keep plugging along and see if we can get into victory lane.”Indy midget Champ

Final standing Indiana Midget Week: FINAL USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Clauson-362, 2-Bayston-331, 3-Abreu-312, 4-Bell-288, 5-Bacon-275, 6-Boat-274, 7-Thorson-258, 8-Thomas-240, 9-Macedo-226, 10-Golobic-221.

Australian’s entry Dyane Kingshott finished with 136 points in 21st position out of a field of 53.Making his first USAC appearance and at tracks that he had only ever heard about his performance in making all 5 Main events was a superb achievement and the team will have to regroup quickly for the POWRi Illinois Speed Week starting June 8 at Belle-Clair and running for 5 night  .

NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 17 – West Memphis, Arkansas – Riverside International Speedway

Photo credits Ric Forman,DB3Imaging,Robert Brown Jr and Bryaan Clauson Racing

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Keith Kunz again, but it Bell who wins this time

Keith Kunz again, but it Bell who wins this timeBell cheque biro

What can you say, 4 starts at Indiana Midget Week and now four win with four different drivers.I guess the only question that need answers with two rounds left is who of the team will get the next win?

Bell started the night with fast time over Clauson and Ryan Robinson. Heat winners were Abreu, Thorson, Brown and Klaasmeyer.Bell race plans looked a bit shaky when he finished 5th in his heat and was forced to work for his transfer from the semi, which he won.Bryan Clauson also had car troubles and had to get the backup car out to get his transfer by finishing second to Bell.Bell DC

Bell started from P 7 and by lap 7 had taken control of the race .Lap 10 and Holly Shelton rolled and Kingshott and Tyler Thomas were involved.Bell had speed that those following could but dream about and had little difficulty in controlling the race.Bryan Clauson had found some pace up on the cushion and quickly move into contention to challenge Darland who was secure in second.

Australian  Dayne Kingshott brought out a late caution for a blown rear right tyre just 6 laps from the finish.On the restart Bell bolted away building a lead that Darland and Clauson could not match. With Bell out front Darland had to call on all his years of tough racing to keep Clauson from taking his hard fought position.

Across the stripe at Bloomington and the Kunz/Toyota Team with Bell directing posted win number four , just remarkable but it must be frustrating and have the other 44 teams wondering just how do we beats these dudes !

Driver post race interviews

Bell at BloomingtonChristopher Bell “This place is really technical and that plays to my advantage,” Bell assured.  “Tonight, there was a big ledge up top and I didn’t spend a lot of time up there, but when I did, I could use it to my advantage and pass guys.  The bottom here is really tough to run; you have to make sure you have enough angle in your car, but not too much so you miss the moisture.  It’s tough, but very fun too, and, obviously, Keith’s (Kunz) cars are always good so that helps.”

Dave Darland“I could hit the bottom of (turns)  three and four really well, but in (turns) one and two, it was a lot harder,” Darland explained.  “When Bryan (Clauson) got up next to me, I might’ve bobbled down there and let him get around me.  But I just had to get into turn one easy and not get out into the slick.  I did that a couple of times early on, but, luckily, it didn’t cost me anything.  Tonight is a great confidence builder.  It feels good for the team.  These guys are still new to the midget scene, so it feels really good to reward their effort.”

Bryan Clauson“The middle was never really the fastest, but on restarts, I could use it to pick some guys off,” Clauson said.  “It made the guys on the bottom overdrive the corner a little bit and let me sneak by and that was really the only option I had.  It was a herculean effort tonight to get back into contention with having to pull out the backup car and it kept our ‘Midget Week’ hopes alive.”

FEATURE FINISH: 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Shane Golobic, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Rico Abreu, 11. Tanner Thorson, 12. Steve Buckwalter, 13. Garrett Aitken, 14. Davey Ray, 15. Ryan Greth, 16. Gage Walker, 17. Austin Brown, 18. Jimi Quin, 19. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 20. David Budres, 21. Jerry Coons, Jr., 22. Dayne Kingshott, 23. Zach Daum, 24. Holly Shelton.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Darland, Laps 7-30 Bell.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER (in memory of Dean Wever): Tyler Thomas (21st to 9th)

**Robinson flipped during the third heat. Shelton flipped on lap 10 of the feature.

NEW USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Clauson-320, 2-Bayston-312, 3-Bacon-285, 4-Thorson-253, 5-Golobic-247, 6-Boat-240, 7-Thomas-238, 8-Daum-214, 9-Coons-194, 10-Darland-193.

