A runner-up finish in last night’s season-ending Oval Nationals at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway earned former Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson (pictured, from the “500” in 2012) his second consecutive USAC National Sprint Car championship, making him the eighth driver in USAC history to win back-to-back series titles.
He claims the 2013 Sprint Car title by a 63-point margin over Dave Darland, who led the 40-lap feature at Perris wire-to-wire but had to deal with Clauson over the final laps before beating him by .106 of a second.
Clauson now has six USAC titles altogether, which includes three National Driver Championships from 2010-2012, the two Sprint Car championships from 2012 and 2013, and the 2011 National Midget title.
This season, he collected seven race wins, 21 Top-5, and 30 Top-10 finishes in the Sprint Car series.
“Winning back-to-back Sprint Car titles is special considering they were won in different scenarios,” Clauson said in a statement. “The first one last year was with my family team – a team we had built from the ground up. And then I came over to Tony Stewart Racing, which has such a rich history of not only winning races, but championships too.
“Being able to continue that championship tradition is pretty special.”
It also marks the 14th USAC crown for Stewart as an owner; he now has seven Sprint Car titles to go along with his seven Silver Crown titles, the most recent having been won by Bobby East back in September.
“So much work goes into a season like this,” Stewart said in his own statement. “The dedication that’s required, along with the time and effort of so many people, make moments like this incredibly special.
“Bryan Clauson and the entire team were really focused on what they wanted to achieve before the season event started and they all saw it through.”