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NASCAR Cup Bristol II

Stenhouse and Larson honoring Bryan Clauson at Bristol

For Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson, spending time at the Knoxville Nationals with the racing family was a much-needed cathartic experience following the loss of their dear friend Bryan Clauson.

Bryan Clauson's name on the car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing Ford
A sticker remembering Bryan Clauson
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Bryan Clauson tribute helmet
Bryan Clauson, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Bryan Clauson, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Bryan Clauson, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
2014 Chili Bowl Champion Bryan Clauson
Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet

Clauson, 27, died from injuries sustained during an accident in the Belleville Midget Nationals on Aug. 6.

At the urging of Larson, Stenhouse had the honor of taking Clauson’s No. 17 sprint car on a parade lap around half-mile dirt Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway last Thursday, the night “B.C.” would have qualified for the Knoxville Nationals.

“Kyle was in Knoxville, and when they came up with the thought of doing it,” Stenhouse said, “Kyle asked me if I’d be interested in coming and I said, ‘No doubt, I would be.’ I wasn’t really looking forward to going after everything that happened, but being with the racing family and the community there was the best thing for everybody, especially when Lauren (Stewart, Clauson’s fiancee) and Tim (Clauson, father) and the rest of Bryan’s family – Di (mother) and Taylor, his sister – when they came and we were able to hang out all night.

“We were telling stories until 5 a.m. on Thursday night/Friday morning about all the good stories that we had of Bryan and the amazing things he did inside and out of the race car. To drive his car was one of those things that Bryan let me drive his midgets for him and we have some races planned that we did this year. I drove another sprint car during one of our off weeks with him, so to get back in his car and give it another trip around Knoxville, which he really loved being at Knoxville, there was not a dry eye in Knoxville when we took that car around. As Bryan always said we ‘parked it’ in victory lane for him and it was super-emotional.”

Clauson won three USAC National Midget championships (2010, 2011, 2015), three USAC National Drivers championships (2010, 2011, 2012), two USAC National Sprint Car championships (2012, 2013), the 2014 Chili Bowl and Turkey Night Grand Prix (2009, 2010). With 112 USAC wins, Clauson ranks fifth for all-time victories.

Honoring BC at Bristol

This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Stenhouse and Larson will honor Clauson with paint schemes and decals. Both drivers will wear “BC” inspired helmets with a hot pink and purple designs that are expected to be auctioned off at the 2017 Chili Bowl Nationals.

“I think this design was his favorite,” said Larson, referring to his helmet. “He’d ran it this year, some. He won a lot of big races with his pink helmets. It has the puzzle pieces for the autism (foundation). It really meant a lot to him. He does a charity event during Chili Bowl. His good friend, Ben, has autism.

“It’s cool to come here and show our support to Bryan and his family. I know Lauren and her family are on their way here. That is going to be fun to hang out with them. I got to spend a little bit of time with Lauren and Bryan’s families at Knoxville. Just do what we can to show our support. He was a great person, awesome race car driver; we have both finished second to him quite a bit. I hate to see him go, but we are going to do our part to support him.”

Stenhouse says the Clauson family has been grateful for the outpouring of support from the racing community. Like Larson, he mentioned Clauson’s passion for giving back — even as an organ donor.

“Knowing that he was still helping people outside of the race car like he always did, helped them have a lot of closure that he was still helping people even though he wasn’t there,” Stenhouse said. “They wanted to make sure that everyone was encouraged to maybe check that box and become an organ donor. I know that means a lot to them now.”

Losing a great friend

Stenhouse will always treasure his time with Clauson on and off the track. Clauson was recruited as a development driver for Ganassi Racing, but returned to open-wheel. He led three laps in the 2016 Indy 500 before finishing a career-best 23rd in May. Stenhouse followed a similar path, honing his skills in USAC prior to moving full-time to NASCAR with Roush Fenway Racing.

“Bryan was a great friend of Kyle and mine,” Stenhouse said. “When I moved to North Carolina, he was already there. Even though he was younger, I kind of always looked at him as an older brother because he always did everything before I did. He let me move in with him and we had a lot of fun in North Carolina, him showing me the ropes of stock car racing.

“Obviously, he was the best there was running sprint cars. To be able to run his paint scheme, his family is super excited and we are, too at our team.”

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