Mario Clouser - USAC National Midget Driver Website

MID SEASON RECAP

Mario headed to the nearby track in Jacksonville, IL after the first race in North Carolina. The 1/4 mile dirt track played host to one of the largest Powri Midget fields of the season where a total of 53 midgets showed up looking for the number 1 spot. Mario would drive the number 6 MCM midget at the event and after racing his way to 2nd place in the heat race set himself up for a 11th place starting spot. Clouser took the green and quickly moved through the pack. By lap 14 Mario had moved into the lead and pulled out a steady gap on the rest of the pack. Even with multiple cautions Mario was able to hold of the rest of the pack and pick up his first victory of the season. This was also Mario's first Powri Midget series win.

Clouser continued after this out to Dodge City Kansas for the 3rd and 4th round of the USAC National Midget series. Mario ran his own MCM car in a joint effort with the RW Motorsports team. Mario managed to qualify 8th the first night but was only able to hang on to a 9th place finish. The second night Clouser suffered mechanical issues early on and was unable to get a qualifying time. Starting in the back of the feature he raced his way up to 18th.

Belleville, Illinois was the site of Mario's next race. Another big field of midgets were in attendance for the Powri event and finishing 3rd in his heat wasn't enough to keep from running the B-main. Clouser got out to an early lead though and held on to win the B. Starting back in 16th of the feature Mario raced his way up to an 8th place finish even after getting tangled up in a red and having to return to the tail of the field.

The Night before the 500 is one of the largest pavement races all season long. Mario qualified 5th and won his heat race in convincing fashion but when the motor broke lining up for the feature it took him out of contention for a victory at this event. This race is followed up by one of the biggest dirt midget races all season the "Hut Hundred". It is currently held in Haubstadt, IN. Mario even though qualifying at the tail end of the order was able to put a good enough time for 8th quick but after getting tangled up in a caution in the early stages of the race was only able to manage a 14th place finish out of the 33 car feature field.

Indiana midget week was next in line for the RW Motorsports crew. Five nights of dirt track racing in a row across Indiana started at Gas City Speedway. Mario qualified 28th and managed to race his way to 18th in the feature on a very fast hard to pass track. The second night at Lincoln Park Speedway Clouser clocked in at 13th quick in qualifying but suffered motor issues in the early going of the feature and was unable to finish. Night three took place at Bloomington Speedway. Clouser suffered mechanical issues and was only able to qualify 29th. Forced to take a provisional to start the feature he would have to start 26th but managed to race his way to a very impressive 11th place finish. The fourth night of midget week was held at Lawrenceburg Speedway. Mario qualified 10th and on the very slick feature racing surface managed to hold on to 11th. Midget week wrapped up at Kokomo Speedway. Mario again qualified 10th quickest but got tangled up in another cars spin in the feature which ended his night.

Iowa Speedway was next up on the USAC schedule. The 7/8 Mile pavement track is the fastest track the midgets run at all season and a personal favorite for Mario. Qualifying 5th quick Clouser quickly made his way up the front of the field. Even though leading for a few laps he was unable to hold of team mate Bobby Santos and finished 2nd. The following night the team made a stop at Grundy County speedway for a STARS race. Clouser qualified 6th quick and again quickly raced his way to the front. He was able to hold off the rest of the field and pick up his second win of the season and his first win for RW Motorsports.

CLOUSER STARTS SEASON STRONG

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."

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 SIGNS WITH RW MOTORSPORTS FOR THE 2012 SEASON

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.

MARIO COMPETES IN 2012 CHILI BOWL

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.

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.