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Kaley Gharst – Looking to Nail Down a Championship

(Bill W) – September 21, 2010 – “Showtime” Kaley Gharst is looking to nail down another Sprint Invaders championship this Saturday night as the series brings their season to a close at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. Another strong points night last Friday at the Farley (IA) Speedway has put the Decatur, Illinois driver 53 points ahead of the next closest contender, Ryan Jamison.

A run in the Plath Motorsports #14P to second in his heat at Farley was aided by another competitor not making the call. “We caught a break after a bad draw and got to start fourth there in the heat,” he says. “We were able to move our way up to second by the end, and that put us in the dash.”

A fourth place run in the Shake-Up Dash was the place to be, as the draw saw Kaley starting up front for the feature. “The draw worked in our favor again there,” he says. “We drew the (front row) outside, with (Jeff) Mitrisin on the pole.”

Several tries at green were needed before the race got underway. “Mitrisin got a little bit better bite on the bottom than I had on the restarts,” says Kaley. “He was able to get to turn one first, and then he got away from us a little bit. There was a bit of a bottom, but they moved the tires out, and that narrowed the track. He was running the top on both ends.”

After falling back, Kaley was able to make a late run for another win. “I was able to search around and find something in the middle of one and two,” he says. “I ran him back down, and just kind of ran out of laps. We chocked it up to a good race. We could have used another five laps, but it is what it is. It was another good point night for us, and we’re looking forward to Saturday.”

Kaley has not looked at the points, and plans to go into Saturday’s race like any other. He won at Lee County Speedway earlier this year, and leads all Sprint Invaders competitors in wins there with four. “I haven’t even looked at it, or broken it down,” he says. “I’m not really worried about it. We’re just going to go in there and try to win the race.”

Plans on Saturday had Kaley and the family #44G at the Tom Knowles Memorial at the Spoon River Speedway south of Canton, Illinois. He survived the heat to make the 20-car main event. “Jim Moughan and Korey Weyant got together in front of us,” he says of the heat. “I kind of got out of it. I saw them get back on it, so I did too. Then I saw Moughan slowing, and I got on the brakes. I got up on his left rear, but fortunately, I was able to continue and finish fifth.”

Lightning was all around, and shortly after nine o’clock, the skies opened up. “I saw the rain coming,” says Kaley. “I headed to see where we were lining up (11th), and it started pouring. That was it.”

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.

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