2/29/2016
Cole Wood
MWR/Bryan Clauson – Texas Top Ten Sets up Vegas!
MWR/Bryan Clauson – Texas Top Ten Sets up Vegas!
(Bill W) February 29, 2016 – The Matt Wood Racing #17w team and driver Bryan Clauson roared back into action last weekend in the “Lone Star State” with the World of Outlaws. Chalking up two more new tracks, the Noblesville, Indiana driver registered an eleventh and seventh place finish at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, and Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, respectively. The team heads west with the Outlaws to The Dirt Track in Vegas this weekend.
Cotton Bowl Speedway was a new track for most in attendance, and Bryan laid down the third quickest lap in Friday’s 32-car field. “It was really a solid lap for us,” he says. “I don’t think anyone had raced there before. It was one of those rare occasions where we were on an even playing field with everyone else as far as learning the track. We were able to get a good lap down and set ourselves up for the rest of the night.”
The qualifying lap put the #17w on the pole of the third heat. “We were in a good position to make something of it,” says Bryan. “I didn’t do a good job at the start of the heat. I made a couple of mistakes, got swallowed up there, and we ended up fourth. That obviously wasn’t what we were looking for heading into the heat, but it set us up starting 15th in the feature.”
Despite starting in row eight, Bryan would battle for a top ten in the main event. “It was one of those nights where I felt we had a pretty good car,” he says. “We had decent speed, but we fought circumstances a little bit. We were mired there in the back for a while, and never really caught the right lane on the double-file restarts. We kind of yo-yoed between 10th and 14th and ended up eleventh.”
Issues at Royal Purple Raceway forced officials to abandon time trials. “That was lucky for us,” says Bryan. “Our qualifying time at that point wasn’t very good. We were able to revert back to the draw, and finished second in our heat (after starting on the front row). That got us in the Dash.”
Starting third in the Dash, Bryan would checker sixth. “I tried to make something happen on the start and fell back a little bit,” he says. “Once we got our feet underneath us, we had some decent speed. We struggled to find a balance really from early in the night through the Dash. But that gave us a direction to go in the feature.”
He would finish the feature seventh. “It was a good run,” says Bryan. “Obviously, sixth to seventh doesn’t really grab your eye on paper. But we had some points in the race where we were battling for fourth and fifth. I was a little late to the party on all fronts really. I spent too much time on top early in the race, and once I went low, I stayed down there a little long and gave up a spot late in the race. We were in a pack with fifth and sixth and kind of ran out of time.”
It was another good showing for Matt Wood Racing. “Overall, it was a solid weekend,” says Bryan. “Anytime you can call a top ten with the Outlaws a ‘ho-hum’ night, I think you’re headed in the right direction. We’re really looking forward to Vegas. We’ll be doing some double-duty there on Friday night as well. A couple years ago, we had a good run there. Our program has certainly been trending in the right direction all year long. We’ll continue to make gains and get better.”
Matt Wood Racing would like to thank: Elk Grove Ford, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Jonathan Byrd’s Hospitality and Restaurant Group, America’s Best Value Inn, Quick Lane and Impact Signs, Awnings & Wraps!
To follow the Matt Wood Racing’s progress online, visit www.ColeWoodRacing.com!
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Monroe, IA USA