Tony Kanaan remembers Bryan Clauson ahead of USAC’s return to Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Monday was a first for 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan at the racing capital of the world.
Kanaan, who is dabbling in IndyCar and the SRX stock car racing series this season, suited up and jumped into a Clauson Marshall Racing USAC midget ahead of the fourth annual Driven2SaveLives BC39 on August 3 and August 4 in Indianapolis.
“Man, it was amazing, it is crazy how fast it (USAC midget) is,” Kanaan told WISH-TV. “You have to fight the steering, whereas in IndyCar you are precise, you are lock-in and you just stay there. Here, this is very tiring and extremely physical to drive. I don’t think I have ever accelerated that fast in my life.”
Kanaan will serve as an honorary driver on Wednesday, August 3 ahead of the opening night of the BC39 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
For Clauson Marshall Racing co-owner Tim Clauson, the fourth annual running of this two-night event is a gift. Clauson’s late son Bryan was a decorated driver at nearly every tier of racing in the United States, making three Indianapolis 500 starts before he was tragically killed during an accident in August of 2016 at the Belleville Nationals midget race in Belleville, Kas.
Before the tragic accident, Clauson and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles were plotting to add a dirt track inside the oval in Indianapolis.
“The racing community is what kept me alive,” Tim Clauson said. “When we lost Bryan, I don’t think we really realized the impact he had off the track. The relationships that he built around the sport, really in all of the motorsports. They truly wrapped are arms around us (Clauson family) and haven’t let go since.”
“He (Byran) once told me, if something ever happens to me, I would want you to continue on in racing,” Clauson said. “And as time went on, we as a family realized this (racing) is our life. These are the people we want to be with. And every weekend we feel the love everywhere we go. I think Bryan is proud of us.”
The choice of Kanaan as the driver for celebratory laps this year quietly is a perfect choice.
Kanaan fell in love with racing as a kid in Brazil thanks to the influence of his father, who passed away when Kanaan was just 13 years old.
Left as the man of the house, Kanaan followed his father’s advice and stayed behind the wheel of his go-kart.
Now, three-plus decades later Kanaan, a son who lost his father far too soon, teams up with the father who carries forward the legacy of his son. And together they hope to save someone, somewhere from leaving this earth too soon, by encouraging all of us to become organ donors, just as Bryan Clauson did.
“(Driven2SaveLives) it’s a special cause,” Kanaan said. “In a perfect world, a son should never pass before his dad. I lost my dad way too young and my reference. Being a dad today, I don’t know what is harder, when looking at (Tim Clauson) a father who lost his son. Tim now remembers Bryan, but he also is trying this message out, because Bryan saved so many lives.”
To consider becoming an organ donor in Indiana, please visit https://driven2savelives.org/