By Mike O’Leary
May 5, 2010 – When the 2010 King of Indiana Sprint Series pushes off on Friday, May 14, at Gas City I-69 Speedway, many questions will be answered over the next several weeks. Who will capture thrilling KISS victories this year? How many drivers will score their first KISS win? Will Jon Stanbrough add to his record of 15 KISS feature triumphs? Will he earn a fifth KISS crown? Or will another driver break through to claim the title, like Brady Short did last year?
While those questions will be answered on the race tracks over the next several weeks, one fact is known: the 2010 KISS Champion’s Helmet will once again be a unique piece of art. As in the past, the KISS Champion’s Helmet is made possible through sponsorship by Simpson Performance Products and Sprint Car and Midget Magazine. This year, Jeff VanHorn, of VanHorn Tint and Accessories, will create the one-of-a-kind graphic design.
The KISS series promoters basically give the artist a blank sheet of canvas to work on, a plain white helmet. There are no directions or guidance, other than “Make it special.” This approach has been successful, given the artistic design seen on the three previous helmets. While the Simpson helmet is fully state of the art in the critical areas of safety, materials and construction, it comes equipped with everything a driver needs to strap it on and go racing. Yet, each of the Champion’s who have won a helmet (Stanbrough in ’07 and ’08, Short in ’09) have chosen not to wear it for racing, but rather to keep it with their personal trophies. This only makes sense in that there are no other helmets like the KISS Champion’s, and the only way to get one is to earn it on the race track.
The KISS promoters welcome VanHorn Tint and Accessories and their special contribution, which will help make this year’s KISS championship extraordinary. Located in Bloomington, Indiana, VanHorn offers a broad range of products, including window tinting, LED lights and truck bars, rear window graphics, specialized graphics for everything from racing cars and helmets, to personal, company and fleet vehicles. More details, including many photos of their work, can be seen at their websites, www.vanhorn1.com and www.vanhorngear.com. They can also be found at http://www.myspace.com/vanhorn1dotcom. Their office phone number is 812-876-2230.
The 2010 KISS series leads off with a big weekend, starting on Friday, May 14, at Gas City, with the second event Sunday, May 16, at Kokomo Speedway. The following weekend, KISS racers will have another doubleheader, with Bloomington on Friday the 21st and Lawrenceburg Speedway the next night. After a short break, the series returns at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt on June 5, a Saturday night. The finale will again be hosted at Paragon Speedway, just south of Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 26.