11/11/2015
Cole Wood
MWR/Bryan Clauson – Strong Finish in Charlotte!
MWR/Bryan Clauson – Strong Finish in Charlotte!
(Bill W) November 11, 2015 – The Matt Wood Racing #17w team and driver Bryan Clauson had a strong showing in their final event of 2016 last weekend at The Dirt Track in Charlotte, North Carolina. On Friday, the Noblesville, Indiana driver recorded a top five finish in the prelim. Sunday, he was poised to do the same before he had nowhere to go when a car spun in front of him. While the year came to a close for the #17w team, Bryan will head for Perris, California and this weekend’s Oval Nationals driving for Joe Dooling.
Thursday in Charlotte saw qualifying. Bryan would time in fourth quick for both Friday and Sunday (postponed from Saturday) programs. “Thursday was obviously very important for us,” he says. “With the group of cars that were there, and the quality of the field, we did well. Setting ourselves up for the weekend was great. We were able to time in fourth quick in our group for both nights and that was perfect for the way the format was. We were able to put some things that we learned with the Outlaws last time to use.”
Staring outside row one of his heat Friday, he would win on a heavy, rutty track, and put himself into the Dash. “We were able to get the jump from the outside, which wasn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do,” says Bryan. “We were able to get out front, and had another good restart late there to beat Kerry (Madsen) to turn one and hold those guys off.”
Bryan would finish eighth in the Dash after starting sixth. “I made a mistake in turn one, and got myself a little tight,” he says. “I got over the cushion and let two guys get by. That wasn’t ideal with the way the track was. You had to take a little risk to make something happen and we didn’t quite get it done.”
The feature would see him climb from eighth to fifth. “It was a good run for us,” says Bryan. “There was one point in the race where we were battling with (eventual winner) Dusty (Zomer). The way restarts played out, we never felt we were in the right lane. We kind of got stuck on the bottom on those. When the track’s like that, you have to make it happen on the restarts. We never quite got to lapped traffic. Overall, we had really good speed all night long.”
After Saturday’s rainout, Bryan would finish second in his heat on Sunday. “It was a lot slicker on Sunday,” he says. We took two good runs at Sammy (Swindell), on the start and on a restart. We were able to stay with him, but never had a good shot to get by him.”
He would start fourth in the Dash. “We were able to make a move by Brad (Sweet) for third, and we actually slid (Logan) Schuchart for second, but he was able to cross back under us,” says Bryan. “That was a huge spot when you consider starting third or starting on the front row. He did a great job of getting back by us.”
Bryan would start inside row two for the finale. “We were kind of in the wrong lane there on the start,” he says. “We fell back to fifth. The car was really strong. We were running with (Shane) Stewart and Sweet at that point in the race. We were logging laps until we got to traffic there. Trey Starks got into the wall and we really had nowhere to go. It was a bummer, because we were running with the guys that ended up in the top three and we were getting better.”
The team has come a long way in 2015. “We’ve worked hard all year to get where we are,” says Bryan. “The World Finals is a good judge of where you’re at heading into the offseason. We were really strong all weekend, and I think we showed what we’re capable of. We started the year making just one of the Outlaw shows in California, and we ended the year with what could have been two top fives at one of the toughest events in the country.”
Matt Wood Racing would like to thank: Elk Grove Ford, Quick Lane, Fuel Safe, Schoenfeld and Vortex Wings!
To follow the Matt Wood Racing’s progress online, visit www.ColeWoodRacing.com!
Follow Bryan Clauson online at www.BryanClauson.com!
Photo: Bryan competes in Charlotte (Ayers Racing Images)
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