Race car driver Bryan Clauson died from injuries he sustained during a crash at the Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas over the weekend, USA Today reports. He was 27.
According to the site, Clauson's car went over a guard rail and flipped over several times on Saturday, August 6. Additionally, fellow driver Ryan Greth could not avoid the accident and collided into Clauson's vehicle on the track.
Clauson was transported to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln, Nebraska, and later died on Sunday.
"This is truly one of the darkest days in the 60-year history of the United States Auto Club," USAC CEO Kevin Miller said in a statement. "Not only have we lost one of our greatest USAC champions, we've lost a true ambassador for all of motor sports."
"Bryan's passion for our sport was unparalleled," Miller continued. "He was a leader not only on the track, but in the pits with his fellow competitors."
Clauson's fiancee, Lauren Stewart, released a statement on behalf of his family on Monday. "Last night, the 7th of August, we said goodbye to our son, my fiancé, our friend, Bryan Clauson," the statement read, via ABC News. "He was surrounded by family and friends and we were grateful that we could experience his final moments with him.”
Clauson, a Noblesville, Indiana, resident, participated in the Indianapolis 500 in 2012, 2015 and 2016 and won two USAC National Sprint Car titles and 170 career USAC competitions. He and Stewart had plans to wed in February 2017.
