KOKOMO, Ind. – He was used to packing them in at Kokomo Speedway to watch him race and win, so it was no surprise to see the grandstand full at the dirt track to wish Bryan Clauson goodbye.

Despite threatening weather and eventual thunderstorms that cut short the ceremony Wednesday, the Bryan Clauson Celebration drew laughs and tears as the short-track star and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter was remembered by family and friends.

Among those in attendance were Dale Coyne, Clauson’s car owner for his final Indianapolis 500 drive in May; Conor Daly, one of his teammates at Indy; and close friends and NASCAR drivers Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse.

“I think this is the perfect place for us all – his fans, his friends, his family – to get to say goodbye to him and to celebrate his life,” said Clauson’s father, Tim, the first to speak.

Clauson died Aug. 7 from injuries sustained the night before in a crash at the Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas. The 27-year-old native Californian and Noblesville, Ind., resident was on a quest to compete in 200 races in 2016 in numerous forms of race cars. He was driving in his 117th race of the year – and leading – when the incident occurred.

Before a full house, Tim Clauson recalled Bryan’s racing career taking off at Kokomo Speedway – what he considered his home track – when he ran about a dozen races and won rookie of the year honors at the age of 13.

The proud but grieving father also remembered the darkness of the hours when they knew Bryan would not survive the injuries suffered in the crash at Belleville – and the light that shined through when they confirmed he had agreed to be an organ donor. Five people have a chance at survival through organs Clauson donated.

“When we found out Bryan was a donor, at that moment our lives changed,” Tim told the crowd. “As bad as it was before, our lives changed for the better. We got to spend an extra 72 hours with him.

“We all know what donating organs does for the recipients … You don’t know until you experience it, but what that did for my family, for Bryan’s best friends, gave us life again.”

Lauren Stewart, Clauson’s fiancée, retold the story of how a grasshopper let her know Bryan’s presence was still with her. Clauson won his final race in a midget at Beloit, Kan., four days before his death. As Bryan and Lauren were driving the truck hauling his merchandise trailer to Knoxville, Iowa, where their motorhome was, a grasshopper appeared in the cab.

Stewart stressed how much Clauson disliked insects of any kind and laughed – “a 27-year-old man who’s fearless (in a race car) is scared of a bug,” she said. The grasshopper disappeared but Bryan, driving the truck, insisted over the course of the six-hour drive that she catch and dispose of it. She never found it.

Several days after his death, as she sat in the motorhome alone, Stewart saw the grasshopper crawl out of Bryan’s firesuit that had been sitting in the truck. “It’s Bryan,” she told a friend.

Clauson’s mother, Diana, grappled with what the incident meant until she researched the spiritual meaning of a grasshopper.

“They have the ability to leap through time and into space where the true mysteries of life exist,” Diana read from a passage she had found.

“When the grasshopper appears to us, we are being asked to take a leap of faith and jump forward into a specific area of life without fear. Usually that specific area is one that we have avoided and is often connected to change on a larger scale.

“Grasshoppers can only jump forward, not backward or sideways. So when the grasshopper shows up, he could be reaffirming to you that you are taking the right steps to move forward in your current situation.”

The Clauson celebration took place on the one-year anniversary of the death of another Indy car driver, Justin Wilson. Also a former Coyne driver who won two races for the team, Wilson died from injuries sustained a year ago in the race at Pocono Raceway. Like Clauson, Wilson was a donor and five of his organs went to waiting recipients.

Read how the Clauson family is encouraging people to sign up to become organ donors here.