Biography
Safe to say, Bryan Clauson schooled his counterparts in the USAC National Midget Series during the 2010 season. With 10 feature victories, two seconds and seven third-place finishes ,capped by his second consecutive win in the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix in Irwindale, Calif., Clauson not only earned the USAC National Midget Series championship, but also the inaugural USAC National Drivers Championship that goes to the top competitor in all three USAC national divisions (Silver Crown, Sprints and Midgets).
By winning the USAC National Drivers Championship,Clauson earned the chance to go to school in 2011 with a $300,000 scholarship from INDYCAR to compete in the six oval races of the Firestone Indy Lights Series, which he is pleased to do with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Last season in the USAC ranks is thus far the high point in a stellar racing career that saw Clauson start out in Quarter Midgets in his native California at the age of five. He progressed through the Midget and Sprint car ranks at an accelerated pace and scored numerous Rookie of the Year honors at local tracks throughout the Midwest. In 2005, after becoming the youngest National Midget feature winner in USAC history, Clauson was signed to the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver development program. He competed in the ARCA Series in 2007, scoring a win at Gateway Raceway near St. Louis among his four top-five finishes, and in 2008 was runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with one top-five, two top-10s and a pole position for the Ganassi team.
After a stellar 2009 USAC season that featured the Indiana Midget Week championship and his first Turkey Night Grand Prix title, Clauson signed to drive for Tony Stewart Racing alongside Levi Jones in Silver Crown in 2010 and was the ‘Rookie of the Year’ in that series. Clauson recorded his first USAC Silver Crown Series feature event victory at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on September 25, 2010.
When not racing, Clauson enjoys playing golf, basketball and bowling. He also enjoys spending down time behind the wheel of his 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, which is his “most prized possession.” Clauson is also an avid football fan, ranking the Indianapolis Colts as his favorite professional NFL team.
