Bryan Clauson in the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Toyota Speedway Grabs 2011 NMDOTY Championship
- Jan 30, 2012
"Anytime you show up at Irwindale, the competition is really tough," he continued. "Turkey Night is one of the marquee races of the year for us, and it brings cars from all over the country at the season's end." In order to proclaim the NMDOTY title, Clauson had to finish in the top 7 spots. When asked the key to meeting his goals, the driver said, "The key to winning the race was a well-balanced car that stays good over a long run. Turkey Night is ninety-eight laps, which is a long run for us, so you have to make sure you have tire left to race with at the end."
As he had suspected the race proved to be exciting. In fact the battle between the top eight cars shuffled the standings several times. Although he didn't take the checkered flag, Clauson did manage to finish high enough in the field of drivers to capture the title over two-time NMDOTY Champion Brad Kuhn by three points, deeming him the first three-time winner in the thirteen year history of the award. When asked what separates him from other drivers, Bryan Clauson explained, "I'd say the people I've surrounded myself with and the partners that we have on our race team, from car owners all the way down to our product sponsors. I've been very fortunate to build this team and surround myself with great people. We've got a great group of guys that build and repair great race cars. They make my job of going out and winning races a heck of a lot easier. They all allow and contribute to our success on the race track," he continued, "I've personally been able to gain a lot of experience in a lot of different race cars at a young age, and I'm able to draw from that experience to be successful in whatever I strap into."
"The key to our success during the 2011 season has been resilience," shared Clauson. "We've had some mechanical issues throughout the year and some bugs we needed to get worked out, but we're always able to come up with wins and finishes when it mattered most." Along with his team, Bryan Clauson considers maintenance as a key element to success in the racing world. That said they depend upon K&N products to keep the internal components of their engines well-lubed and contaminant-free. "Proper maintenance is huge," explained the driver, "especially when you are competing for a year-long title. The midget title came down to fifteen points, which is five positions over twenty three races; one more mechanical failure and we lose the championship. K&N products have played a big role in our race team," continued Clauson, "The products we use have always performed flawlessly and have allowed us to maintain a championship caliber race team. We use K&N air filters, oil filters, cleaner and degreaser. We've been using them since 2004." Referring to 2012, Bryan Clauson said, "Next season is an exciting year for me, with everything we have going on in the Indy side of things. But I will still be racing USAC pretty much full-time, when it doesn't conflict with my Indy car races." When asked what he enjoys most about the sport of racing, Bryan continued, "I enjoy the travel, and the family atmosphere the sport provides. At the end of the day, we're all one big racing family." In closing Bryan Clauson said, "I'd like to say thank you to all of my sponsors and fans. Without them we wouldn't be able to do what we love to do- race." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
