UPDATE: Clauson critical after Belleville crash

UPDATED, 3:50 p.m. ET: Bryan Clauson is in critical condition at a hospital in Lincoln, Neb. following his devastating accident in Saturday night's Belleville Nationals midget race.

The 27-year-old resident of Noblesville, Ind. was struck in the cage by another car after flipping while leading the 39th annual midget race on the high-banked, high-mile dirt track in Kansas.

The following statement was released Sunday afternoon by his father, Tim.

"Bryan was severely injured last night while competing in the Belleville Nationals midget race at Belleville High Banks in Kansas.

"Bryan was airlifted to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln, Nebraska following the accident, where he remains in critical condition and under the care of the medical staff.

"We appreciate the support of the racing community and are thankful for the outreach we've received. We ask that you continue to respect our privacy as we focus on Bryan."

- The Clauson Family

Starting ninth, Clauson had just taken the lead from Chad Boat and was starting to pull away when he encountered lapped traffic on the lightning-quick half-mile dirt track. The 27-year-old resident of Noblesville got stuffed into the fence by a lapped car and went into a series of snap rolls before landing on his side, at which point he was struck in the cockpit by an oncoming car at a high rate of speed. It was reminiscent of the crash that badly injured Jan Opperman in 1976 at the Hoosier Hundred.

It took rescue workers approximately 30 minutes to cut off the cage of his car, remove Clauson and place him in an ambulance.

The three-time Indy 500 starter walked away from a nasty crash in Friday night's preliminary race and tweeted his thanks to Simpson Racing and Spike Chassis.

Clauson scored his 27th feature win of 2016 on Wednesday night in Beloit, Kansas and was looking to become a four-time winner at Belleville. Saturday night was his 116th start of the season as he was attempting 200 starts in midgets and sprints.

Boat, the son of former Indy 500 veteran and USAC champ Billy, went on win the 40-lap main event.