HAMMETT, Pa. – Bruce Powell had not used a parking spot in Victory Lane in more than 20 years, but the Cochranton, Pennsylvania resident ended that absence Sunday night after leading all 20 laps of the Ran-Den Excavating E-Mod feature.

Max Blair put his Plyler Overhead Door Super Late Model in Victory Lane for the fifth time in 2016. Mike Knight brought his Bonnell Auto Group Rush Crate Late Model to the checkers for the first time in 2016 while Eric Reinwald (Waterford Hotel Economods) scored his third triumph this season. Chris McGuire (Nelson Lynwood Nursery Street Stocks) continued his winning ways with win No. 5, including the last three in a row, and defending Kandy’s Gentlemen’s Club Super Challenger champion Andy Proper once again rode his mount to the Winner’s Circle, his fifth of the season.

Plyler Overhead Door Super Late Models

Heat 1: Chad Wright, Bump Hedman, Rob Blair, Brent Rhebergen, Matt Urban, Chris Hackett, Rich Gardner, Ryan Scott

Heat 2: Darrell Bossard, Max Blair, Steve Kania, David Scott, Kyle Scott, Matt Latta, Jake Finnerty, Bob Dorman

Feature: Max Blair, Rob Blair, Bump Hedman, Dave Scott, Steve Kania, Chad Wright, Darrell Bossard, Rich Gardner, Matt Urban, Chris Hackett, Brent Rhebergen, Jake Finnerty, Kyle Scott, Bob Dorman, Ryan Scott, Matt Latta

Bonnell Auto Group RUSH Crate Late Models

Heat 1: Mike Pegher, Mike Knight, Mike Lozowski, Jason Genco, Bruce Hordusky, Brian Swank

Heat 2: Chad Wright, Dave Lyon, Andy Boozel, Bob Pifer, Robert Mitcham, Hunter Hulley

Heat 3: Scott Gurdak, Max Blair, Jacob Gunn, Kyle Zimmerman, Khole Wanzer, Brandon Porter

Feature: Mike Knight, Max Blair, Chad Wright, Jason Genco, Kyle Zimmerman, Dave Lyon, Andy Boozel, Mike Pegher, Bruce Hordusky, Khole Wanzer, Jacob Gunn, Mike Lozowski, Robert Mitcham, Scott Gurdak, Brian Swank, Hunter Hulley, Bob Pifer, Brandon Porter

Ran-Den Excavating E-Mods:

Heat 1: Steve Simon, Kenny Zimmer, Billy Henry, Shane Crotty, David Scott, Michael McGee, Troy Johnson, Casey Bowers, Mike Kinney

Heat 2: Steve Sornberger, Mike Potosky, Robert Page, Bruce Powell, Alan Atkinson, John Boyd, Darren Tarabori, Troy Carr

Feature: Bruce Powell, Steve Simon, Ken Zimmer, David Scott, Billy Henry, Shane Crotty, Troy Johnson, Mike Kinney, Alan Atkinson, Troy Carr, Casey Bowers, Steve Sornberger, Robert Page, Mike McGee, John Boyd, Mike Potosky, Darren Tarabori (DNS)

Waterford Hotel Economods

Heat 1: Ty Rhoades, Eric Reinwald, Brian Toto, Keith Fellicetty, Ashley Rogers, Geoff Conn

Heat 2: Bobby Vogt, Jace Ferringer, Mitch Wright, Mike Boyd, Jason Brightman, Gary Olson

Feature: Eric Reinwald, Bobby Vogt, Brian Toto, Ty Rhoades, Keith Fellicitty, Mitch Wright, Ashley Rogers, Jace Ferringer, Mike Boyd, Jason Brightman, Geoff Conn (DNS), Gary Olson (DQ)

Nelson Lynwood Nursery Street Stocks:

Heat 1: Chris McGuire, Wesley McCray, Gary Fisher, Bill Applebee, Don McGuire, Kenny Lamp, Brent Crandall

Heat 2: Dan Maxim, Brandon, Eric McCray, Bill Best, Bob Schwartzmiller, Jimmy Kennerknecht, Brad Church

Feature: Chris McGuire, Brad Church, Bob Schwartzmiller, Brandon Groters, Dan Maxim, Jimmy Kennerknecht, Brent Crandall, Kenny Lamp, Eric McCray, Wesley McCray, Gary Fisher, Bill Applebee, Bill Best, Don McGuire

Kandy’s Gentlemen’s Club Super Challengers

Heat 1: Jeff Nunemaker, Gary Troyer, John Zeleznick, Joe Syzmanski, Wes Stull, Chuck Homax, Joshua McNaughton

Heat 2: Andy Proper, Matt Marcy, Roger Hall, Brandon Jenkins, Mackenzie Eggleston, Jessica Harvey, Andrew Gould, Skip Jackson

Feature: Andy Proper, Jeff Nunemaker, Roger Hall, John Zeleznick, Joe Syzmanski, Gary Troyer, Josh McNaughton, Tim Fisher, Brandon Jenkins, Jessica Harvey, Andrew Gould, Chuck Homax, Matt Marcy, Skip Jackson, Mackenzie Eggleston, Wes Stull, Thomas Cupp (DNS)

‘TRUE AMBASSADOR’

REMEMBERED

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Bryan Clauson wasn’t a household name and he hadn’t yet earned the fame or fortune enjoyed by auto racing’s superstars.

