Phil Rider photo
By Richie Murray
Fan favorite Daron Clayton makes his triumphant return to the seat of a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car this Saturday night, September 17 at Tri-State Speedway’s “Haubstadt Hustler” (co-sanctioned by MSCS) in southwestern Indiana.
The Sikeston, Missouri native has earned the “Modern Day Cowboy” moniker for his thrilling drives throughout the last decade on dirt tracks across the USA, routinely wowing fans with his performances, especially at the track that he is most associated with – Tri-State Speedway – where he’s scored five of his 11 career USAC wins as well as several victories with MSCS.
Though most well-known for his exploits in his own yellow no. 92, Clayton will join the Jeff Walker/Curb-Agajanian Racing team this Saturday as a teammate to the USAC National Sprint division’s winningest driver, Dave Darland.
However, Walker and Clayton are no strangers to success when working together. Clayton picked up the win at Tri-State driving Walker’s no. 11D back in 2007.
Clayton, the only two-time “Haubstadt Hustler” winner (2012 & 2014), has curtailed his participation in recent years, last making a USAC appearance in the 2015 “Haubstadt Hustler” in which he started on the front row, but, unfortunately, had to pull off to the sidelines with handling issues early in the 40-lapper. But Clayton is thrilled to be back in the saddle once again this Saturday at the Haubstadt, Indiana quarter-mile.
“I have had so many things going on this past year,” Clayton explained. “We moved to Missouri for a year and now we’ve come back, fixing up our house we bought in Brownsburg. I’m just making sure my primary obligations are taken care of first and now I have reached a point in which I can focus on other things that make myself happy without feeling like I’m being selfish. “I just wanted to make sure I’m 100 percent in the game. I don’t do things half (hearted). I had actually been contemplating (coming back) a lot this past week. Then, Jeff Walker calls up and I knew it was time.”
See Daron Clayton in his Jeff Walker-Curb-Agajanian Racing/Jam-It-In Storage – Hoosier Tire/Maxim/Claxton and the stars of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship this Saturday at Tri-State Speedway. Gates open at 3:30pm and grandstands at 4:30pm. ProSource Qualifying starts at 6:30pm with racing to begin at 7:30pm (CST).