DU QUOIN, Ill. (Nov. 29, 2011)—Open-wheel star Bryan Clauson has entered the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series’ second annual Battle at the Center on Dec. 17 at the Mini Magic Mile at the Southern Illinois Center.

Clauson has won the USAC National Championship, for the driver with the most points in 25 events in Midget, Sprint Car and Silver Crown Series, and the USAC Mopar National Midget title the past two seasons. The 22-year-old from Noblesville, Ind., had three wins in six races in POWRi National Midgets in 2011. Clauson also had four top-five finishes and five top-10s in six Firestone Indy Lights races in 2011.

Jake Blackhurst, 2011 Rookie of the Year in POWRi’s National Midgets and Clauson’s teammate, will also race in the Battle at the Center. The 16-year-old from Elmhurst, Ill., had six top-10s in 14 features and made the feature in the last 11 events he entered. Blackhurst finished 11^th in the POWRi Midget championship.

Five of the top-10 drivers in POWRi’s championship have entered the Dec. 17 non-points event. They are Austin Brown (4^th) of Millstadt, Ill., Chett Gehrke (5^th) of Broken Arrow, Okla., Tim Siner (6^th) of Dupo, Ill.,  Brett Anderson (8^th) of Belleville, Ill., and Dereck King (9^th) of Vienna, Ill.

Anderson, the 2008 POWRi Midget champion, won two features in 2011. Tyler Thomas of Collinsville, Okla., had one feature win in POWRi in 2011 running a limited schedule and he’s also entered at the Battle at the Center.

The event is expected to draw an all-star cast of drivers from Midget racing’s top sanctioning organizations and will pay $5,000 to win.

The one-day event will feature a 40-lap main event on the 1/5^th-mile indoor track at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. Gates open at 3 p.m. and hot laps begin at 5 p.m. with racing immediately following. General admission tickets are $20 and children 12-and-under are free.

The event is being taped by NEWAVE Productions for delayed broadcast on SPEED Channel LUCAS Oil on the Edge.

Casey Shuman won the inaugural running of the Battle at the Center, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking second and Dave Darland third.

Entries for POWRi’s Lucas Oil National Midget Series 2^nd Battle at the Center (as of Nov. 26): Colten Cottle, Kansas, Ill., Zach Daum, Pocohontas, Ill., Danny Frye III, St. Charles, Ill., David Gough, Machnesney, Ill., Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Austin Brown, Millstadt, Ill., Chett Gehrke, Broken Arrow, Okla., Brett Anderson, Belleville, Ill., Tim Siner, Dupo, Ill., John Campbell, Belleville, Ill., Steve Stroud, St. Charles, Mo., Christopher Bell, Norman, Okla., Tim Lynch, Columbus, Ind., David Budres, Beloit, Wis., Stephen Arnold, Seymour, Ind., Kyle Neal, Ewing, Ill., Jake Blackhurst, Mapleton, Ill., Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Ind., Isaac Chapple, Wilkinson, Ind., Taylor Ferns, Shelby Township, Mich., Kara King, Vienna, Ill., Tyler Thomas, Collinsville, Okla., Rick King, Vienna, Ill., Dereck King, Vienna, Ill., Darren Kingston, Vandalia, Ill.

For more information on POWRi Racing, go to www.POWRi.com.