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Irwindale, CA., Nov. 26 – Bryan Clauson, 20, capped his USAC career-season Thursday night by winning the 69th running of the Lucas Oil USAC National and Western Series Thanksgiving Night Midget Grand Prix on the progressively-banked, paved half-mile Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The race ran a planned 98-laps in honor of the late race organizer J. C. Agajanian and car owner of Indianapolis 500 and sprint cars owner who used 98 on his race cars. About 5,000 spectators watched the former Sacramento-area resident who now resides in Noblesville, Indiana, become the 47th different winner of the prestigious granddaddy of midget racing classics. The event dates back 75 years to 1934 when the inaugural “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Gilmore Stadium in nearby Hollywood.
The Agajanian Promotions event took place at the state of the art Irwindale track for the 11th consecutive year. Clauson became the ninth different TNGP winner at the track and fourth consecutive first-time TNGP winner. As seventh fastest of 40 qualifiers, Clauson started seventh in a 32-car field that started straight-up based on qualifying times for the first seven rows and by finishing positions in two qualifying races for positions in following rows. The winner drove one of four Marc DeBeaumont-owned Beast/Esslinger Ford F & F Mechanical cars in the race. Other team cars finished second and fifth to claim 60% of the top five finishing positions. Clauson's winning team, owned by San Francisco area resident and past USAC Midget feature winning driver DeBeaumont, earned $6,000 from the $33,000 purse posted by TS@I management .
Clauson raced successfully as a NASCAR developmental driver in Chip Ganassi's No. 40 Nationwide Series last year with some top five and top ten finishes. He returned to his USAC open-wheel roots after 2009 sponsorship for his stock car career did not materialize. The TNGP victory put the icing on an already strong season in which he won 11 features (seven in USAC National events and four regional events). His 2009 triumphs include the prestigious Belleville (Kan.) Midget Nationals on July 31, the Night Before the Brickyard 400 midget race at ORP in Clermont, Indiana, and the Indiana Midget Week championship on Midwestern dirt tracks. He also finished second, only two points short of capturing the USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks 2009 title that Levi Jones won..
Clauson started seventh and climbed to fourth place by lap 8. A battling four-car lead pack at lap 20 had Josh Wise leading, Jerome Rodela second, Garrett Hansen third and Clauson fourth. Rodela and Hansen exchanged second twice between laps 5 and 10. Clauson took second on lap 22 and trailed leader Wise by 30 yards at lap 25. He reeled in Wise by lap 40 and made his winning pass on the inside entering the third turn on lap 41 as they lapped 2007 TNGP winner Dave Darland, who drove a Cory Kruseman Beast/Mopar. Once he took charge Clauson opened a steady 40-yard lead and won by 2.981 seconds in a 40:45.074-time race that averaged 72.145 mph despite two caution flags.
TOP TEN
Levi Roberts, a 19-year old Broomfield, Colo, resident, started third as the third fastest qualifier and faded to eighth within three laps. He charged back to third place on lap 75 and took second a lap later from Wise, the lap 1-41 race lap leader as brake problems slowed Wise's effort. Roberts, in his first TNGP feature on his second attempt, won the Don Basile Rookie of the Race award in a field of nine TNGP rookies. He drove a DeBeaumont F & F Mechanical Beast/Esslinger Ford and collected $3,200. Wise, the fastest qualifier of 40 at 16.705 in the No. 11 Wilke-Pak Spike/Stanton Toyota, finished third, 5.972 seconds behind Clauson. Wise also was a 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series developmental driver in Michael Waltrip's No. 00 Toyota Camry. He returned to his USAC front running ways after 2009 sponsorship did not happen. His third place run earned $2,100 for his Wisconsin-based team.
Second starter Jerome Rodela, the 2005-06 USAC Western Midget champion, placed fourth, 7.394 seconds back, in his own Beast/Toyota. He won $1,500. Tanner Swanson, the 18-year old 2008-09 USAC 360 Western Sprint champion, made his TNGP debut and started 19th in one of four DeBeaumont Beast/Esslinger Fords. He moved into fifth position on lap 70 and remained there, earning $1,200 for his impressive effort. The second highest rookie finisher was 11.640 seconds in back of the winner. Brad Sweet came from 12th starting slot to finish sixth in Kasey Kahne's Beast/TRD Toyota. He earned $1,000. Hansen slipped to seventh in his father Gary's Hansen Welding Beast/Fontana.
Alex Bowman, a 16-year old member of the stellar 2009 TNGP rookie class and the 2008 USAC Ford Focus National Midget champion, came from 28th grid position to finish eighth. He was the last driver on the lead lap. It was his sixth full midget race in the ex-Bobby East 2007 Beast. Bowman won four of five USAC Ford Focus features on the TS@I third-mile track last year. Indianapolis 500 veteran Davey Hamilton, the 2008 TNGP runner-up, drove the same Rev 1 Racing ART/Esslinger Ford from 20th to ninth. Dakota Armstrong rounded out the top ten in his Beast/Mopar. He took home $725 after being lapped by Clauson on lap 97. There were 16 cars still racing when IRL Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Howard waved the checkered flag. Early leader Wise recorded the fastest lap of the race at 17.278 (104.481 mph). Rodela's 17.274 and Clauson's 17.278 were the next quickest laps.
