Bryan picked up his first NSL win at I-80 Speedway (Rob Kocak Photo)
(Bill W) October 5, 2015 – Bryan Clauson and the Matt Wood Racing #17w team have been on the edge of their first FVP National Sprint League series win all season. Everything came together in the series’ final weekend when the Noblesville, Indiana driver led all 25 laps on Friday at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska. A top five finish in Saturday’s finale also secured the third place standing in owner points for the team. Bryan will compete in POWRi midget action Friday in Jacksonville, Illinois, before the #17w team moves on to the All Stars season finale at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio. An open show on Sunday at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio is also planned.
Despite coming out 23rd, Bryan timed in fifth quick Friday. “The track was really fast on Friday,” he says. “Going out late didn’t seem to hurt us. I think we were only six or seven hundredths off quick time. It was a pretty tight field. It put us in a good position for the redraw.”
He would move from fifth to fourth in his heat, qualifying for the feature redraw. “You can really never let up with the NSL format,” says Bryan. “With the invert of six, they were only giving points to five for the redraw. We got a decent start and we were able to get up to fourth.”
The redraw went well, and Bryan would start outside row one for the main event. “We were able to get a good start,” he says. “We made the commitment to the top. I wasn’t sure I could run the bottom for 25 laps as good as guys like (Danny) Lasoski or (Terry) McCarl. We were going to make them get by us.”
There were a number of yellow flag periods on Friday. “We actually caught cautions every time we got into heavy traffic,” says Bryan. “We felt like we were in position to make our moves in traffic and separate ourselves. (Bill) Balog got to us early, but we split two lappers and a yellow came out. We felt confident even if it stayed green, we were in good position. We caught some yellows that kept us in clean air, but we felt good either way.”
Bryan was able to maintain his lead and grab the first NSL win for Matt Wood Racing. “One of our goals at the beginning of the year was to win at least one,” he says. “Obviously, we hoped for more, but we’re really proud of the season we had, with or without the win. Winning that show kind of validates how far we’ve come.”
He would time in second quick for Saturday’s finale. “We laid down a good lap and were second quick to Danny,” says Bryan. “He’s obviously been the benchmark, especially in qualifying all year long.”
Bryan would advance from sixth to finish fourth in his heat race. “The track was really wide on Saturday,” he says. “There were three or four grooves to play with. We didn’t get the best start, but we were able to make a move in one and two that got us to fifth. We were able to get to fourth later in the heat, and that got us in the redraw.”
He would draw a starting spot outside of row four for Saturday’s finale. “We used our luck up on Friday with the draw!” says Bryan. “I didn’t do a good job on the start. I put myself in a bad position and we fell back a little bit. From there, the race went pretty much non-stop until four to go. We were back as far as tenth or eleventh, but we were back up to sixth when the yellow came out. We were able to get by Ian (Madsen) on the restart and finished fifth. We felt we had a good car…maybe not one to win the race, but certainly one that could have been in the top three. Things didn’t quite pan out, but it was a top five.”
It also meant the Matt Wood Racing team would finish third in owner points with the NSL. “There was a lot of money on the line (their share was $20,000), and it was a big achievement for our team,” says Bryan. “We came together late in the offseason. On February 1, it was just our car chief Adam and myself. I think we hired (crew chief) Shane Bowers a week before the NSL season started. To come together like we have, has been great. Overall, I’ve been very proud and thankful of our efforts.”
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 picked up his first NSL win at I-80 Speedway (Rob Kocak Photo)
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