7/20/2010
Sprint Source
Kaley Gharst – On Top at Tipton!
(Bill W) – July 20, 2010 – Kaley Gharst found himself back in Victory Lane with the Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders Thursday night at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa. The win was Kaley’s second of the Sprint Invaders 2010 season, and 15th overall, which is tops all-time in series’ history. The win also put him on top of the Sprint Invaders standings heading into their next race on August 1. The 22 year old driver is still weighing his racing options for this weekend.
Kaley fought through a tough draw, driving from fifth to second in his heat race at Tipton. “We didn’t have the best starting spot,” says the Decatur, Illinois driver. “We were able to get to third, and we still had a little left. We were able to get by Donnie (Steward) for second, and the car was really good. It was a bit loose, but I think everyone was.”
In the Dash, Kaley took a trip over the berm in turn one. “We didn’t have a whole lot of time to get the car tightened up the way we wanted,” he says. “We did a couple of things, but it wasn’t enough. We were running fourth, and got off the track in one. It ended up helping us in the redraw.”
The redraw would put him outside of row one for the feature. “We got out to a lead and the car felt good until we got to traffic,” says Kaley. “It got extremely tight when I got behind the lapped cars. I couldn’t get by them, and all of a sudden (Ryan) Jamison comes by and passes all of us.”
Kaley was able to drive the Plath Motorsports #14P back to the point and lead the last few laps for the win. “(Jamison) found something down there we couldn’t,” he says. “Once I got around those cars and back in clean air, we were able to get back around him.”
Double duty at Knoxville on Saturday didn’t go well as the #14P in the 360 division was paired with the family #44G in the 410’s. “Neither car went very good all night,” says Kaley. “The 410 car felt good in hot laps, but I made a mistake in qualifying. I decided to run the top of one and two. After the checkers I went through the bottom and it stuck all the way around like glue. I knew I had given up three or four-tenths of a second with that decision.”
The problems continued with the 410. “After the heat, the oil dumped out of the engine,” says Kaley. “We’ll get a chance to look at that this week, and hopefully, it’s not too serious.”
Time trials (28th quick) also put the #14P behind the 8-ball with the 360’s. “The car felt pretty good in qualifying, but we were behind on speed,” says Kaley. “I’m not sure where we could have picked more up. I was battling with (Robby) Wolfgang for fifth for awhile, but we were lagging due to gear choice. We were a little better in the B, but neither 410 nor 360 went well. It wasn’t a good weekend at Knoxville.”
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 owners Randy and Lori Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder Coating and Sandblasting, Holtkamp Truck and Trailer Repair, Nelson’s Catering, Pieper Inc., Lange Chiropractic, Rockstar Graphics, Scott Performance, Midland Performance and GPC Race Products.
[i Photo - The Plath Motorsports team in Victory Lane at Tipton (Sandy Brockway Photo)]
Submitted By: Bill Wright