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Kaley Gharst – Quincy Checkers!

7/27/2009 - “Showtime” Kaley Gharst was able to grab his fourth victory of the 2009 season on Sunday, July 19 at the Quincy Raceways near Quincy, Illinois. The win came in exciting fashion aboard the Randy Plath #14P, and it was the third for the team in Sprint Invaders action this season. The Decatur, Illinois driver has had his struggles at the Knoxville Raceway the past two weeks, but the Bruce Williams #7K team will look to rectify that on Saturday.

Kaley started fifth in his heat and ran third at Quincy, one spot out of a dash opportunity. “We got up to third, but really we were lucky to finish,” he admits. “We got together with Houseman there. We were lucky the front end didn’t get knocked out, and it was just the front wing.”

The third place spot set him up outside of row four for the 25-lap main event. “We wanted an outside starting spot, so eighth worked for us,” says Kaley. “There weren’t many people up top, and it seemed like we had a wide open shot at the front.”

By lap nine, Kaley was up to fourth, and he was third by lap eleven. He grabbed second on lap 17, and took the lead from Jim Moughan Jr. two circuits later. “Jimmy came up after the race and said he wasn’t moving up until he saw someone pass him up there,” says Kaley. “He said by the time he saw me, it was too late. It worked out well for us running low in one and two, and high in three and four.”

On lap 21, the 2007 Sprint Invaders champ drove off the top of turns three and four, surrendering the lead back to Moughan. He emerged on the front straight in second, and was able to run the veteran back down and pass him a second time. “We got in there a little too hot, trying to get around another car,” he says of his trip. “I forgot to get on the brakes early enough and we drove straight off there. Luckily, we had a few laps to work our way back to the front, and we didn’t hook something and roll over.”

Although Kaley has made the feature at Knoxville the last two weekends amongst 30+ car fields, he has suffered two DNF’s in the main events. “We’ve had some steering problems, and we just haven’t been able to get going in that car,” he says. “We’ve been struggling to get the car right. I just haven’t been comfortable in it. I haven’t been able to get up in the seat like I need to, so we’re going to try a different car this week, and hopefully, that solves the problem. Maybe we’ve qualified a little better, but I think a lot had to do with us coming out early.”

The #7K team will try it again this Saturday as the Nationals draw closer.

Keep an eye on Kaley's progress this week and beyond at www.KaleyGharst.com!

If you would like to receive Kaley's weekly releases, send an e-mail with the subject line "Kaley" to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net.

Kaley and car owner Randy Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder Coating and Sandblasting, Scott Performance, Holtkamp's truck and trailer repair, Rockstar Graphics and all of their sponsors. The 7K team would like to thank Phillips Floors, Info2go, Wagner Excavating, Parker Signs, Redtail Painting, Rod End Supply, LWBJ, Community State Bank and Carlson Systems.

In Victory Lane at Quincy (Sandy Brockway Photo)

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