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Mario and the RW Motorsports crew kicked off their season with back to back pavement races at Ace Speedway in North Carolina. Clouser started the first night off on the right foot by setting quick time and establishing a new track record at the 4/10 mile paper clip. After a tough heat race he would start 7th in the feature. Mario came outta the gate strong though and within the first lap was up to 4th. Clouser then pursed team mate Bobby Santos for most of the race, unable to get by on the tight track though. Santos finally picked off 2nd place runner Levi Roberts and Mario follow him past. He would finish 3rd the first night. "I'm very happy to bring home a 3rd tonight, this a great way to kick of the season with my new team and I'm looking forward tocontinuing to keep the 27 up here on the podium, said Clouser."
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The second night started off a little less exciting than the night before, Mario qualified 4th but had a good run in his heat race and would start the feature from the 4th position. He again got a great start and within the first couple laps was up to second place. Clouser then began to work on running down leader Darren Hagen, but on lap ten oil on the track brought out a red flag. The restart allowed Hagen to slightly gap Mario but he was unable to get within passing range of the number 3. Clouser would finish 2nd, but that finish would be good enough to allow him to leave North Carolina with the 2012 USAC National Midget Points lead. "To back up last night with a even better finish is awesome. I feel this just reinforces that we are a contender this year and that its only a matter of time before we pick up a victory. I'm looking forward to the entire season with this team, said Clouser."
The next race on the schedule is a 2 day event on dirt in Dodge City, Kansas. |
Mario Clouser recently signed with the 2009 USAC National Midget winning team RW Motorsports. Mario will race all the pavement races on the USAC National Midget schedule with the team. They hired Mario Clouser Motorsports 2011 crew chief, Evan Avart, and will be running the same Beast Chassis that which Mario is accustomed to. "I'm extremely excited about this opportunity this year. The ability to work with such a big team is something that I've always wanted the chance to do, with the resources they have I feel will have a better opportunity than ever to win races, said Mario".
RW Motorsports works closely with Fontana Automotive the engine supplier for the team as well as having a full machine shop at their disposal and many great team sponsors that make up a amazing organization. "The thing I feel that really makes RW a great team to be a part of is the crew that makes up this team. I'm already used to working with Evan and we both know what we want from each other and from the car. I had the opportunity to work with the rest of the crew at the Chili Bowl this year and we all meshed very well, It was like we had been working together for years. Everyone knows there job and knows what needs to be done, it just makes for a very smooth operation at the track, said Clouser". The season kicks off the last weekend in March at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina.
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The Chili Bowl Nationals is the largest single midget race in the country. It happens once a year in January and draws over 250 entry's every year. Many big time racers show up for this event, from Tony Stewart to Joey Saldana along with all the best midget racers in the country. For 2012 Mario was allowed a great opportunity to race for RW Motorsports. RW is a team that has competed in midgets and silver crown races for many years and has a great crew and equipment at their disposal.
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Mondays practice gave Mario and crew chief Evan Avart a chance to get used to the new car and motor package that RW had supplied along with getting a feel for how the crew guys would interact with each other. They all felt like they had a very good opportunity to run well on their Thursday night qualifier. Mario started 6th and finished 4th in his heat race and with a 3rd place finish in the qualifier it set him up in the B-main for the evening. Clouser won his B-main in convincing fashion and was able to move on to the A-feature for the night. Starting in the back of the feature Mario battled hard but was unable to work through traffic on a tough race track and had to settle for 18th. This would put him in a D-main for Saturday nights main event.
Come Saturday night Mario was ready to make a strong run at making it to the A-feature. With a slick race track on hand he felt good about his chances to move through the pack and make it on to the C. At the start of the race Mario passed a few cars and worked his way up to fourth but in the process of trying to get a couple more spots he fell back and was unable to make it back up into a transfer position.
"It was disappointing to not make it to the A-main. I felt like I had a great opportunity to make it into the show this year with such a great team behind me. I just got behind a little early on in the week and you really can't do that at any race but especially at the Chili Bowl. I learned a lot about racing at this event though and am already looking forward to coming back next year.", said Mario. |
MCM recently ran its final race for the 2011 season, bringing to a close one of the most successful seasons the team has been a part of. The fall was kicked off at Eldora Speedway for the 4-Crown Nationals, where Mario managed a 12th place finish while struggling with an ignition issue on the car.
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The first weekend of October, Powri held there season finale in Belleville, IL, a track that Mario had run well at in the past and was looking to do so again. The night started off well as Clouser finished 2nd in his heat race which set him up for a 5th place starting position in the feature. At the drop of the flag in the feature Mario, within a couple laps had worked his way up to 2nd position and proceeded to run down the leader. On lap 15 Mario took the lead, but when a caution came out on lap 25 it allowed the field to get bunched back up. On the restart second place runner Brett Anderson made a charge for the lead and got by Mario. Mario worked the next few laps to get back up to Anderson and on the final lap threw a slide job for the lead. Anderson passed Mario back on the backstretch and with him came Bubba Altig. Clouser and Altig tangled in turns three and four and Clouser crossed the line in 3rd. "It was a bummer to end up 3rd tonight when we were leading it just 5 laps ago, but I guess that racing and just how things played out tonight.", said Mario after the race.
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The following weekend Granite City, IL hosted the Gold Crown Midget Nationals, a race that has quickly become one of the premier events in midget racing. With over 50 cars entered every night competition was very tough. Mario made the A-feature every night of the 3 night event, all three nights racing his way in via the B-Main. Clouser finished 15th the first night, 18th the second, and 14th the third. "This is a tough event down here, lots of good cars and its tough. I'd say this is one of the hardest races we run all year, between the competition that's here and the way the track ends up during the feature. It's a tough place to pass and if you get yourself in a hole early on in the night you pay for it come feature time. I was very happy to make the show every night though and to run inside the Top 15 here puts you among some great drivers", said Mario.
Irwindale, CA held the final event for MCM in 2011. The Turkey Night Gran Prix is one of the longest running races in the country. This 98 lap feature event is held at the Toyota Speedway on its 1/2 mile Pavement track. Clouser worked hard on practice day fighting a motor issue early which was unable to be fixed forcing the team to have to change a engine Wednesday night. Thursday morning the team fired the new engine but overall would be left to qualify on a motor that hadn't been practiced with. Mario qualified in 15th position out of the 36 cars present at the event and would start there in the feature as well. Clouser fell back early in the feature but stayed out of trouble early on and by lap 80 had worked his way but up to the 12th position. When a caution came out on lap 90 Mario had just passed for 9th, but on the restart Clouser lost a couple positions and had to settle for 12th, being unable to work his way back through the field.
I got to thank everyone that helped us out this year. We have had an Amazing season with a win, multiple quick times as well as a track record at the Belleville High Banks and Grundy County Speedway, it's just been great. Without the help of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, RTS Farms, Steele Performance, Joe Gibbs Driven, Areoquip, TSR, Saldana, and VP Racing none of this would have been possible. I got to work with a great crew chief this year, Evan Avart, who taught me a lot about what it takes to go fast and to have a car to do it. Thanks to everyone, and we are looking forward to next season! --Mario Closuer |
