December 27, 2013 – Audio and story by Jacob Seelman for Speed77 Radio and Race Chaser Online – Scott Brown photo – FT. WAYNE, IN – Cooper Clouse is hoping to cap off his 2013 season with a huge flourish.
The young rising star out of Ohio City, Ohio, is completing his racing season this weekend at the 16th Rumble in Fort Wayne indoor midget championships. For Clouse, 2013 marks his third appearance at the Rumble, and he’s hoping the third time will be the charm and treat him with a trip to Victory Lane.
“I always like coming up here and running the Rumble,” Clouse said of the yearly event before practice on Thursday. “It takes being in the right place at the right time, and a lot of patience. Hopefully this year we can avoid some of the gremlins that plagued us the past two years.”
Those gremlins include an engine failure in his debut at the War Memorial Coliseum in 2011, and a heartbreaking near-miss on opening night in 2012, when Clouse led 22 laps before experiencing mechanical trouble with two laps to go. In four prior appearances and two A-main starts at the Coliseum, Clouse has two DNQs in 2011 to go along with finishes of 7th and 13th in 2012.
So far though, 2013 has been much kinder to the open wheel star. Clouse used a consistently strong season to wrap up the HPD USAC Ignite Midget Series Midwest pavement championship earlier in the fall by 59 points over Wil Raber. Clouse was the model of consistency over the course of the season and used a run highlighted by four wins to take the crown.
“We had some struggles on the dirt side this year, but we really got our pavement stuff figured out, and just kept clicking them off. The Ignite championship was a huge accomplishment for me and for my team; I really couldn’t be prouder of how our season has gone.”
Clouse and his family have had a lot of support behind them after becoming part owners of the Hawk Chassis brand. Clouse will roll behind the wheel of his #14 Hawk machine looking to qualify for his third career Rumble A-main.
“We’ve had a ton of backing this year from Hawk Chassis; our cars have been brilliant all season long, and I think we’re going to be strong this time around.”
While Lady Luck hasn’t been on the Ohioan’s side in past years, she certainly has been in 2013. Now this weekend, he’s hoping she’ll stay aroung so he can add one more championship to his resume before the season is out. Perhaps the title of 2013 Rumble in Fort Wayne Champion?
“It has a nice ring to it,” Clouse grinned. “I’m certainly not opposed to making some hardware space for the ride home.”
Clouse and the stars of the Rumble Racing Series will take to the track on Friday and Saturday for two complete racing programs. For more event information, visit www.rumbleseries.com.
Listen in as we caught up with Cooper for an exclusive interview before Thursday practice for the Rumble in Ft. Wayne:
