DUQUOIN, Ill. – Andrew Layser is ready to chase some redemption this weekend during the fourth annual Shamrock Classic inside the Southern Illinois Center.
Last time Layser took laps around the indoor dirt bullring, it was his debut with Clauson-Marshall Racing and he looked to be a contender, but ran into some speed bumps along the way and missed the main event with a car he felt “should have been in the show.”
Now, Layser returns as a rookie on the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series, hoping to prove his full potential during the Midwest opener to the United States Auto Club championship trail.
“We’re definitely ready to come back full blast, and I think it helps me a lot that I have experience on the track now,” Layser told SPEED SPORT. “DuQuoin is definitely a unique place. We had a lot of speed there in December and I’m looking forward to getting there this weekend. I know that we’ll be fast right off the bat, and after that it just comes down to execution through the heats, qualifiers and feature.”
Execution was the one thing that Layser, as a rookie, admittedly struggled with when he debuted with Clauson-Marshall Racing at the Southern Illinois Center in December.
While he got off to a quick start by winning a heat race on the sixth-mile dirt oval, Layser spun in a battle for the lead during his qualifier and was relegated to a B-main, where his night ended short of the Junior Knepper 55 feature.
“We want to clean up those little things,” Layser noted. “We know our pace is there. Even in Florida, we know we had a fast car, but Saturday night I was passing for fifth or sixth … and I just made a mistake that left me battling for 10th all of a sudden. That’s just a hazard sometimes of being young and being with a new team. We’ve only had four races together and I know we still have a lot to learn.
“If we can just tighten up our execution, I really believe we can be contending for wins sooner, rather than later on.”
The box score might not show a fast start to his rookie campaign, but Layser said the pace he’s had in his No. 47bc gives him plenty of confidence that results for Clauson-Marshall Racing won’t be too far off.
“Even if our results so far haven’t been exactly how I wanted them to be, the speed definitely helps. We’ve been fast in all four showings we’ve had so far, both on small tracks and on big tracks,” Layser pointed out. “I think that’s a really good starting point for us and will bode well when we get more into the outdoor season and really get the Midwest part of our year going in a couple of weeks.”
As far as this weekend goes, however, Layser admitted he might be willing to sacrifice a result on paper if he has a shot to contend for the Factory Canopies $50,000 Pot of Gold Challenge.
The challenge will allow one of the top-four passing point earners to drop to the rear of the Shamrock Classic starting field, and if they can win the feature, would earn a $50,000 bonus on top of the winner’s purse of $4,000.
“I’d absolutely go after the bonus money,” Layser smiled. “It’s really neat that Factory Canopies stepped up to do that. Especially with this weekend not being a points race … it makes it easier to take that risk.
“I’m hoping to be in that top four for points going into the main. I want to have a shot at it.”
Without feature points on the line, some of the pressure is off of Clauson-Marshall Racing’s young rookie this weekend, but Layser still has his focus on running as strong as possible.
“I think you can relax a little more, but it’s still super competitive out there,” Layser said. “It’s going to be a fun weekend.”