Cut from the mold of the old-school drivers, Clauson would race anything, anywhere at any time. He was chasing the USAC’s all-time wins mark – having racked up 112 already – and was well on his way to compete in 200 events this season alone. He was widely considered the best dirt-track racer in the nation.

The wildly popular Clauson died Sunday night from injuries suffered in a crash during a weekend race in Kansas, a stunning announcement that came Monday from officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Our Bryan fought to the end with the same desire that he demonstrated behind the wheel of all the various race cars he would park in victory lane,” the Clauson family said in a statement released by the speedway. “However, we were more proud of our Bryan that took a moment to make a young fan’s day, or demonstrated his uncommon kindness and appreciation toward his friends, family and fans.”

Clauson was leading Saturday night’s race at the Belleville Midget Nationals when he crashed while passing lapped traffic; his car rolled and was hit by another competitor. He was airlifted to a hospital in Nebraska, where he died surrounded by his family.

USAC President and CEO Kevin Miller called it “one of the darkest days in the 60-year history of the United States Auto Club.”

“Not only have we lost one of our greatest USAC champions, we’ve lost a true ambassador for all motorsports,” he said.

Fellow driver Kyle Larson said on Twitter that he was glad to become “close friends and competitors with Bryan. He was a guy who pushed me to become a better racer and person.” Danica Patrick called Clauson “one of the good ones … kind, funny, and a damn good driver.”

Miller said Clauson’s 112 victories are “behind a very, very short list of USAC Hall of Famers” that include Rich Vogler, A.J. Foyt, Sleepy Tripp and Mel Kintz.

He was on pace to compete in 200 races this year, earning 27 victories in 116 starts, and leading three laps of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29 – hours before winning a sprint car race 50 miles away in Kokomo in what he called an “Indiana Double.”

In a post for “The Drivers Project ,” Clauson detailed his Indy 500 experience and acknowledged he was “still pretty raw in these cars so to be out there and mix it up all day was great.” He also said Kokomo is where he grew up racing sprint cars and said it was important to celebrate there with loved ones.

The racing community has had several drivers die in crashes in recent years. In 2013, Jason Leffler died following a crash at a New Jersey sprint car race. The following year, Formula One driver Jules Bianchi suffered head injuries in the Japanese Grand Prix that ultimately cost him his life. A year ago, Justin Wilson was killed when he was struck in the head by a piece of debris during an IndyCar race at Pocono.

Clauson himself was involved in a crash just 24 hours before the fatal wreck. After Friday night’s crash, he went on Twitter to express his appreciation after the “tough hit” for his safety equipment, his chassis manufacturer and his team for getting his car ready to race again.

A four-time USAC national champion, Clauson was a three-time winner and the defending champion at Belleville.

“Bryan Clauson combined his passion and enthusiasm for grassroots racing with a God-given talent that made him the favorite to win every time he got in a midget or sprint car,” IMS president Doug Boles said Monday. “He possessed a humility and character out of the race car that made him a person that fellow competitors and fans alike enjoyed being around.”

Clauson was a California native who earned a USAC-IndyCar scholarship for winning the 2010 USAC national driver’s title, giving him six Indy Lights starts in 2011 in a car shared with current IndyCar Series rookie Conor Daly at Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Clauson also raced eight times in USAC’s national series, with his best finish, third, coming in Iowa in 2011.

He won the scholarship award again in 2012, allowing him to make his Indianapolis 500 debut with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. He returned to the Indy 500 in 2015 with KVSH/Jonathan Byrd’s Racing, and this year led his first career laps driving for Dale Coyne.

Clauson was a development driver for Chip Ganassi in NASCAR, where he competed in 26 races over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He also spent several seasons driving for Tony Stewart’s sprint car team.

“I don’t care what happened, no matter how bad his day was, he always found a way to smile with it,” Stewart said after Sunday’s NASCAR race. “It sucks when it’s anybody in racing, it’s hard when you lose them, but it’s even worse when they’re somebody as close to you as Bryan was.”

Clauson is survived by his parents, Tim and Di, sister Taylor and fiancee, Lauren Stewart. Funeral arrangements were pending. A memorial service in his honor will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at a date to be announced.