(Bill W) – October 5, 2010 – Kaley Gharst keeps racking up the wins. The 22 year old driver from Decatur, Illinois notched his second series’ championship with the Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders with authority by taking the $2,000 to win Season Championship main event at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa last Saturday night. The win aboard the Randy and Lori Plath Motorsports #14P was a series’ high fifth for the 2010 season, and he added to his record total of 18 wins in the series’ history.
Kaley drew a tough heat, with Joe Beaver and Ryan Jamison up front. Russ Hall was beside him in row two, and Tasker Phillips, Dustin Selvage and Jeff Mitrisin were behind him. “We ended up with some pretty tough cars in there,” he says. “Starting fourth, we were able to get up to third. I think we were running down Russ (Hall), but we ran out of laps. The important thing was getting into the feature, and as long as we took the green, we locked the points up.”
The finish put Kaley outside of row four of the 25-lap main event on the 3/8 mile oval. “The car was excellent,” he says. “We were a little loose early on. I couldn’t get the wing to go back until the yellow came out (lap ten). After that, we took off.”
Kaley was up to fourth by the time the caution flew. “I was able to get off turn two a little better than most,” he says. “It took us awhile to get going, but once we did, we started picking them off. We were pretty good in lapped traffic there.”
When most went high on a track that changed drastically during the feature, Kaley was one of the few to choose the bottom groove. “There was a fine line there,” he says. “I would just get the right rear in there and wait for the car to get straight with the line of moisture. Then I would pick it back up. It seemed the guys up top were spinning their tires a bit on the top of two, and I was able to get the momentum going into three. The cushion in three and four was about like hitting a wall, but it was fun at the same time.”
He was up to second, and on lap 23, leader Rager Phillips tapped the turn two wall. It would be all Kaley needed to register his second win of the year at Lee County. “We were able to get under Phillips there, and I don’t know how close second was after that,” he says of the last two laps. “The last couple of laps, I felt we were going good. I was ready for the checkers, because the bottom was going away fast. I didn’t want to venture up top in two too much.”
It was another thing to put on an impressive resume for such a young driver. “We were able to put in a good year, and put another championship under our belt,” says Kaley. “It was good to end it on a good note. I’d just like to thank Randy (Plath) and everyone who has been a part of the team this year.”
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” tosprntcar@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.