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(Bill W) – Kaley Gharst knows that everything has to work right to do well at the Knoxville Nationals. A small mechanical gremlin in the heat race ruined any chances of advancing to the “Big Dance” on Saturday, but he did walk away with one of the trophies after winning the D main in the Bruce Williams #7K. The Decatur, Illinois driver will switch over to the Plath Motorsports #14P this weekend and race with the Sprint Invaders, with whom he has won three features this season.

“Showtime” took the wings off for the first time at the Ultimate Challenge in Oskaloosa a week ago Tuesday. After being mired in the back of his heat and qualifier, he really got the hang of things in the B main. Kaley passed eight cars, but finished one spot out of a transfer to the main event. “It took awhile to get used to the car, but Bob Brooks, who has worked on non-wing cars before, was working on it all night,” he says. “I couldn’t give him much feedback, because I couldn’t tell him what the car needed. The car was pretty decent for the B, but we came up one spot short of a transfer. It was a lot of fun.”

Kaley set the 29th quick time of the night amongst the 59 cars gathered for Thursday qualifying at the Knoxville Nationals. Trouble in the heat set up a long week. “We ended up coming out late in qualifying, and ended up around where we normally do,” he says. “We had a caution and the motor was popping. I wanted to pull in the work area and fix it, but there wasn’t time. That put us in the C main, and when you’re there, your week is pretty much done.”

There was a transfer from the C, and a charge from 22nd to 15th in the B, but Kaley would be 74th in points and headed for the non-qualifiers program on Friday. After finishing seventh in the semi-feature, the 21 year old put on a show in the main event, earning hard-charger honors by passing ten cars and finishing eleventh. “There were a couple of things that we were trying to work out with the car on Thursday,” he shares. “We got those things figured out pretty good on Friday. About halfway through the feature, the car settled down, and we started passing some cars. That felt good.”

The 11th place finish put him on the pole for Saturday’s D main. He led from start to finish. “We missed the C, but that kind of worked out, I guess,” he says. “You never want to be in the D main, but if you are, you might as well win it. Hopefully, this can be the last streak of bad luck for us at the Nationals.”

An hour rain delay plagued things before the D could be completed and the C main started, creating a lightning fast racing surface. Starting 20th, Kaley would gain only one spot…not that he really saw anything. “It was lock down, follow the leader, at that point,” he says. “There was no time to put tear-offs on, so I was just kind of cruising around, trying not to run into anything. I think we got some things figured out on the car, so we’ll take that into the next race at Knoxville.”

This weekend the Sprint Invaders will compete at the Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Illinois on Friday, and in Twin Features action at the 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa on Saturday.

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 owner Randy Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder Coating and Sandblasting, Scott Performance, Holtkamp's truck and trailer repair, Rockstar Graphics and all of their sponsors. The 7K team would like to thank Phillips Floors, Info2go, Wagner Excavating, Parker Signs, Redtail Painting, Rod End Supply, LWBJ, Community State Bank and Carlson Systems.

(Bill W) – “Showtime” Kaley Gharst provided the show in the Knoxville 360 Nationals driving to hard-charger honors, driving from 24th to 9th. A top ten finish in the 410 class on Saturday night at Knoxville was thwarted with a late spin, but the Decatur, Illinois driver is determined heading into his qualifying night this Thursday for the 49th Annual SuperClean Knoxville Nationals.

Registering the 28th quick time of the night on Thursday could have taken some drivers out of the 360 Nationals chase, but not Kaley. “Our qualifying was off again, but that put us on the front row for the heat,” he says. “We were able to make the most of that, and win the heat.”

Kaley posted outside row seven and began his typical charge through the field. “The car was rolling well,” he says. “We were able to move our way forward, mostly on the bottom. It was unfortunate when we got to sixth, that the fifth place car (Dustin Daggett) was a good straightaway ahead of us. We were able to catch up with him, but we ran out of laps. We could have used a yellow there.”

With the tough qualifying effort, Kaley ended up five spots out of locking himself in Saturday night’s $10,000 to win finale. A good run in the B main got him in on Saturday, however. In the end, he surged from his 23rd starting spot to 9th at the finish. “We were able to follow (Brad) Sweet there into third, and get ourselves a transfer spot,” he says. “We had a pretty decent run there in the feature. Any time you can go from 23rd to 9th with the best 360 drivers in the country, you’re doing something right. I would have liked to see what we could have done from the front. I don’t know that we would have had anything for (Terry) McCarl or those guys, but it would have been nice to find out.”

The track differed on both ends for the main event. “The track was wide in one and two, and you could run wherever you wanted,” says Kaley. “That’s where we did the most passing. In three and four, it was still a little heavy. It was really racy, and if you were faster, you could pass people. The 360 Nationals went well for us. It was as good as we could have expected after our qualifying laps on Thursday.”