NEW USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Clauson-297, 2-Bayston-257, 3-Abreu-231, 4-Bell-220, 5-Bacon-204, 6-Thomas & Boat-203, 8-Thorson-201, 9-Coons-194, 10-Darland-183.

NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 4 – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway – 12th “Indiana Midget Week”

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Tanner Thorson takes victory at Lincoln Park

Tanner Thorson LPSTanner Thorson takes victory at Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park Speedway night three of the Indiana Midget Week was another triumph for the Keith Kunz Motorsports /Toyota Racing but this time it was Tanner Thorson turn in victory lane.The last time Thorson was at Lincoln Park Speedway he left the track in a ambulance and ruined his chance at a maiden USAC National Title .To get the win Thorson had to overcome firstly his younger teammate 15year old Ryan Robinson ,Bryan Clauson and an aggressive Rico Abreu.

Missing from the KKM team for LPS was Larson and Bell but the strength of this team is its depths as both Thorson and Robinson proved tonight.Night three started with Brady Bacon getting fast time during the Resource qualifying followed by last start winner Spencer Bayston and Tanner Thorson.

Heat race winners were Rico Abreu, Tyler Thomas, Carson Macedo and Chad Boat.

Robinson started the 30lap feature with Clauson on his outside and just like Bayston did the previous night showed experience way beyond his years to lead Clauson from the green.Robinson held the race lead for the first 14 laps before Thorson was able to penetrate his defense and get into the lead. As the race entered the 18th lap Abreu’s presence was starting to be felt as the 2015 USAC Champion started to cut through the field, he was on a mission to get to the race lead, sitting in third Abreu progress was disrupted when Jmi Quinn spun. On the restart Abreu disposed of Robinson with a familiar slide job and now with Thorson firmly in his sight aimed for the race lead.

The race was nearing the end when Thorson had trouble on the cushion and suddenly Abreu looked a real chance and as he started to work past Thorson Darland and Holley Shelton tangled and the yellow was displayed .Abreu had lost a certain race lead and had to revert to second for the restart.

Abreu attacked Thorson with every move he had and the pressure worked to his own disadvantage when he slid high on the cushion and the every present and a patient Clauson took full advantage to take second. Abreu was not finished, pushing the limit of both car and track he jumped the cushion a number of times effectively killing any chance of the race win.

Thorson had one final barrier to overcome, a charging Bryan Clauson made one last desperate slide for the win but track position and the momentum was all with Thorson and win number three in the Indiana Midget Week went again to a Keith Kunz/Toyota driver Tanner Thorson.The podium on night three at Lincoln Park Speedway was Thorson, Clauson and Tyler Thomas.Thorson wins at LSP

Driver quotes .Tanner Thorson“I left here last year in an ambulance, so to come back to this track and win is pretty awesome,” Thorson said.  “These guys work their butts off starting at 2:30 in the morning when we get back to the shop and it feels great to reward them with another win.  Rico had me nervous just because you know a big move is coming.  I knew the laps were winding down, but I knew that I just needed to keep hitting my marks.  The top was so treacherous that you had to nail it perfectly every lap.  I kept getting tight on the cushion and just tried to keep my composure towards the end because the last ten laps were really tricky with the track the way it was and knowing I had fast guys behind me.”

Bryan Clauson “We just needed more time,” Clauson said.  “I was a little snug early and each yellow just wasn’t what we needed.  We got rolling towards the end and Tanner was getting tight on the curb, but we were good enough off of it to make some decent speed; we just ran out of laps.  I saw the white and made my move in turns one and two because it seemed like it was easier to counter a slide job at the other end.  I felt like if I slid him in (turns) three and four, it’d be too easy to cross me over, so I took a shot in (turns) one and two and just came up a little short.”

Tyler Thomas “I moved to the bottom in the early laps of the race and it stuck, so I knew I needed to be down there if I wanted to pick some off,” Thomas explained.  “The top was so fast early on and the only way to pass was to slide somebody, but you had to have so much momentum to pull it off that it was just really difficult to make happen.  Fortunately, our car was really working well on the bottom and I could slide myself in turns three and four and catch the cushion on exit.  We qualified better tonight too, so if we can keep that up these next three nights, I think we’ll be in good shape.”kunz at LPS

All six members of the Kunz Motorsports/Toyota Racing made the feature and all finished .The result 3 wins, three different drivers what an amazing display of team management, engineering and commitment to Midget racing.

