Clauson-Marshall Continues Consistency with 3rd, 4th & 6th Place Finishes at Lincoln!
Lincoln, IL | July 3, 2017 – Traveling to Lincoln Speedway for the second of three USAC Midget events in Illinois this weekend, the Clauson-Marshall trio added on to their most recent stretch of incredible consistency with all three drivers finishing inside the top six. After leading early on, Tyler Courtney finished in third to score his sixth straight top five, Shane Golobic found himself in contention for a late-race challenge before finishing in fourth, and Justin Grant rallied from early contact by charging back to a sixth-place run.
Recording a strong string of preliminary results, the CMR trio all turned in top-ten qualifying runs as Grant timed in second, Courtney claimed fifth and Golobic grabbed ninth. Heat race action proved just as well when Courtney and Golobic claimed transfers while Grant stormed from sixth-to-first on an eye-catching last-lap pass.
Earning a front row start for the second straight night, Indiana’s Tyler Courtney would roll the No. 7BC off from the outside pole. After settling into second at the start, Courtney quickly ripped into high gear as he powered the Driven 2 Save Lives, Indiana Donor Network, Spike/Stanton SR-11 entry into the race lead on the fifth circuit. The Indiana native would command the field for another five laps before succumbing to the second-place position.
Near midway, the battle for second would heat up as Courtney and Christopher Bell went back and forth with sliders on sliders in what was a déjà vu moment from Saturday’ feature at Macon. A late-race restart would allow Courtney one more shot at the lead, but despite taking it three-wide at one point, “Sunshine” would end up in the third position for another podium result and his sixth straight top five finish with the USAC National Midgets.
“It’s not exactly the night we wanted,” said Courtney. “Obviously, you always want to win, but we were just a little off tonight. We got third again, which doesn’t feel all that great right now, but for the big picture purpose, we’re doing what we need to do. We just got to keep running up front and knocking down podium finishes.”
For California’s Shane Golobic, his much better qualifying run tonight proved to be a big factor as he started the main event from the eighth spot. Working his CMR/Matt Wood Racing No. 17W into the top five early on, the Indiana Midget Week champion continued his march to the front and was as high as third-place at the halfway mark. He followed the top three competitors for the second half as he slid high and dove low trying to gain ground, but ultimately, Golobic would stay put and finish in the fourth spot.
Driving the No. 39BC, Justin Grant turned in another stellar night behind the wheel. After timing in second and driving to a thrilling heat race win, Grant would begin the feature from the outside of the second row, starting fourth. Slipping back to tenth after contact, Grant rallied from his early misfortune and began marching back through the field. Storming back into the top five in the closing laps, Grant would ultimately come home with a sixth-place finish after a nail biter at the line.
Tonight, Clauson-Marshall Racing will close out the Illinois slate in Springfield, Illinois as the USAC National Midget Series ventures to a new event. The series will host the “Adam Lopez Illinois Midget Nationals” at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Arena. The race will be broadcasted live on SpeedShift.TV.
For the latest results, news and stories concerning Clauson-Marshall, Justin, Shane, Tyler and Zeb, you can follow the team on Twitter at @ClausonMarshall, on Facebook at Clauson-Marshall Racing, or online at www.clausonmarshallracing.com.
EVENT RESULTS:
7BC Tyler Courtney – Qualifying: 5th (13.765), Heat: 3rd (5), Feature: 3rd (2).
17W Shane Golobic – Qualifying: 9th (13.833), Heat: 4th (4), Feature: 4th (8).
39BC Justin Grant – Qualifying: 2nd (13.652), Heat: 1st (6), Feature: 6th (4).
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, July 3rd – USAC National Midgets at State Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Arena in Springfield, IL.
MEDIA LINKS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClausonMarshall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/clausonmarshall
Website: http://www.clausonmarshallracing.com
CLAUSON-MARSHALL RACING:
Race On. A saying that Bryan Clauson always related to his father Tim when our sport faced its darkest moments. It’s what racers do, we continue to race on. Following Bryan’s tragic passing in August of 2016, Tim Clauson and Richard Marshall never wavered when they formed Clauson-Marshall Racing. After unveiling a dream team at the 2017 Chili Bowl, CMR shifted focus to USAC. With a trio of Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant and Shane Golobic competing on the national level, along with Zeb Wise in the development ranks of POWRi Midgets and micro sprints, the future at Clauson-Marshall Racing looks brighter than ever.
- Tim Clauson on Jul 03, 2017
- Article Date: 7/3/2017 by Brian Walker