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2016 INDY 500 DRIVER, BRYAN CLAUSON, IN THE LINEUP AT LAWTON SPEEDWAY WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Every now and then sports fans are treated to greatness, and right now its race fans who are watching Bryan Clauson accomplish amazing things on race tracks of all sizes. Clauson competed on perhaps the biggest stage racing has seen in years with the 100^th running of the Indianapolis 500 back on Memorial Day Weekend, and this Wednesday he’ll be on the track at Lawton Speedway.

Lawton Speedway is hosting a midweek event featuring the National Tour of the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS). The track has hosted this midweek event in the past and back in 2013 it attracted former NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart to race. Stewart didn’t have much luck on that particular night. This time things could be much different for the outside challenger as Clauson races on dirt tracks nearly every night. The Indiana native has already raced in 14 different states this year and been to victory lane in 9 of them for more than 20 wins so far.

Here’s a look at what Clauson has accomplished in the last couple of weeks. On May 29^th Clauson led some laps in the Indianapolis 500 before finishing in 23^rd. He climbed out of the car and hustled down the road to Kokomo, Indiana where he raced a non-wing sprint car that evening and took it to victory lane. Clauson also parked a car in the winners circle on May 31^st, June 1^st, 2^nd, 5^th, 7^th, & 9^th.  

“Circular Insanity” – that’s what Clauson and team are calling 2016 as they’re attempting to compete in 200 races. His schedule and results from the Chasing 200 Tour are available online at www.bryanclauson.com.

While attempting to race 200 times is mind boggling, the rate at which Clauson is winning may be more unbelievable. Clauson commented early last week “It’s been a really cool eight days, I haven’t really had time to sit down and think about it yet but it has been special to have the opportunity to do what we’ve been doing.” 

Wednesday night Clauson will have the chance to add to his win total, but it may be one of the tougher races of his schedule. It’ll be a challenge for Clauson because some of the other drivers that’ll be on the track have superb resumes in their own right.  Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson is the 2001 ASCS National Champion and he is very tough to beat at Lawton Speedway. New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera is at the top of the current ASCS standings and has been racing for 31 years. Herrera spent 13 years running full time with the World of Outlaws. Missouri’s Brad Loyet has 3 POWERi National Midget Titles and came up just a few points short of winning the 2014 ASCS National Championship after leading much of the year. Finding a way to beat the competition on Wednesday would be a fantastic birthday present for Clauson who will celebrate his 27^th birthday at Lawton Speedway.

Lawton and the Lawton Speedway will also get some national television exposure from this race as the event will be turned into a full hour broadcast for playback at a later date on national television on MAVTV. MAVTV is available on DIRECTV channel 214 as well as many other cable providers across the country. MAVTV has quickly become the channel for motorsports enthusiasts as there is all kinds of racing shown. MAVTV is owned by Lucas Oil and the race at Lawton Speedway will be recorded and produced by the award winning Lucas Oil Production Studios based out of Corona, California.

Gates will open at 5pm and racing is scheduled to begin at 8:30pm. In addition to the ASCS National Sprint Car Tour, the evening will also include racing from Limited Modifieds and Mini Stocks. For ticket information call 580-355-6417 or visit www.LawtonSpeedway.com. The race track is located 1 ½ miles south of Lee Blvd on Sheridan Road.

David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com