Two wins and 4 top fives net Indiana Midget Week Championship -

Clauson Captivates Kokomo Crowd
Coons Jr., Gamblin, Armfield are also winners
By Derek Fisher

Rare is the day that the Kokomo Speedway is forced to share race cars and race fans with another motorsports facility. The uniqueness of hosting a program on the Sabbath ensures few head-to-head competitors, but every so often a track or series does dare to clash with the Davis Road institution. On these occasions, it's simply human nature to compare and contrast the racing action at each location and to pontificate about which one may have generated the best motorsports product.

In the coming days, there will certainly be more of that talk than usual due to the fact that the local oval was pitted opposite not one, but two regional dirt tracks running a similar card on Sunday night. With two classes of non-winged sprint cars competing at the venerable Terre Haute Action Track and yet another wingless field forming at Illinois' Shepp's Speedway, one had to wonder if Kokomo was the prudent choice at which to spend a spectating dollar.

After Sunday's USAC Indiana Midget Week finale that also featured OmniSource sprint cars, Rent-A-Center street stocks and thunder cars at the 62-year-old speed plant, are there really any questions?

Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr., Glen Gamblin and Gerald Armfield were the respective victors in the quadruple-header, putting a quartet of exclamation points on a program that could only be described as
sensational.

Clauson's triumph was easily the most special.

Beginning from inside the third row, the California native struggled with handling issues early on in the 30-lap midget main event and fell as far back as eighth in the opening stages. Helped along by a lap two shunt that eliminated contenders Chad Boat and Brad Sweet, as well as sent Coons to the tail of the field, Clauson found himself in the sixth position by the fifth circuit.

Still waiting on the racing surface to come to his liking, Clauson rode just outside the top five approaching the halfway point as polesitter Dave Darland, Steve Buckwalter and 2008 National Midget champion Cole Whitt -- who had started 16th -- dueled fiercely for the point.

Riding the high line, the lead trio battled in close proximity with Buckwalter's repeated low-side lunges at Darland adding heavy drama to the proceedings. Although Darland was scored the official leader of every circuit leading up to a lap 13 caution period, four separate times Buckwalter came within inches of stealing the lead at the line.

After the delay, Clauson began his surge. Stealing fourth from Kevin Swindell on lap 16, Clauson was a rocket in the low groove and began reeling in third-place Whitt immediately. Using one of Buckwalter's patented slides exiting the fourth turn, the show position was Clauson's at the conclusion of lap 19.

As Swindell faded, it was a four-car fight for the lead and by lap 21 Clauson was one position closer to the front after edging Buckwalter for second at the flagstand. Not to be outdone, the Pennsylvania shoe returned the favor the next time around, only to see Clauson retake the runner-up spot on the following circuit.

Still clinging to the bottom groove, Clauson's stalking of Darland was becoming more heated by the 24th lap. Surging off the moisture low in turn four, Clauson was second by less than a foot at the line on lap 25 and looked poised to take the lead once and for all before a third-turn tumble by Henry Clarke and Zach Daum halted the proceedings yet again.

With Buckwalter's machine faltering before the green period resumed, the war for first was a two-car affair; but not for long. When Darland moved low and into Clauson's path coming to the line to complete lap 27, Clauson simply blasted around the outside of the Lincoln veteran.

Race over.

"I kind of got mired back in traffic early," Clauson said from the All-Star Performance / Lowe's Racing Engines / Crume-Evans Insurance victory lane. "We were a little tight early on after they re-worked the
track and the car finally came to us in the middle of the race. I fought tooth and nail with Dave out there and I grew up watching him race, so this is pretty special."

Darland was matter-of-fact in his post-race comments.

"I saw Bryan under me all the time and without trying the bottom the whole race I didn't know what to expect," he said of his late attempt to take away Clauson's line. "He dove low into turn three and then got around me high out of four. We had a chance, we just blew it."

Darland slipped to third in the final tally behind a late-charging Brad Kuhn. Whitt was fourth and Swindell settled for fifth.