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(Bill W) – July 14, 2010 – Rain put a damper on a two-day race weekend for Kaley Gharst, but the Sprint Invaders managed to get a race in at the Lee County Speedway during their Fair on Friday in Donnellson, Iowa.  The Decatur, Illinois driver drove to a fifth place finish after losing his brakes.  The he had some tough luck, he pulled to within 13 points of the Sprint Invaders point lead heading into Tipton on Thursday. 

Driving the Plath Motorsports #14P entry, Kaley drove to a strong second place finish in his heat after starting outside of row two.  “The track was wide to begin with and there wasn’t much on the bottom,” he says.  “It was an advantage to start on the outside.  We were able to get by Mike Hess and followed (Josh) Schneiderman the rest of the way and got up in a dash spot.” 

Kaley would start in the second row of the dash and finish fourth.  “The car was really good,” he says.  “We were at a bit of a disadvantage starting on the inside (row two) at that point.  It was good to get some more laps.  We were loose, so we corrected that for the feature.” 

The team was hoping the improvements would get Kaley in Victory Lane at the 3/8 mile oval…it’s a place he found back in June there.  “Unfortunately, we really didn’t get to prove how good the car was,” says the 2007 Sprint Invaders champion.  “The track took rubber about five laps in.  Then our brake caliper and rotor came loose, and we drove the rest of the way without brakes.” 

The condition impeded any progress forward from starting spot inside row two.  “It was dragging pretty bad…not locking up, but dragging,” describes Kaley.  “I pushed on the brake pedal and there wasn’t anything there.  It ended up being a long 25 laps.” 

Still in the top five, Kaley worked to maintain his spot.  “We fell back to fifth, and kind of rode around there,” he says.  “I saw that Ben (Wagoner) moved up above everybody there and was able to take the lead.  I wanted to do the same thing, but without brakes, I couldn’t do it.” 

A time or two, Kaley tried a move, but his entry and exit in the corners was limited.  “I had to do some weird stuff with the car to get it to turn,” he says.  “The car just wasn’t real stable and I couldn’t take many chances.  We just ran from the bottom to the middle and held our spot.  I did try a move on (Mike) Trent once, but he slid up and I about ran over his right rear.  After that, I played it pretty safe and brought it home fifth.” 

After the Sprint Invaders show at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton tomorrow night, the Plath Motorsports #14P is planning on racing in the 360 class at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday.  If some tire money can be rounded up for the family #44G, Kaley very well may be doing double duty at Knoxville.

Kaley will be selling $10 t-shirts from previous seasons at Tipton and at Knoxville, so stop by the trailer!

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.