 

FEATURE FINISH: 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Tyler Thomas, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Steve Buckwalter, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Jerry Coons, Jr., 10. Chad Boat, 11. Jake Neuman, 12. Ryan Greth, 13. Gage Walker, 14. Chase Johnson, 15. Holly Shelton, 16. Jimi Quin, 17. Zach Daum, 18. Tyler Nelson, 19. Brady Bacon, 20. Dave Darland, 21. Logan Jarrett, 22. David Budres, 23. Dayne Kingshott, 24. Shane Golobic.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Robinson, Laps 14-30 Thorson.

NEW USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Clauson-250, 2-Bayston-249, 3-Bacon-225, 4-Thorson-204, 5-Thmas-191, 6-Daum-189, 7-Boat-188, 8-Golobic-181, 9-Coons-165, 10-Robinson-143.

NEW USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Clauson-227, 2-Bayston-194, 3-Abreu-180, 4-Coons-165, 5-Bacon-164, 6-Thomas-156, 7-Thorson-152, 8-Boat-151, 9-Kyle Larson-150, 10-Daum-146.

NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 3 – Bloomington (IN) Speedway – 12th “Indiana Midget Week”

Pic credits Rich Foreman & David Wilson and Toyota Racing

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Bayston Bags first USAC Win at Gas City

Spencer Bayston bags first USA WIn at Gas City

Bayston Gas CityGas City and 45 Midgets gather the pits for race two for the Indiana Midget Week. The crowd and most of the USAC teams would have been privately concerned that Larson would again remind them of his unbelievable versatility and ability to adjust from the pavement of the NASCAR World back to the hustle of  the real raw racing on dirt .

The Gas City track was lighting fast with the track record coming under attack during the warm ups with both Clauson and Abreu getting under the mark.Once qualifying was done and dusted Rico Abreu would emerge as the Prosourse fast qualifier over Ryan Robinson and Bryan Clauson. Heat winners were Ryan Greth, Tanner Thorson, Christopher Bell and Brady Bacon.Bayston car

Spencer Bayston and Zach Daum had the front row for the 30 lap featurewith Clauson and Larson in row two.Bayston won the start and headed Daum into the first corner.The 2015 rookie of year started to settle nicely into the race lead and moved from the bottom into the middle of the track. The race was stopped on lap 9 when Chase Johnson’s night ended suddenly with a barrel roll in turn four .Johnson’s effort brought out the first caution. Thankfully Johnson was unhurt.

The restart was the only time Bayston was under real pressure and Daum got to the inside to lead the 17year old only to lose it by time the pair reached the stripe for lap 9.At this point Daum’s race started to fade under the pressure from Larson and Clauson.By the halfway point Clauson had pushed past Larson but Bayston was clear with one-and-half second .up his sleeve.

When other 17 year olds are planning their summer vacation Bayston was blitzing past back markers with the skill of a second professional and nothing that Clauson or Larson had made any difference .With  just 7 laps remaining Thorson’s car stopped and brought out a caution , providing  Clauson and Larson one last chance to overhaul the 2015 Rookie of the year .If Bayston was nervous on the restart, and who could blame him with a host of USAC winners  all over his tank he showed no signs  and took the restart with total authority leaving Clauson and Larson to argue over the runner up position.Gas City finish

The battle for second between Clauson and Larson grabbed the attention but Larson’s efforts came to an end when he clipped a turn four tyre marker and slowed and would he would have to settle for third.Bayston’s drive was that of a master professional and the Gas City win was the first of many more USAC National wins to come.

Keith Kunz must surely be about the best judge of new talent around, his ability to pick replacements when his stars Larson, Bell and Abreu move on to the bigger NSCAR stage is nothing short of stunning.

With the sun setting above the Gas City Landscape the haulers head out with their cargo of midgets to Lincoln Park Speedway Putnamville night two of the Indiana Midget week comes to a close and Bryan Clauson with two second places finds his way into the lead for the Indiana Midget Week Championship with 152 over Larson 150 and Bell third with 140.Bayston

 

Driver interviews: Spencer Bayston “I’m speechless right now,” Bayston exclaimed.  “Big Al (Scroggins) had the car absolutely perfect.  I could hold it to the ground and it would dig the whole way around.  I was waiting for Bryan (Clauson) and Kyle (Larson) to show up, but these guys gave me a good enough race car that I could stay out front.  I was getting some signals under the red from my guys about where those two were running, so I just tried to focus on my line and tried to keep making good laps.  To race against these guys is special and to beat them is even more special because both of them are guys that I’ve looked up to my whole career.”

