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Kaley Gharst – Musical Cars Comes to a Stop! by: Bill Wright DECATUR, ILL (August 1) – Kaley Gharst has been keeping sprint car fans on edge with their scorecards the last month or so. He’s piloted four different cars at Knoxville Raceway alone. The “Musical Cars” seem to have come to a stop, as he anticipates settling with Marty Johnson and his potent #81 for the rest of the Knoxville season. This Saturday will mark the final tune-up before the 48th Annual SuperClean Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil August 6-9. The call to the 20 year old from Marty Johnson came late last week. “Marty wanted us to give it a shot, so I said, ‘Why not? Let’s see how things go.’ He’s got good motors and good equipment, so it’s a great opportunity,” says Kaley. A late pill in qualifying didn’t suit the track conditions and Kaley timed outside of the heat invert (20th). “I can’t seem to break that qualifying deal,” he says. “We keep working on it though. We chased the car a bit, and went out late too. We chased the tightness of the car a bit all night. It’s the first time I’d ever driven anything but a Maxim (the #81 is a J&J). I was getting more comfortable as the night went on.” What he lacked in time trials, Kaley made up in the heat race. He came from outside the heat invert to not only grab a transfer, but climb to fifth. “We had the car better for the heat race,” he explains. “We made a move early there to get in a transfer spot.” Starting inside row number nine, the Decatur, Illinois driver climbed into the top ten by the halfway point. That’s when things stalled a bit due to a tight condition. “The car really felt good the first ten laps or so,” he remembers. “When the fuel burned off and the tires were raced on, by the end of the race, the car was pretty tight. We’ll keep trying to figure something out to make it strong the entire race and keep passing cars.” Casey’s Night this Saturday at Knoxville will prove to be a good test for the newly formed team. It will also be their last preparation for the Nationals next week. “This weekend we’ll focus on getting comfortable, and then we hope to be a force to be reckoned with,” 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. |