moment, Scotland coach Gordon Strachan said. We are in the

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bryan Clauson wasnt a household name and he hadnt yet earned the fame or fortune enjoyed by auto racings superstars.Cut from the mold of the old-school drivers, Clauson would race anything, anywhere at any time. He was chasing the USACs all-time wins mark -- having racked up 112 already -- and was well on his way to compete in 200 events this season alone. He was widely considered the best dirt-track racer in the nation.The wildly popular Clauson died Sunday night from injuries suffered in a crash during a weekend race in Kansas, a stunning announcement that came Monday from officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.Our Bryan fought to the end with the same desire that he demonstrated behind the wheel of all the various race cars he would park in victory lane, the Clauson family said in a statement released by the speedway. However, we were more proud of our Bryan that took a moment to make a young fans day, or demonstrated his uncommon kindness and appreciation toward his friends, family and fans.Clauson was leading Saturday nights race at the Belleville Midget Nationals when he crashed while passing lapped traffic; his car rolled and was hit by another competitor. He was airlifted to a hospital in Nebraska, where he died surrounded by his family.USAC President and CEO Kevin Miller called it one of the darkest days in the 60-year history of the United States Auto Club.Not only have we lost one of our greatest USAC champions, weve lost a true ambassador for all motorsports, he said.Fellow driver Kyle Larson said on Twitter that he was glad to become close friends and competitors with Bryan. He was a guy who pushed me to become a better racer and person. Danica Patrick called Clauson one of the good ones ... kind, funny, and a damn good driver.Miller said Clausons 112 victories are behind a very, very short list of USAC Hall of Famers that include Rich Vogler, A.J. Foyt, Sleepy Tripp and Mel Kintz.He was on pace to compete in 200 races this year, earning 27 victories in 116 starts, and leading three laps of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29 -- hours before winning a sprint car race 50 miles away in Kokomo in what he called an Indiana Double.In a post for The Drivers Project , Clauson detailed his Indy 500 experience and acknowledged he was still pretty raw in these cars so to be out there and mix it up all day was great. He also said Kokomo is where he grew up racing sprint cars and said it was important to celebrate there with loved ones.The racing community has had several drivers die in crashes in recent years. In 2013, Jason Leffler died following a crash at a New Jersey sprint car race. The following year, Formula One driver Jules Bianchi suffered head injuries in the Japanese Grand Prix that ultimately cost him his life. A year ago, Justin Wilson was killed when he was struck in the head by a piece of debris during an IndyCar race at Pocono.Clauson himself was involved in a crash just 24 hours before the fatal wreck. After Friday nights crash, he went on Twitter to express his appreciation after the tough hit for his safety equipment, his chassis manufacturer and his team for getting his car ready to race again.A four-time USAC national champion, Clauson was a three-time winner and the defending champion at Belleville.Bryan Clauson combined his passion and enthusiasm for grassroots racing with a God-given talent that made him the favorite to win every time he got in a midget or sprint car, IMS president Doug Boles said Monday. He possessed a humility and character out of the race car that made him a person that fellow competitors and fans alike enjoyed being around.Clauson was a California native who earned a USAC-IndyCar scholarship for winning the 2010 USAC national drivers title, giving him six Indy Lights starts in 2011 in a car shared with current IndyCar Series rookie Conor Daly at Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Clauson also raced eight times in USACs national series, with his best finish, third, coming in Iowa in 2011.He won the scholarship award again in 2012, allowing him to make his Indianapolis 500 debut with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. He returned to the Indy 500 in 2015 with KVSH/Jonathan Byrds Racing, and this year led his first career laps driving for Dale Coyne.Clauson was a development driver for Chip Ganassi in NASCAR, where he competed in 26 races over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He also spent several seasons driving for Tony Stewarts sprint car team.I dont care what happened, no matter how bad his day was, he always found a way to smile with it, Stewart said after Sundays NASCAR race. It sucks when its anybody in racing, its hard when you lose them, but its even worse when theyre somebody as close to you as Bryan was.Clauson is survived by his parents, Tim and Di, sister Taylor and fiancee, Lauren Stewart. Funeral arrangements were pending. A memorial service in his honor will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at a date to be announced.