3/18/2015
Bryan Clauson
Dooling Machine Tools Up with Jonathan Byrd's Racing
Dooling Machine Products, Inc. is a provider of contract machining services. Dooling Machine is a complete mobile machine shop facility, providing on-site machining services, and offering their clients substantial savings on down time and cost. With their mobile machine shop, Dooling’s customers get to see their work being done on-site and first hand.
Joe Dooling talked about what it means to take the Dooling Machine brand to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Bryan Clauson and Jonathan Byrd’s Racing. “My mom and dad, Darlene and Joe Sr., have seen many days of hard work and have had tens of thousands of hours of involvement with Midget Racing. They have met a lot of folks thru out their years in this sport. Thanks to a great lifelong friend in Rusty Kunz, who is also the best crew chief a team could have, the Dooling family was able to have our best year yet in 2014, as Bryan Clauson drove the “Darlene” #63 midget to a lot of wins and a bunch of memories that will never be forgotten! Now, with this announcement, they have finally reached the pinnacle of their involvement in motor sports!”
Joe continued: “Soon after our relationship with Bryan began, we knew we had truly found something special. The Dooling family has basically adopted Bryan, and we know we are going to do great things with Bryan throughout his career. We want to set records! We want to be part of making history with him, and this is part of that effort. With Bryan in the Dooling midget, we’ve been honored to get reacquainted with another long time motorsports family, that being the Byrd’s. We competed against them back in the 80’s with Vogler behind the wheel of the Byrd midget, and it always seemed like they were coming out on top. Now we’re together, and we have the best driver in the country, and we’re going to Indy together! The only things missing from this connection of motorsports perfection are Jonathan and Darlene! Though they have both passed, we’re going to do our best to make them proud and to take our mutual love for racing and give Bryan everything he needs to stay at the top of this sport for years to come.”
Bryan Clauson added his thoughts: “With our win at the Chili Bowl together last year, and what has been a fantastic run together in the best equipment a driver could have, the Dooling family and Dooling Machine has quickly become a very big part of my short track career. I know the Dooling family and the Byrd family has developed a fantastic relationship, so I couldn’t imagine not having that big red DM on my IndyCar as well. I’m proud to have Dooling Machine as a part of our Indianapolis 500 program, as it continues to build that bridge between the short track and the world’s biggest race. Joe and Joe Sr. have become like family, and I can’t wait to continue our relationship on the big stage!”
Jonathan Byrd’s Racing team principal Virginia Byrd added: “I met Joe Dooling last year during Indiana Midget Week, and I quickly learned that Joe shares the same spirit of hospitality as our family. On the final night of USAC Midget Week at Kokomo Speedway, which also happened to be Bryan’s 25th birthday (we passed out birthday cake to the entire garage area by the way), after decades of midget racing in which they had certainly won big events like the Chili Bowl and the Belleville Nationals, the Dooling family went to a USAC victory lane for the first time. That was also Father’s Day, and it was a joy to see Joe Sr. and Joe Jr. celebrating together. It was also the first time that a Jonathan Byrd’s sponsored midget had gone to a USAC national series victory lane since Rich Vogler’s last win for us in 1989. It was an exciting and wonderful night, and we were so thankful to the Dooling family for letting us be a part of their victory. It really reminded us why we are involved in this sport, and now we hope to be able to return the favor and take the Dooling family with us to victory lane at Indy on what will be the 30th anniversary of our first Indy 500.”
Based in Hartford, Illinois, Dooling Machine Products, Inc. is family owned and operated and has been in business for over 70 years. Their mobile machine shop provides Compressor Repair, Pump Repair, Balancing, Flange Facing, Grouting, Alignment of Equipment, and In-Place Machining, while their range of services also includes Trouble Shooting and Consulting.
Article Credit: Tom Crismore
Submitted By: Bryan Clauson
