IRWINDALE, California — Bryan Clauson, a 21-year old transplanted Californian from Antelope (near Sacramento) now living in Noblesville, Ind., celebrated Thanksgiving by winning his second consecutive USAC Mopar National/Western Midgets 98-lap Turkey Night Grand Prix Midget Classic.
The event ran for the 12th consecutive year on the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale progressively-banked half-mile. The 70th running of the prestigious midget event, which dates to 1934 at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, attracted about 4,800 spectators on a chilly evening that dropped into the low 40s by the end of the 33-minute race. He drove the No. 39 NOS Energy Drink Beast/TRD Toyota entered by Corey Tucker, Keith Kunz and Clauson; Racing.
Clauson started third in the straight-up starting lineup for the 14 fastest qualifiers and became the fourth different leader on lap 9. He led the rest of the race to the checkered flag from starter Bryan Howard, the Indianapolis 500 starter. His triumph gave Clauson the 2010 USAC National Midget driving championship by 138 points over Jerry Coons, Jr. (1,571-1,433). He also won the 2010 USAC National Drivers Championship by accumulating the highest point total in 25 USAC National races. Clauson entered the TNGP five points ahead of Levi Jones, who was not present for the final USAC National race.
INDY LIGHTS SCHOLARSHIP: The USAC National Driver Champion title carried a $40,000 prize as well as a $300,000 Firestone Indy Lights scholarship program that awarded him an Indy Lights car for all six oval track Firestone Indy Lights 2011 races, including the Firestone 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next May. He will drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The happy winner said, I'll race in the USAC Silver Crown race at the Indy Fairgrounds on Friday and the 2.5-mile Indy Motor Speedway the next day. I'm really looking forward to it. Schmidt was present at TS@I Thursday along with IZOD Indy car Series President Randy Bernard to witness the TNGP and talk about the Indy Lights scholarship. The program's stated goal is to provide grass-roots USAC drivers a path to competing in the Indianapolis 500. Clauson's best 25 USAC National race finishes this year included ten feature victories, nine seconds and seven thirds.
The TS@I promoted TNGP paid a $33,000 purse and Clauson's team took home $6,000. With Clauson leading in points at mid-season, Kunz bought a Beast chassis to allow him to compete for USAC National victories on both paved and dirt tracks. Clauson raced during 2008 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the No. 40 Chip Ganassi's team and he aspires to race on large tracks again. He won the 2009 TNGP driving Marc DeBeaumont's Beast/Esslinger Ford. The Agajanian family,which is the TNGP race organizer, was presented the Roger McCluskey Award of Excellence during pre-race ceremonies.
NEW LAP RECORD: During late afternoon qualifying, 36 drivers ran a pair of laps. Kyle Hamilton, from Danville, Ind., was 20th to qualify and the 18-year old rookie set a new one-lap track record of 16.521 to break the 16.556 record set by Dave Steele on November 27, 2003. Then 25th qualifier Tanner Swanson, subbing for injured Darren Hagen in Don Fike's RFMS Beast/Esslsinger Ford, tied his 16.521 mark. Kody Swanson came out 30th in the No. 11 Wilke-Pac Spike/Toyota and set the new record of 16.472 on his second lap to secure the NTR. The cooler than usual day contributed to NTRs in two of the three USAC divisions competing at the TNGP. The 360 sprint mark also fell. The 14th fastest midget time was Tracy Hines' 16.795; 24 drivers ran sub-17-second laps in the impressive field.
A pair of 12-lap qualifying races split qualifiers 15-36 into two races with the first eight finishers in each advancing to the feature.
The 100-lap distance was reduced in 2007 to honor the late J. C. Agajanian. Davey Hamilton was running sixth on the final lap when a following car hit and spun his car to the fourth turn grass. He continued in tenth and missed transferring to the main by two spots. Garrett Hansen, after missing the 2010 season with a racing injury, started second and led all 12 laps in the first race. Josh Wise, a past USAC multi-series champion, started third and led the final ten laps of the second qualifying race. The NASCAR Nationwide Series driver, who finished 25th in points after racing in only 25 races for about five teams, drove a second Don Fike Beast/Esslinger. The two qualifying race winners earned row eight starting spots. Drivers finishing second through eighth lined up in the feature in following rows based on their finishing positions in the qualifying races.
