Otteau Grabs Senior Animal Victory At Keystone
SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. – Clayton Otteau finally broke through to victory lane Saturday with a Senior Animal class victory at the Keystone State Quarter Midget Club.
After advancing from second to win his heat race in the division, Otteau started from the pole and dominated the main event to capture his first victory of the season.
Otteau also had strong heat races in the Light 160 and Senior Honda divisions as well, charging from seventh to second in the Light 160 preliminary and making a fourth-to-second run in the Honda heat.
He lined up on the outside pole in both mains, taking the checkers third in the Senior Honda headliner and maintaining his runner-up spot the whole way to finish second in Light 160.
The 10-year-old’s fourth class of the day, Light World Formula, was more of a challenge. A seventh-place finish in the heat put Otteau on row four of the grid, but he was eventually involved in three caution flags in that feature, leaving him with a DNF.
A win and three total podium finishes marks the kind of weekend that Otteau has been searching for since he began the year, finally allowing him to build some momentum with his No. 53 car.
“We’re really happy to finally get on the board with a win in Senior Animal, and that we had a good, consistent day overall,” said Otteau. “There’s still some work to be done on the Formula [car], but overall, we are starting to head in the right direction and that’s a good thing for us going into the summer.”
Otteau would like to thank Race Face Brand Development, the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, Otteau Group Real Estate, Landstone Finance, Level 10 Development, Esposito Construction, King Willy Studios, Hoffman Pediatric Dentistry, and Laci Photography for their continued support of his racing endeavors.
Otteau’s next race is Friday, June 14 at Pocono Raceway’s Mini Tricky Triangle in Long Pond, Pa.
About Clayton Otteau
Clayton Otteau is a 10-year-old dirt quarter midget racer from Bernardsville, N.J., and first-generation driver with aspirations of climbing the motorsports ladder toward NASCAR competition. After he began in quarter midgets, he learned that his grandfather drag raced and his great-grandfather competed in a Ford race car on dirt in Pennsylvania, further cementing his love for being behind a steering wheel.
At three years old, Otteau began off-roading in a Power Wheels machine, eventually moving into go-karts by the age of seven. He won his first-ever go-kart race and posted the fastest lap that day, to boot.
He turned eight during his rookie year of quarter midget racing in 2021, graduating to the senior classes the next year in both the Northeast Dirt Series and the USAC.25 Series (now the NASCAR Youth Series).
Otteau is currently competing in four quarter midget classes – Senior Honda, Senior Animal, Light 160, and Light World Formula – and away from the racetrack is a supporter of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation and its battle against pediatric cancer.
