By BRETT BOWMAN
A season that began in February came to a close last week in California at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale.
On Thanksgiving evening in the 69th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix for the USAC Mopar National/Western States Midget Series, former Kokomo Speedway Rookie of the Year Bryan Clauson snared the checkered flag in the storied event.
The Noblesville driver, who a year ago was under contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, took the lead from former series champion Josh Wise just before the midway point of the 98-lap race, then set sail the remainder of the event.
Levi Roberts got by Wise in the late going to finish second with Wise taking third. Jerome Rodela and Tanner Swanson rounded out the top five. Dave Darland was on hand, finishing 16th with defending series champion and nine-time feature winner at Kokomo this season, Cole Whitt, taking 17th.
Brad Kuhn struggled to a 28th-place finish after an early race incident, however that finish was just enough to claim his first USAC national title. The Avon driver tallied 1,239 total points to just nip Kasey Kahne Racing driver Brad Sweet (1,231).
Piloting his Benic Enterprises entry, Kuhn was a model of consistency throughout the season en route to his title. He notched just a single feature win, however a slew of top-five runs sealed his championship run. Sweet on the other hand found himself in Victory Lane three times, but crashes or mechanical gremlins relegated him to the runner-up slot.
“I knew that if Brad [Kuhn] finished 16th or worse I had a chance, but I was going to have to finish in the top three,” said Sweet of the points battle. “I drove as hard as I could, but I just couldn’t get into the top three.”
Clauson led the series in feature wins, claiming seven while Bobby Santos III found the double checkers three times. With his late surge aboard his midget, Clauson earned the title of National Midget Driver of the Year, finishing 51 points ahead of two-time NMDOTY champion Kuhn.
The points for the driver of the year are figured by all the midget sanctioning bodies. All told in 2009, Clauson tallied 11 feature wins among five different midget organizations. Brad Loyet was the overall leader in feature wins, scoring 19 wins.
Whitt wins sprint feature
Also on hand at the Turkey Night Grand Prix was the USAC Western States Sprint Car Series for a 40-lap feature event and as has been the case across the Midwest all season, Cole Whitt took the win.
Whitt continued his breakout season aboard his family-owned No. 29W, leading from green to checkered en route to the victory. Kody Swanson was second and Scott Pierovich third. Tanner Swanson and Bobby East rounded out the top five. Ryan Kaplan, a semi-regular at both Kokomo and Gas City this season, was sixth while another semi-regular, Tracy Hines, took 13th. Tanner Swanson was crowned Western States Series champion, easily outdistancing Jojo Helberg 845-679.
USAC/CRA concludes season
Mike Spencer scored his second straight Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Series championship, but Bryan Clauson stole a bit of his thunder in the season finale at the Perris (Ca.) Auto Speedway Sunday night.
Clauson led the entire 30-lap event to continue his torrid second half of the season. Veteran second-generation standout Tony Jones was second while Damion Gardner was third. Garrett Hansen and Spencer rounded out the top five. Nic Faas, a regular across the Midwest this season who appears to be planning an all-out assault on the CRA title in 2010, was ninth. Dave Darland and Cole Carter were the Indiana representatives making the feature, finishing 14th and 18th, respectively.
Next week
The final column of the year next week will include gift ideas for race fans as well as news to help everyone get through the long offseason.
• Brett Bowman covers auto racing for the Tribune. He can be reached by e-mail at brettbowman29@aol.com