Bryan Clauson “Our car was alright tonight; we were just a little off,” Clauson admitted.  “We could hang; we just didn’t have enough to mount anything.  I pulled out everything I had to hold Kyle off.  Those three points could play a big factor at the end of the week, but it’s a great start to ‘Indiana Midget Week’ for us.”

Kyle Larson “It’s always fun racing Bryan (Clauson),” Larson said.  “I needed the caution, but I needed to restart in front of Bryan and, after that, I didn’t really have a shot at Spencer (Bayston).  He wasn’t on the bottom in (turns) three and four and I could get through there pretty well.  Bryan was running on the bottom in (turns) three and four too and it was enough to slow me down a little, but I had a lot of fun.  It was a pretty solid weekend of racing for me, so a big thanks to Keith (Kunz) and Pete (Willoughby).”

FEATURE FINISH: (30 laps) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Christopher Bell, 6. Rico Abreu, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Shane Golobic, 9. Justin Peck, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. Ryan Robinson, 12. Chad Boat, 13. Justin Grant, 14. Ryan Greth, 15. Tyler Thomas, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Gage Walker, 18. Tony DiMattia, 19. Tanner Thorson, 20.* Dayne Kingshott, 21. Jimi Quin, 22. Holly Shelton, 23. Chase Johnson, 24. Dave Darland. NT
—————————-
**Hatton flipped during the fourth heat. Johnson flipped on lap 9 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Bayston.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER: Shane Golobic (17th to 8th)

Photo Credits :Travis Branch,Spencer Bayston Racing,Bryan Clauson Racing

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Larson returns to Indiana Midget Week and Wins

Larson returns to Indiana Midget Week and Wins

larson at MontpelierMontpelier Motor Speedway-Montpelier –Opening race in the Indiana Midget Week showcased the best of the best with Kyle Larson returning for a guest drive with KKM. Larson was joined by Bell and Abreu in an expanded Keith Kunz effort for the Indiana Midget Week opener.

Kyle Larson showed that his presence in NASCAR has not diminished his dirt track talent .driving the 1K Keith Kunz – Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Parker Store – Target/Bullet/Speedway Toyota Larson won the pole position after the strong qualifying and the win in heat four.. The Larson win came after being passed early by Thorson and then attacking his teammate for the next 23 laps before banging in a slider on lap 25 to move into the race lead with only 5 to run.clauson 2nd Montepelier

Thorson had been under heavy fire from Larson and Clauson but kept the pair searching for the opening while Christopher Bell was working his way out of a difficult start that had Oklahoma charger making up ground from his rear of the field starting position.

What an amazing effort by the Kunz Team to managing 8 race cars, keeping the drivers tuned in must be a massive effort and quite demoralizing f or some of the less experienced teams and driver’s .For Kunz drivers to take two of the three podiums position and the remaining 5 to finish the feature was a super effort.kunz at Montpelier

There can be no doubt that the old saying “the cream always rises to the top “and the podium at Montpelier of Kyle Larson, Bryan Clauson and Christopher Bell certainly underpins that.Larson’s successful return to the Midget was welcomed by the Midget mad crowd but you had to feel for Thorson after taking the race to and past the NASCAR star only to then fall back for a 18th final placing , disappointing but mark our words he will be back up front very quickly.

The Larson win was the 10th for the Kunz team and with the sixth different driver this season. The race win was Larson’s 4th career Indiana Midget Week win and his 13th USAC National Midget win.

The Resource fast time went to Christopher Bell from Chad Boat and Spencer Bayston and heat races wins went to Steve Buckwater, Carson Macedo, Rico Abreu and Kyle Larson.

Post race interview:larson wins USAC Montpelier

Kyle Larson  “That was a lot of fun.” Larson exclaimed.  “I didn’t think the top in (turns) one and two would be that great, but Tanner was able to rip around me.  I knew I was a lot better than him in (turns) three and four.  I just couldn’t quite figure out turn two.  I was getting beat pretty bad over there.  I don’t know if it just got cleaned off or what, but my grip off of turn two got a little better and I could stay closer to Tanner and then, eventually, throw the slider.  I had so much fun, though!  Thirty laps fly by in these races.  It’s so enjoyable to run with Keith (Kunz) and Pete (Willoughby).  They deserve all the attention that they’ve been getting the last few years.”

