Bryan Clauson didn’t end his 2010 season with any national championships, but it would be hard to wrap up a season any stronger than he did. Clauson had an impressive weekend in Southern California, winning the 69th Turkey Night Grand Prix midget race at Irwindale Speedway on Thursday night and capping off the weekend by taking home the USAC/CRA Glenn Howard Memorial at Perris Auto Speedway.
Clauson won both races in dominating fashion. At Turkey Night, he passed Josh Wise on lap 41 of the 98-lap race on the paved half-mile track and never looked back, adding the most prestigious midget race on the West Coast to his earlier victories this season in major events including the Belleville Midget Nationals, the Night Before the 500 and Indiana Sprint Week.
While Clauson was handling the field on Thursday night, Brad Kuhn was hanging on for dear life. Kuhn came into the race with a seemingly comfortable lead over Brad Sweet for the USAC National Midget Series title, but lost a brake caliper after making contact with the wall early in the race and eventually went out in 28th place.
His misfortune opened the door for Brad Sweet to claim the title. Sweet needed to finish third or better in order to win his first career USAC title but could only climb as high as seventh by the checkered flag, giving Kuhn the crown by just eight points.
On Saturday night, Clauson showed his versatility by backing up his pavement midget victory with a dirt sprint car victory, leading all 30 laps to take the victory on the half-mile track ahead of Tony Jones and Damion Gardner. Mike Spencer, who came into the race having already clinched a repeat of his USAC/CRA title, finished fourth, while David Cardey’s fifth-place finish was enough to secure the No. 2 spot in the final series rankings ahead of Garrett Hansen.
Also at Irwindale on Turkey Night, Cole Whitt led all 40 laps to take the USAC Western Sprint Car race, while Garrett Peterson won the California Pavement Ford Focus race.
Comments