[i (Bill W) – September 11, 2009]
“Showtime” Kaley Gharst spent another weekend starting at the back of a pair of features, but did his usual charges through the field to complete a pair of top ten finishes. The Decatur, Illinois native drove the Bruce Williams #7K last weekend at Knoxville Raceway and the Lake Ozark Speedway. This weekend, he’ll tackle three races in his home state with the Sprint Invaders.
With qualifying having been a struggle at Knoxville, Saturday saw Kaley grab the last heat invert qualifying spot (18th). Once the green flag flew, he left the rest behind from the pole in the 8-lapper. “We were lucky to make that invert,” he says. “There was only two-tenths of a second difference between quick time and 14th quick. The track was fast. We’ve been struggling with the handling of the car a bit lately, but it was good there in the heat.”
Lining up inside row eight for the Season Championship Night 25-lapper, Kaley started moving forward and was scored tenth at the checkers. “The track had a nice top and bottom to it,” he says. “The car was really rolling well through the middle of one and two too. We were able to move up into the top ten, and to roll it back in the trailer in one piece…it was a pretty good night for us.”
Sunday dawned with a long drive to the Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri. The LOS 360 Nationals were in the offing, and 55 360 sprint cars waited. Of course, with the top three transferring out of six heats, Kaley couldn’t have drawn well. “It was tough,” he says. “They had a bunch of rain down there, and the heats were pretty much one-lane. We started seventh in the heat and were able to move up a couple of spots. The harder tire we had on was burning a little more than I would have liked.”
The fifth place finish lined him up in the third row of the B. With the top two transferring, and drivers such as Brian Brown starting towards the front it would be tough. Brown’s unfortunate spin would collect Mitchell Moore, and Kaley found himself in the second and final transfer spot at the checkers. “That definitely helped us out,” he says. “I don’t know that we could have made up much ground there. The track was still tough to pass on. The spot was basically given to us.”
Kaley took advantage of his opportunity, and started 22nd in the 30-lapper. “The track was building a tall cushion, and I about lost it all hitting it a time or two,” he says. “We were able to get by some guys, and the car was running well.”
His progress was steady, first advancing to the top 15, and then into the top ten. With ten laps to go, it seemed his run may come to an end. The race was plagued with a number of caution laps. “With about ten to go, the car started sputtering,” says Kaley. “I was sure we were running out of fuel with all the laps we had run.”
Despite the problem, Kaley had advanced to sixth with two to go, when the red flag was brought out. The open red at approximately 2:45 a.m. required taking on fuel. Kaley and the team thought the sputtering problem would be solved. They were wrong, though he held onto his sixth place standing. “I figured taking on the fuel would help us to take off,” he says. “We found out later that the fuel line was pinched.”
Kaley will pilot the Randy Plath Motorsports #14P this weekend in Illinois with the Sprint Invaders. His four wins are tops with the series this season, and came despite missing three shows thus far. Tonight (Friday) he will hit the Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville for the Herb Barlow Memorial, Saturday sees the series at the Spoon River Speedway south of Canton for the Tom Knowles Memorial, and the weekend concludes on Sunday at the Quincy Raceways. “It’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed every night for a change,” says Kaley.
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.
- Bill Wright on Sep 14, 2009
- Article Date: 9/14/2009