POINT RACES
New USAC National Midget champion Brad Kuhn, from Avon, Ind., entered the TNGP with a 53-point lead over Sweet. Kuhn also was the the National Midget Driver of the Year point leader with two races remaining. The 28-year old Hoosier had won USAC's November 21 feature at Ventura for a $5,000 payday. On lap 12 of the TNGP 98-lap USAC season finale Kuhn spun into the second turn wall along with Scott Pierovich. Kuhn drove his RW Racing Beast/Fontana to the pits but a mechanical failure prevented his return. Kuhn's retirement left the door ajar for Sweet to win his first USAC National Midget driving championship in the final race as Cole Whitt had done in the 2008 TNGP. Sweet needed a third place finish or better to claim the 2009 USAC National Midget championship. His ultimate sixth place finish was 7.649 seconds in back of third finisher Wise. Sweet settled for second place in final 2009 USAC points with 1,231. He was only eight points behind Kuhn's 1,239 total. Clauson finished eighth in 2009 USAC National Midget points with 900. Hansen earned his first USAC championship with 1,123 Western Midget Series points. He beat runner-up Rodela by 123 points despite missing about seven races because his USAC-CRA 410 sprint car effort. He also finished a career-best third in final 2009 USAC-CRA 410 cu. in. sprint car driver points.
The initial start at 8:54 pm followed a perfect parade lap of eight rows with 32 midgets four abreast. Adam Kramer's 22nd starting car pulled high in the fourth turn at the green flag and eventually stalled as a two-car crash occurred on the backstretch. Jason Leffler, the 1999 and 2005 TNGP winner and a NASCAR Nationwide Series top five in driver in 2009 points, and Darren Hagen collided and stalled. Leffler, driving the No. 45 Western Speed Racing Gerhardt/Toyota that Bobby Santos III drove to victory in the 2008 TNGP, ran up a wheel of Hagen's car. Hagen's RFMS No. 3 Spike/Esslinger Ford spun out and Leffler's car ran into the back of Hagen's. Both cars were sidelined. A complete two-abreast restart followed at 9:01 pm.
Santos,from Massachusetts, was trying to become the first back-to-back TNGP winner since Indy 500 veteran Billy Boat turned a triple in TNGP races from 1995-97 at dirt tracks in Bakersfield, Perris and Ventura. Santos drove his Santos No. 98 Beast/Esslinger and was still racing towards the top ten on lap 52 when he stopped near the third turn crash-wall with a mechanical problem that ended his race. The yellow flag flew from lap 52 through 57. On lap 64 Wise passed leader Clauson on the inside entering the second turn and again led the race briefly. However, Clauson darted to the inside exiting turn two and reclaimed the point for keeps before the third turn.
Clauson said “This is awesome. I ran here two or three times and had great cars and feel I threw some away. I got the motor running, stayed calm early and saved my tires. With 98-laps on soft right rears you have to save your tires and brakes. The track changed a bit in turns three and four so I changed grooves to pass lapped cars. I tried to be careful early. There was dipping and diving. I saw the 11 car (Wise) under me a couple of times. This is unbelievable. It's one of those races you grow up wanting to win. Being with Cary (Agajanian) as my agent it's one I wanted to win and hang on the wall. Clauson added, “It was Marc's dream to have two of his cars battling for the turkey night win. He has three full-time employees and there were six guys at the track tonight working on four cars. I'm happy to have my father (Tim) and grandfather (Bob) here tonight. My only regret this year is losing the Indiana Sprint Week title by two points.” Asked later by media about his NASCAR career, Clauson said he was fortunate to race the NNS No. 40 Ganassi stock car. “We (Ganassi and Clauson) still have a good relationship.” It appears NASCAR's loss is USAC's gain with both Clauson and Wise back in open-wheel racing. Clauson said his 2010 racing plans call for more USAC dirt and paved track midget and sprint car racing, and Silver Crown Series action.
Second finisher Roberts stated, “That's the longest race I ever ran. I had trouble with the motor on restarts and dropped positions on restarts. I thought I could win with 15 laps to go and hit a wall with five laps to go. I'll run as many paved races as I can next year in Beast midgets plus a few sprint car races. I'll also race a Spike dirt track midget for Bryan Clauson. Thanks to my entire DMS Driver Challenge team.” Wise said, “My car didn't have it on the long runs. I have to come back and try to win.” Clauson's best prior TNGP finish was fifth in 2007. Wise scored a third place in 2006. New USAC National Midget champion Kuhn also came to finish line ceremonies in his No. 17B RW Racing midget. “It's not the way I wanted to win (the 2009 championship). I'll race for Scott Benic again next year and try to win the USAC National Midget championship again and win some big races that got away from us. I'll race in the Tulsa Chili Bowl event in January. It's a big race, pays big, and I'll race for a win.”
The 14 fastest qualifiers earned automatic berths in the TNGP 98-lap feature. Qualifying times ranged from 16.705 by Wise to 16.901 14th fastest Whitt. The one-lap track record is 16.556 (108.722 mph) by Dave Steele at the 2003 TNGP. Qualifiers 15th and slower raced in a pair of 12-lap qualifying races that started 13 cars in each race straight-up by qualifying times. Odd number positions started in the first qualifier and even number positions started in the second qualifier. The first eight finishers in each qualifying race transferred to the back of the feature in rows eight through 15 in the order of their finishing positions in the two qualifying races. Two provisional starters, Brad Loyet and Henry Clarke, used USAC National provisional starting positions and joined the feature in row 16. Kody Swanson won the first 12 lap qualifying race by 0.427 over Tracy Hines in a time of 8:15.355 in a race with a two-car spin on the initial lap. Chad Boat captured the second 12 lap race by 0.193 over Bobby Santos in a 3:26.027 race with an average speed of 104.841 mph.
(USE BOXSCORE & POINT STANDINGS FROM USAC HQ.)
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