By Bill W
October 2, 2010 – Kaley Gharst assured himself of a second championship with the Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders with a win in the series’ Season Championship event on Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The 22 year old driver from Decatur, Illinois also won a championship in 2007. He took the lead from Rager Phillips on lap 23 to win for a fifth time in series’ history at the 3/8 mile oval.
It was Russ Hall who shot out to a convincing lead early on in the 25-lapper. Rager Phillips and Bobby Mincer tucked into second and third as the lead trio entered lapped traffic. Hall’s lead was significant when he tangled with a lapped car and spun on lap 10. Exiting the car to inspect the damage, he was disqualified and went pitside.
Rager Phillips inherited the lead, with Mincer, David Hall, Gharst and Joe Beaver behind him. A caution for Harold Pohren slowed things again two laps later, but the top five remained the same. The final 13 laps went non-stop.
Gharst used the low side to pass both David Hall and Mincer to move into the runner-up position. He was making progress on the leader. Meanwhile, Matt Sutton was working his way forward from his starting spot in row five. He was fourth behind Mincer with five laps to go.
On lap 23, Phillips got high in turn two and tagged the fence. Gharst pounced on the opportunity and went on to take his series’ record 18th win. “On the caution (lap 10) I was able to pull the wing back where I needed it,” he said. “That allowed me to work the bottom. I was able to get to the part of the track where the car wanted to be. Some of the guys were spinning their wheels on the top of turn two, and I was able to get by. I felt like the last couple laps we were going well. It was great to win another championship, and this was a good way to cap off the season.”
Mincer, who won the championship in 2009, was able to hold onto second in the main event. “I was hoping we could challenge for the lead, but it just didn’t happen,” he said. “I could tell all night we would finish strong unless I screwed up. We had just a little too much stagger on the car. All in all, the way our season has gone, it wasn’t a bad way to end it.”
Sutton charged from 9th to 3rd at the checkers, and was second in the season points’ race. “I got the wing back where I needed it, and I found something through the middle,” he said. “The track changed a lot, and the bottom was a lot better than I thought it would be. We ended up running there. Chris (McGraw) had the car dialed in, and we were patient. Second in points is not too bad. If you can stay up with Kaley and Ryan (Jamison), you can’t hang your head.”
Jamison had a rough night. Entering the night second in points, he lost a cylinder in hot laps. He went to a back-up car slated for Mark Ellefritz to complete the night and finished 15th in the feature and third in the points’ race. “We didn’t have the best of luck, but that’s the way it goes,” he said. “We had a strong year again, and we’ll get ready for the next one.”
Jeff Mitrisin drove from 11th to 4th, while Rager Phillips held on for fifth ahead of David Hall, Ben Wagoner and Joe Beaver. Justin Parrish was the hard-charger with a 305 under the hood, placing ninth, and Nick Eastin drove Bart Andrews’ #9x to tenth.
Mincer, Beaver and David Hall took heat races. Beaver won the Shake-Up Dash, and Dustin Selvage, who was caught up in a heat race incident he couldn’t avoid, won the B.
Curt Anderson of Princeton, Illinois won the 52” TV raffled off by the Sprint Invaders Benevolent Society (SIBS).
Results
Ideal Ready Mix 25-lap A main Finish (started): 1. 14P, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (8) 2. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (3) 3. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (9) 4. 10, Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa, IA (11) 5. 10V, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (2) 6. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA (5) 7. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (12) 8. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (6) 9. 4J, Justin Parrish, Oquawka, IL (17) 10. 9x, Nick Eastin, New London, IA (10) 11. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (14) 12. 38, Seth Wilke, Burlington, IA (15) 13. 2, John Schulz, West Burlington, IA (7) 14. 53H, Matt Harms, Chillicothe, IL (4) 15. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (19) 16. 4m, Mark Tischer, Hannibal, MO (20) 17. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (18) 18. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (16) 19. 50P, Harold Pohren, New London, IA (13) 20. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (1). Lap Leaders: R. Hall 1-10, R. Phillips 11-22, Gharst 23-25. Hard Charger: Parrish.
Golden Eagle Distributors – Budweiser of Burlington Heat Race #1 (8 laps, top five to feature, top two to Dash): 1. Bobby Mincer (6) 2. Matt Harms (2) 3. John Schulz (7) 4. Nick Eastin (5) 5. Harold Pohren (3) / 6. Andy Huston (4) 7. 40x, Daniel Bergquist, Burlington, IA (1) 8. 93, Jamie Needham, Moline, IL (9) 9. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (8)
Cole Implement of Media, IL Heat Race #2 (8 laps, top five to feature, top two to Dash): 1. Joe Beaver (1) 2. Russ Hall (3) 3. Kaley Gharst (4) 4. Jeff Mitrisin (7) 5. Tasker Phillips (5) / 6. Ryan Jamison (2) 7. Dustin Selvage (6) DNS – 10T, Tim Moore, Rock Island, IL, 61J, Mark Ellefritz, Mediapolis, IA
Huston Land Improvement of Roseville, IL Heat Race #3 (8 laps, top five to feature, top two to Dash): 1. David Hall (1) 2. Rager Phillips (7) 3. Matt Sutton (4) 4. Ben Wagoner (8) 5. Seth Wilke (3) / 6. Justin Parrish (6) 7. Mark Tischer (2) 8. 97x, Gary Bonar, Burlington, IA (9) 9. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (5)
Dirt, Dust and Speed Shake-Up Dash (6 laps): 1. Joe Beaver (1) 2. Russ Hall (3) 3. Rager Phillips (5) 4. Bobby Mincer (6) 5. Matt Harms (2) 6. David Hall (4)
Holtkamp’s Truck and Trailer Repair B Main (12 laps, top five to feature): 1. Dustin Selvage (5) 2. Justin Parrish (3) 3. Andy Huston (1) 4. Ryan Jamison (2) 5. Mark Tischer (6) / 6. Daniel Bergquist (4) 7. Jamie Needham (7) 8. Gary Bonar (8) DNS – Jarrod Schneiderman, Tim Moore, Jimmy Davies, Mark Ellefritz
Contingency Awards:
Rod End Supply: Seth Wilke, Matt Harms
Saldana Racing Products: Andy Huston
Weld Racing: Justin Parrish
Hepfner Race Products: Russ Hall
Brake Man: John Schulz