98-LAP MAIN: Following the two preliminary features for Ford Focus Midgets and 360 Sprint cars, 32 midgets, including two provisional starters (one national and one Western) received the green flag at 9:32 pm. Four past TNGP winners were in the field. Swanson led the first lap from the pole. Dakoda Armstrong paced laps 2-3 after starting sixth. Cole Whitt, who has raced in NASCAR stock cars this season, came from ninth starting to lead laps 4-8. Clauson, after dropping to fifth for two laps, climbed to third by lap 4. He was second at lap 5 and first on lap 9 as the top three drivers Clauson, Whitt and Armstrong raced in a tight pack. The first caution flag flew at lap 29 for a stalled car. Clauson opened a straightaway lead by lap 60.
The Armstrong team three cars (7A, 7C and 7D) ran in the top five positions on the scoring pylon at mid-race. At crossed flags Clauson led Whitt, Dakoda Armstrong, TNGP rookie Kyle Hamilton in the No. 9 Steve Lewis Beast/Esslinger Ford, Caleb Armstrong, Bobby East, Dalton Armstrong, Bobby Santos III, K. Swanson and Wise. Second place Whitt retired to the infield on lap 51 with an ignition problem.
The second and final caution flag consumed laps 70-79 after Zach Daum slid into the fourth turn wall and stopped. The caution flag eliminated Clauson's straight-away lead. On the lap 80 green there were 20 cars on the track and 14 were on the lead lap. The Armstrong Armada Beast/Toyotas of teenage drivers (two brothers and a first cousin) from New Castle, Indiana then asserted themselves. Cousin Caleb, 18, and Dalton passed Hamilton for second and third positions and Dakoda, 19, was fifth. Clauson did not extend his lead by more than ten yards to the checkered flag because he experienced a handling problem. He disclosed later to the media that he ran over debris and his right front tire was going flat during the closing laps.
Clauson received the checkered flag at 10:06 pm with a slim 0.432 second lead over Caleb Armstrong (7C), Dalton Armstrong (7A), K. Hamilton, 2004 TNGP winner East, Dakoda Armstrong (7D), two-time TNGP winner and now NASCAR Nationwide top ten driver Jason Leffler, 2008 TNGP winner Santos, Wise and Chad Nichols completed the top ten. All finished within eight seconds of the winner. Second through sixth place paid $3,200, $2,100, $1,500, $1,200 and $1,000, so the Armstrong team made their 32-hour tow from Indiana pay off with a three-car total of $6,300 or $300 more than winner Clauson received. The winner said he has won some of the biggest races in USAC already and his next goal is to win the Chili Bowl indoor midget classic at Tulsa in January.
ROOKIE OF RACE: With six midget drivers first-time TNGP main event participants, the lap 80 pass of Hamilton gave Dalton Armstrong the 2010 Don Basile Memorial Rookie of the race Award. Hamilton trailed third place Dalton A by 0.381 seconds. Past Basile rookie award winners include: Kasey Kahne, Dave Steele, East, two-time USAC Western Midget driving champion Jerome Rodela, Kevin Swindell, K. Swanson, Nic Faas and Levi Roberts, the 2009 runner-up to Clauson. Twenty of 32 starters finished with 15 drivers on the lead lap. Two trailed by a lap, one was down two laps, and two were four laps back. Runner-up Caleb Armstrong ran the fastest lap of the race at 17.008 (86.750 mph) trying to catch winner Clauson, whose best lap was 17.014. Clauson's No. 39 team won the USAC Midget owners championship.
The USAC Western Midget Series had a three-way battle for the 2010 drivers championship among three drivers seeking that title for the first time. On November 13 at Tulare, Calif. Alex Schutte took the point lead from past sprint car champion Cory Kruseman, his mentor. Robby Josett was within striking distance entering the TNGP. Kruseman had to use a Western Series provisional to start 32nd (last) in the TNGP and dropped out on lap 6. Josett retired on lap 29, handing the 2010 Western crown to Schutte, who finished in P. 17, down a lap in Jerome Rodela's 2010 car owner championship Beast/Toyota. In final points, Schutte had 711, Kruseman 674 and Josett 661.
