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Bayston Busts Through For First USAC Midget Win at Gas City

Flawless is the only word to describe Spencer Bayston's performance Wednesday night in the second round of the 12th annual "Indiana Midget Week" at Gas City I-69 Speedway. The Lebanon, Indiana driver quickly shot to the lead from the pole position at the drop of the green flag and ran 30 straight laps without turning a wheel wrong to earn his first career USAC National Midget victory.

Bayston, the 2015 USAC National Midget "Rookie of the Year," began the race alongside fellow front row starter Zach Daum. It was Bayston who got the better of the two as the field headed for the bottom of the racetrack in the opening laps.

By the eight circuit, Bayston moved up a lane to run the middle as Daum, Kyle Larson and Bryan Clauson gave chase. However, on lap nine, Chase Johnson barrel-rolled his machine in turn four to bring about the first stoppage of the feature.

On the ensuing restart, Daum got to the inside of Bayston for the lead, but Bayston was able to withstand the challenge, nipping Daum at the stripe at the end of lap nine.

Larson and Clauson soon swarmed Daum for the second spot, crossing the line three-wide on both lap 11 and lap 12 as Larson emerged with second in front of Clauson while Daum dropped to third.

Just before halfway, Clauson fought back to reclaim the runner-up spot from Larson as Bayston continued to lead the way with a one-and-a-half second advantage over his nearest challenger. Bayston never missed a beat as he conquered the backmarkers with ease. But with just seven laps to go, the stopped car of Tanner Thorson brought out the yellow, erasing the lengthy gap that Bayston had established.

Bayston had a combined 68 career USAC National Midget wins bearing down on him in the four spots in the immediate vicinity of his tail tank on the lap 24 restart.

When the opportunity arose, Bayston was mentally and physically prepared to meet the task at hand. Clauson, Larson, Daum and Christopher Bell could not phase Bayston on the restart as the 17-year-old kept his poise and focus on what was in front, not behind him, standing on the throttle as he exploded on the restart to lay all doubts to rest.

From that point forward, the attention turned to the battle for second between Clauson and Larson. Larson stayed on Clauson's heels, but with five to go, Larson clipped a turn four infield tire, slowing his progress as Clauson sped away into the distance, allowing him to seize an additional position that provided important points toward the 2016 "Indiana Midget Week" championship.

In the end, Bayston had the field covered, defeating Clauson by .097 seconds with Larson, Daum and Bell rounding out the top-five at the checkered flag.

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