Bryan Clauson airlifted to hospital after USAC crash
Bryan Clauson, 27, was airlifted to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln, Nebraska, following a crash at the Belleville High Banks Speedway Fairgrounds in Belleville, Kansas, Saturday night.
Sunday afternoon, Clauson's family posted on Facebook that he had been severely injured, and currently "remains in critical condition and under the care of the medical staff."
He was competing in the USAC-sanctioned 39th annual Belleville Nationals midget race.
According to RACER.com, Clauson had worked his way up into the top spot after starting in ninth place when he made contact with a lapped car, causing his machine to barrel-roll. The car came to a rest on its side but was then struck in the cockpit by another car. Reports indicate that it took around 30 minutes for them to remove Clauson from his car before he was airlifted to a local hospital.
Clauson was attempting to make 200 motor racing starts in 2016, which included the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 - where he placed 23rd. This was his 116th start of the season, and he was looking for his 28th feature win of the year.
Clauson has made 26 career starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series with one top-five finish, two top-10 finishes and one pole. He also has one ARCA win, one Indy Lights podium and three Indianapolis 500 starts to his name.
FOXsports.com will update the situation as it develops.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
