Bryan Clauson rolled into the Budweiser Oval Nationals with a slim seven point lead over Dave Darland in the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car points standings with only two races to go.  Clauson looked very strong on Friday night as he led wire-to-wire to take the feature win at Perris Auto Speedway.  He would power to the lead from his outside pole starting position and hold off a few challenges for the lead to take the victory over Jon Stanbrough in second, Dave Darland in third, Tracey Hines in fourth, and Nic Faas rounded out the top-five. 

After the race Clauson said, “I knew that I had to get a good run off turn-four and get my momentum up on those restarts.  I swear we won that thing twice before we actually got it, but they gave me a great car to finish it off.  Coming into tonight, it was me and Dave, and he’s a guy I’ve looked up to all my life.  I knew it wouldn’t be easy tonight, and it surely won’t be tomorrow night, either.  We’ve got a battle on our hands, but tonight was a big step.”  The victory helped Clauson to extend his points lead to eight points over Darland heading into the final race on Saturday.

Saturday night at the Budweiser Oval Nationals featured a thrilling battle for the win and a battle for the championship between Clauson and Darland.  Tracey Hines shot to the lead at the drop of the green flag from his outside pole starting position.  Hines would lead most of the 40 lap feature as his challengers stayed close and had a great battle amongst themselves as Mike Spencer, Stanbrough, Clauson, Darland, and Damion Gardner battled for a spot in the top-five.  Several late cautions gave Spencer the chance he needed to get around Hines for the popular victory in front of his hometown crowd which was also his first Budweiser Oval Nationals win that came along with a $12,500 payday. 

Mike Spencer #50 Battles With Bryan Clauson #7 at Perris Auto Speedway (Photo Source: Manvel Motorsports)

In victory lane Spencer said, “This is huge for all of us from California.  We’ve been getting beaten by the National guys the last few years.  It’s good that the local guy won here tonight, and bring it back to the West Coast.  I’m proud of that.  We’ve been trying a long time, and been close, and I need to thank everybody who has helped us get here.  I can’t thank my car owner Ron Chaffin and my crew chief Bruce Bromme enough, along with all of our crew.  This is the goal every year, and it’s sweet to finally get it.”  Hines held on for the runner-up spot in front of third-place Stanbrough, Gardner in fourth, Darland in fifth, and championship points leader Clauson in sixth.  The finish helped Clauson win the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car title by a mere five points over Dave Darland. 

Clauson spoke about his narrow championship win saying, “It’s unbelievable to have the year that we’ve had, and come back from missing some races.  I can’t say enough about my team.  I started to mix it up with those guys, but after that last red, the tire was going down and I just had to try to salvage.  I thought I might be able to catch those guys sleeping down there, but I’m happy for Mike to win the race.  I knew coming in that beating Dave was not gonna be easy, and we were gonna have to be on our game.  It was a war, especially on those last two laps to finish it off.  We held on, and we’re champions, and that sounds good.”  Stanbrough would finish third in points with Hines in fourth and Gardner in fifth.  For more information on the USAC National Sprint Car Series fans can visit www.usacracing.com.