Strong Illinois National Sees Otteau Earn Formula Podium

Clayton Otteau (left) celebrates his Light World Formula podium with the NASCAR Youth Series in Middletown, Ill. (Chris Otteau photo)

MIDDLETOWN, Ill. – One of Clayton Otteau’s strongest NASCAR Youth Series national events to-date was highlighted by a podium finish in the Light World Formula class at Abraham Lincoln Quarter Midget Ass’n.

The three-day weekend from May 23-25, with the Sunday finale streamed live on FloRacing, saw Otteau battle out of a B-main in the highly competitive division before charging from 10th to second in the A-main, cementing a prestigious podium for his family-run operation.

Otteau’s runner-up effort came despite damage to his Formula car sustained in a early, three-wide sandwich during the main which heavily bent the rear axle, leading to quick work-area repairs and having to charge back from 10th again.

Several cautions allowed Otteau to methodically work his way through the field, with a shot to go for the win on a one-lap shootout to the finish, but the 11-year-old New Jersey native settled into his position so as not to risk further damage to his race car.

Adding to the impressive go at things for Otteau was that he made all four A-mains in the classes he competed in at Middletown – Light World Formula, Senior Honda, Senior Animal, and Light 160.

A second-place heat finish set Otteau up on the front row for the Senior Honda feature, but he was hampered by an unfortunate black-flag call late during a tangle with another driver that relegated him to 10th in the final rundown.

Clayton Otteau (53) battles through the field at Abraham Lincoln Quarter Midget Ass'n. (Chris Otteau photo)

Otteau won his Senior Animal heat to start fourth in that division’s main event, but a caution-laden race and being pushed wide on a mid-race restart forced him to rally through traffic late en route to a fifth-place finish.

The Light 160 class also saw Otteau win his heat race, marking the first time the young driver won two heats at the same national event. He went on to battle through additional attrition to an eighth-place run in that class, still giving him four top 10s in four feature starts on the weekend.

Also of note, a spark plug issue following the Light World Formula B-main created additional challenges for Otteau, but he was able to rally through them in a gritty and focused effort.

“Overall, Middletown was a really great weekend for us. To put the FOJ, Landstone Capital, ConTra America Formula car on the podium after a lot of battles was awesome and something that really showed some of the speed we’ve had recently,” noted Otteau. “I’m super happy about getting all four cars into the A-main; that’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while. We are going to review the tapes and see where we can improve for our next national at West End.

“Thank you to all of our sponsors, Krybaby [Performance] for helping us fix the Formula engine over the phone, and to everyone that helped us out all weekend long.”

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, ConTra Group, The Werks Salon of Bernardsville, Hoffmann Pediatric Dentistry, Almeida Strategic Investments, and Laci Photography for their continued support of his racing endeavors.

After celebrating his 12th birthday Friday, Otteau will race next at West End Quarter Midget Ass’n in Gilbert, Pa., on Saturday, May 31. A NASCAR Youth Series national will come to the same track in late June.

About Clayton Otteau

Clayton Otteau is an 11-year-old dirt quarter midget and Junior Sprint 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 – in addition to select Junior Sprint races, and away from the racetrack is a supporter of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation and its mission to better the lives of children and families affected by pediatric cancer.

For more information on Otteau, including the latest news and schedule updates, visit https://claytonotteauracing.com/.