---Online:USAC tribute to Clauson: https://twitter.com/USACNation/status/76...411854848LONDON -- The latest installment of international soccers oldest rivalry is a jarring reminder for Scotland of just how far the team has fallen -- and keeps on plummeting.The balance of power has firmly been in Englands favor for decades.And yet thousands of Scotland fans will still travel south to London for Fridays World Cup qualifier while fatalistic about their teams chances.I feel sorry for the younger fans because the future looks bleak, said Hamish Husband, a 58-year-old member of a Scottish supporters group. The reasons are self-inflicted. Not unlike England, we have this belief that because we invented football then somehow we had a right to success.We have just been left behind. Modern football has changed and Scottish football has not changed with it.The rivalry that began in 1872 is being renewed at Wembley Stadium for the 113th time. It was forged on fading memories of fiercely-competitive tussles on the field and fiery exchanges that often turned violent around the stadium. They were times when both England and Scotland contested major tournament finals and both teams could deploy gifted players.England constantly agonizes over its limited international success, with the 1966 World Cup its only title and no final appearance since then. But England is reaching tournaments -- with rare slip-ups -- unlike Scotland, which last qualified for the World Cup in 1998.When the newly-expanded 24-team European Championship took place in France this year, all the British teams participated apart from Scotland. Even Iceland, with a population of 330,000, qualified for the first time and reached the quarterfinals. Scotland, whose population exceeds 5 million, is trying to figure out why it has fallen so far behind and allowed other countries to race ahead.We look at countries like Iceland, which is showing what can be achieved with limited population and limited resources, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan told The Associated Press.Thousands of members of the Tartan Army heading to Wembley will do so knowing there is little point booking trips to Russia for the 2018 World Cup. The Scots are only in fourth place in their qualifying group.The SFA is aware of the negativity surrounding the team and tapped into that sentiment in a rallying cry for fans ahead of Fridays game that was downbeat while still trying to offer a flicker of hope.Arent we a picture of sadness at time like these? Dour-faced at the idea of not qualifying, sitting there thinking -- tragedy, the narrator says on the video posted to the SFA Twitter account. Results suggest we are in for a bumpy ride, but whats new about that?After three matches in Group F, England is already out in front in the only automatic qualification place. But the video implores: We are only thrree games in and just three points off top spot.dddddddddddd Boom! Were not dead yet. Its not impossible. Weve beaten them at their bit before.Not since 1999, when Scotland won 1-0. But a 2-0 loss in Glasgow meant England won the playoff and went to Euro 2000 instead.Now, Scotland cant even beat 98th-ranked Lithuania on home soil, held 1-1 last month. In the FIFA rankings, Scotland is 57th, sandwiched between Macedonia and Mali, while England is 12th.Thirty years of decline cant be fixed instantly as much as there is a desire for overnight success, Regan said. The pipeline of players we have got isnt flowing quite as fast as its flowing in England.For Regan, theres a correlation between the decline of Scottish football and the rapid growth of the English game, where the Premier League has become the worlds richest football competition since being established in 1992.The TV money came into England and clubs were able to purchase players from overseas, Regan said. More and more foreign players came into the game and those foreign players took slots in the squad that Scottish players had previously had taken.The Scottish players were no longer getting game time but were still prepared to go south because the wages that they are earning are still greater than they could earn in Scotland.In an attempt to bolster the pool of players available to Scotlands national teams, 33 million pounds ($41 million) has been spent on Oriam, the SFAs newly-opened performance center.We are horrific in Scotland at the moment, Scotland coach Gordon Strachan said. We are in the worst state weve ever been. I am not talking about the Scotland national team, but the standard of kids coming through.Only six members of the 25-man squad for the England game play in the Premier League. Another nine from are lower-league clubs in England. Just four are from Scottish champion Celtic. The standout name is winger Oliver Burke, who joined Bundesliga club Leipzig in August to develop his game.Husband, who is preparing to make his 13th trip to Wembley as a Scotland fan, remembers a time when the national team featured world-class players like Denis Law, a title winner with Manchester United in the 1960s, and Kenny Dalglish, who collected trophies as a player and manager at Liverpool in the 1970 and 80s.There is no sign of players of that stature appearing in the near or significant future, Husband said. Unfortunately theres fatalism about the Scotland fans because the decline in our fortunes has happened for a long number of years and none of us have the answer.---Rob Harris is at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports ' ' '