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(Bill W) – August 4, 2010 – Kaley Gharst had hoped to get some laps in the family #44G at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night, but a losing a powerplant in hot laps made it a long tow for nothing. He will try to find a 410 ride for the Nationals. In the meantime, the Sprint Invaders competed at Peoria Speedway, and the Decatur, Illinois driver pleased his home state fans with a strong second place finish in the Plath Motorsports #14P. Banking was added to the ¼ mile a couple of years back, and the racing was intense at Sunday’s Kitchen Cooked Sprint Car Summer Shootout. Drawing the pole of his heat, Kaley would win going away. He would repeat the performance in Dash after starting outside row one. “The guys really had the car nice, and it felt good on top,” he says. “After drawing the pole, I felt good about the feature too.” Kaley shot out on the cushion to lead the first three laps. Ryan Jamison ran the bottom, and snuck by on lap four. “We were going pretty nice there on the top with Jamison,” says Kaley. “He was good on the bottom, and was able to get by us.” The two battled the rest of the way. “We stayed up top, and we would catch him at times,” says Kaley. “He would mess up a little, and then I would. We were pretty even really.” The pair stayed where they were running. “I thought about moving around, but I was thinking about lapped traffic,” says Kaley. “I figured he’d have to move off the bottom at some point. We got to traffic, but the yellow came out.” The ill-timed caution gave Jamison a clean track and he hit his spots to win. “Ryan drove a really good race, I just wish we would have had some traffic,” says Kaley. “I felt that’s where we could have got him. It never happened, and that’s racing.” Just 13 points separated Kaley, who led the Sprint Invaders points going in, from third place Matt Sutton. After Sunday, he was able to maintain first in the standings, as Jamison and Sutton are tied for second, seven markers back. The next event for the Invaders will be Thursday night at the Knox County Speedway in Knoxville, Illinois. “We’ll take second,” he says. “It was a good run. It was a good night overall. The top three in points finished in the top three, so the points are still close. We’re looking forward to going to Knoxville on Thursday, and hopefully have some fun there.” Kaley is trying to work on a ride for the 360 Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa this weekend as well. 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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