American Bryan Clauson looks set to defend his King of the Springs title at WXC Speedway/Western Springs tonight after a convincing victory in the World 30-lap derby on Monday.
The 26-year-old Indiana native finished runner-up on Boxing Day after dropping a cylinder while leading the race, but overturned the result just two days later to take the lead in the United Truck Parts International Midget Series, which he won last season.
"This car has been a rocket ship for a year-and-a-half now. I just can't thank my team enough for all the work they put into it," said two-time Indianapolis 500 starter Clauson. "This is my sixth year coming to Western Springs and it feels like we get a little bit better each time we come down.
"Last year, we obviously had a great run and we sort of felt like it might be difficult to duplicate that success but we've got the fastest car and have been in contention for the past two nights so we will wait and see what tonight brings."
Clauson's teammate and fellow American Spencer Bayston showed he is adjusting to the Auckland circuit well as he claimed second position ahead of Kiwi Michael Pickens.