Bryan Clauson “It became a race between me and Kyle to see who could clear Tanner first,” Clauson explained.  “I got a run and threw something at him and Tanner got into me when he came back across and I let Kyle get by us.  We just started getting tight there at the end.  It might not have made a difference because it got tough to run once the track got real curby, but second is a solid start to “Indiana Midget Week.”

Christopher Bell “Staying out of trouble was huge,” Bell said with a sigh of relief.  “Everybody kept crashing each other and it got me on the first lap.  But once I got back there, they kept running into each other and I didn’t really feel like I passed a whole lot of cars.  I was good at the end; it just got to be so fast around the top that you couldn’t really slide anybody unless you had a big run like Kyle did.  I worked around the bottom really well, so that helped, but we just needed them to bottle up on the top one more time.”

Both Bell and Larson will be back for round two at Gas City but we understand Abreu will return for the Bloomington race with Bell .

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Buckwalter, 2. Windom, 3. Bacon, 4. Quin, 5. Bell, 6. Walker, 7. Ray, 8. Nocella, 9. Greth, 10. Hatton, 11. Baue. Ton raceNT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Macedo, 2. Boat, 3. Clauson, 4. Coons, 5. Biggs, 6. Kingshott, 7. Golobic, 8. Koontz, 9. Schuett, 10. Secrest, 11. Gray. 2:28.28

BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Abreu, 2. Bayston, 3. Shelton, 4. Darland, 5. Nelson, 6. DiMattia, 7. White, 8. Morton, 9. Conover, 10. Daum, 11. Neuman. NT

INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Larson, 2. Thorson, 3. Robinson, 4. Peck, 5. Thomas, 6. Jarrett, 7. Johnson, 8. Prock, 9. Fehr, 10. Gehrke, 11. Nemire. NT

C-MAIN: (10 laps) 1. Ray, 2. Neuman, 3. Kingshott, 4. Jarrett, 5. Hatton, 6. Morton, 7. Nemire, 8. Fehr, 9. Koontz, 10. Secrest. NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bell, 2. Daum, 3. Golobic, 4. Thomas, 5. Walker, 6. DiMattia, 7. Ray, 8. Nelson, 9. Jarrett, 10. Prock, 11. Schuett, 12. Neuman, 13. Biggs, 14. Kingshott, 15. Nocella, 16. Greth, 17. Gehrke. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Chad Boat, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Jimi Quin, 11. Zach Daum, 12. Spencer Bayston, 13. Kyle Schuett, 14. Rico Abreu, 15. Tony DiMattia, 16. Holly Shelton, 17. Gage Walker, 18. Tanner Thorson, 19. Carson Macedo, 20. Ryan Robinson, 21. Shane Golobic, 22. Justin Peck, 23. Steve Buckwalter. NT

NEXT USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 1 – Gas City, IN – Gas City I-69 Speedway – “Indiana Midget Week”

Photo credits USAC Racing ,Bryan Clauson Racing and  MAJ1K Motorsports

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Wilson stuns Outlaws at the Dirt Track

Greg Wilson stuns Outlaws at the Dirt TrackGreg Wilson wins woo

Greg Wilson with Hercules on his side stunned the Outlaws at the Dirt Track Charlotte with a come from behind last lap win. The Ohio based racer rarely races with the Outlaw event and his recent efforts have been disappointing.

The Dirt Track at Charlotte fans looked like installing Shane Stewart as early favorite when the Larson Marks entry posted quick time for the night .After the heats and dash had been decided the front row of the 30 lap Main was fronted by Daryn Pittman and Ohio’s Cole Duncan. Greg Wilson and Shane Stewart sat side by side on row two.Stewart fast

Cole Duncan surprised Pittman and led the charge for the first 4 laps before Stewart managed to squeeze ahead and lead into lap 5. By half race distance Wilson was back in 5th place with Pittman, Duncan, Saldana and Stewart ahead.

By the time the caution for Jason Sides was displayed with laps left in the book Saldana had fallen to 5th and Wilson had passed Pittman and was racing nicely in third place behind Duncan and Shane Stewart.

The race track appeared to be taking rubber and getting slick as the top three raced towards the finish. In a dramatic finish Greg Wilson must have summed the strength and wisdom of Hercules and with a stunning back straight move passed Duncan  first then with just the last corner to go move under Stewart as the Larson Marks driver could not hold his position and Stewart fell to second .Wilson had found the drive on the bottom of the track early and had his race car placed perfectly as he entered each corner and clearly managed the track condition better than those chasing and and the Ohio wheeler went on to record only his second Outlaw win .It was an amazing finish that brought the crowd to their feet cheering madly.wilson wins

Wilson’s first Outlaw win was last September at Eldora in the four Crowns event. It is not always the best funded teams that succeed and this case it was the driver who recognized the track conditions early and managed to place his race car in the right position, exactly what the Hercules Tire/Ohio Logistics No. W20 did..Congratulations Greg Wilson on a superb race wins.

Driver interviews: Greg Wilson  “It’s a little surreal right at the moment…I’m just in shock,” An emotional Wilson said. “I am racing with the best sprint car drivers in the world, night-in and night-out. We missed that show in New Egypt and looked like maybe we shouldn’t even be out here, and then we turned it around tonight.

“That’s dedicated work by our team and all of the people that are a part of this. I am truly grateful. Once again, if you’re not a Wilson fan, thank you for spending your hard-earned money to be here tonight.”

Shane Stewart “”It was good to have Justin [Marks] and Kyle [Larson] in the house, and to have a good finish for them,” Stewart added.”There’s a lot of Eneos Oil people back at the trailer too, so just a good solid finish for everybody at Larson Marks Racing. I love all these fans – it’s always a joy to come here to Charlotte.”

Cole Duncan “we’ve been fast all year but just can’t seem to find victory lane yet, but they got to be coming. We are pretty consistent and we keep putting the time and effort in. We’ll go back to the drawing board; we don’t have to change much but just try to figure out how to keep the tires on there.”

Complete race results :

.A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. W20-Greg Wilson [5][$12,000]; 2. 2-Shane Stewart [4][$5,700]; 3. 22-Cole Duncan [2][$3,500]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [1][$3,000]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$2,600]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8][$2,400]; 7. 19M-Brent Marks [18][$2,300]; 8. 83-Joey Saldana [6][$2,200]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [17][$2,150]; 10. 49-Brad Sweet [10][$2,100]; 11. 5-David Gravel [13][$1,600]; 12. 1x-Randy Hannagan [14][$1,350]; 13. 23-Trey Starks [15][$1,300]; 14. 7-Paul McMahan [3][$1,200]; 15. 41-Jason Johnson [11][$1,100]; 16. 13X-Tim Shaffer [9][$1,000]; 17. 7S-Jason Sides [12][$900]; 18. 7WD-Logan Wagner [16][$850]; 19. 98-Joe Trenca [19][$800]; 20. 8-Kevin Shelbo [21][$800]; 21. 67-Jake McLain [22][$800]; 22. 21B-Brandon McLain [23][$800]; 23. 13-Clyde Knipp [20][$800]; 24. 36D-Wayne Dadetto [24][$800]. Lap Leaders: Cole Duncan 1-4, Shane Stewart 5-29, Greg Wilson 30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 19M-Brent Marks [+11].

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car show will be back into the Hoosier State for a Memorial Day showdown at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on Monday, May 30.

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Kingshott flies the Aussie flag at POWRi

 Kingshott flies the Aussie flag at POWRiaussie flag

Western Australian Speedcar hot shot Dayne Kingshott has arrived in the US and will start his US racing tour this Friday night at Fayette Country Speedway in Brownstown Illinois.KIngshott

Facing a totally new track and  the force of the Keith Kunz Motorsports team Kingshott is sure to receive a full on welcome to midget racing with the POWRi pack.

First up facing Tanner Thorson and Zach Daum will be a tough assignment but the Bunbury” Buster” is campaign tough from races across Australia on a variety of different tracks.

Kingshott will be right in the middle of points clash between the leading POWRi National contenders Daum, Thorson and Felker and these guys will not want the Aussie intruder to milk points from them.

With a fresh race car under him and the energy and excitement this first up race will deliver I am expecting Dayne Kingshott to turn a few heads as powers out for his introduction laps in front of the Fayette crowd.

We will keep race fans up to date with all of Dayne Kingshott’s results as he works his way through this Midget Tour of POWRi and USAC Midget Shows.After this first up race at Fayette Speedway  the team will move across to Macon Speedway and do it all again.

 

 

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