In 410 action, Kaley timed in 26th quick on Saturday. “Qualifying where we are qualifying puts us up front in the heats,” he says. “We seem to be winning those, but we should be winning them when we start up there.”

After winning his heat, Kaley’s time put him back outside of row nine. He picked off several cars throughout the race and made a bid for a top ten. “We were running pretty good, and I tried to slide in front of (Kerry) Madsen for tenth or eleventh,” he remembers. “I got into the infield berm a little bit and I tried to reset the car. I was already into the only slick spot there was in three and four, and it came back around on me. Unfortunately, there were only three or four laps to go. I was looking forward to maybe getting a top ten there, but we’ll see what we can do this week.”

Kaley picked off a few cars from the tail to finish 19th. A 35th quick time at the Front Row Challenge put him behind the 8-ball, and a fifth place finish in the B after a lengthy rain delay ended things. The Bruce Williams #7K team will take the wings off tonight and run the Casey’s Ultimate Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company.

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 owner Randy Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder Coating and Sandblasting, Scott Performance, Holtkamp's truck and trailer repair, Rockstar Graphics and all of their sponsors. The 7K team would like to thank Phillips Floors, Info2go, Wagner Excavating, Parker Signs, Redtail Painting, Rod End Supply, LWBJ, Community State Bank and Carlson Systems.

It looked like a top ten in the 410 feature on Saturday until the spin (IBRACN Photo)

8/6/2009 - One of the drivers seemingly flying under the radar for this week’s Cox Design and Fabrication Iowa Speedweeks is 21 year old, “Showtime” Kaley Gharst. It was just two years ago that the Decatur, Illinois driver won three races at Knoxville in this weekend alone. This time around, he’ll throw his hat in the ring for “Mr. Sprint Car” honors as the Bruce Williams #7K team plans on running all the shows, whether they require a wing or not.

He enters Speedweeks with some confidence gained from another win in the Plath Motorsports #14P team in unsanctioned action at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The win came on Wednesday, July 29. “We drew a bad number, but luckily there wasn’t a huge amount of cars there,” says Kaley. “We ended up third in the heat, and that put us in the redraw for the feature. Nick’s (Breuer) son Jake drew a one for us to give us a great starting spot.”

Kaley led flag to flag in the contest, garnering his fifth win of the season. “The car was really good and everything held up well,” he says. “It was a good feeling, because I felt I let one slip away there a few weeks earlier with the Sprint Invaders. The track was racy with a good top and bottom. It was slick in the middle. They did a good job as usual. I’d like to thank Randy Plath, Nick and Jake Breuer, John Plath, Lucas Glasgow and dad for all their hard work with that team.”

In anticipation of this week’s Knoxville 360 Nationals, the #7K team headed to Denison, Iowa and the Crawford County Speedway for ASCS regional action on Friday. Unfortunately, they watched the feature from the trailer. “We went there with high expectations,” says Kaley. “We wanted to shake down Bruce’s 360 motor before the Nationals. The car was decent for the heat race (third). We had the wrong gear, and we changed that. We drew the pole and the throttle linkage came loose while we were lining up. We had no time to fix it, so that was that.”

A new Maxim was ready for Knoxville’s 410 show on Saturday. “We put a new car together, but we did our usual qualifying towards the back (27th),” says Kaley. “We didn’t go anywhere from the back of the heat race, but the car felt pretty good in the B (4th to 1st).”

Starting inside row eleven for the 20-lap main event, Kaley would gain six spots and finish 15th. “We just didn’t get the car tight enough for the feature,” he relates. “We should have been better than we were, but the car was a little loose. I just couldn’t get any momentum going to get a run on the guys in front of me. It felt better than it has been, so we’ll try to get it dialed in on Saturday.”

Kaley qualifies in the Arnold Motor Supply 360 Nationals tonight. He plans on running all of the events, including the non-wing ones during Speedweeks. Two years ago, he won his 360 Nationals prelim, the 410 feature on Saturday night, and the BRODIX Tournament of Champions. “A weekend like that would be great,” he says. “We’re going to do our best, and we’re hoping to get a win or two this week.”

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 owner Randy Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder Coating and Sandblasting, Scott Performance, Holtkamp's truck and trailer repair, Rockstar Graphics and all of their sponsors. The 7K team would like to thank Phillips Floors, Info2go, Wagner Excavating, Parker Signs, Redtail Painting, Rod End Supply, LWBJ, Community State Bank and Carlson Systems.

In Victory Lane at Donnellson (Dennis Krieger Imagery)

7/27/2009 - “Showtime” Kaley Gharst was able to grab his fourth victory of the 2009 season on Sunday, July 19 at the Quincy Raceways near Quincy, Illinois. The win came in exciting fashion aboard the Randy Plath #14P, and it was the third for the team in Sprint Invaders action this season. The Decatur, Illinois driver has had his struggles at the Knoxville Raceway the past two weeks, but the Bruce Williams #7K team will look to rectify that on Saturday.

Kaley started fifth in his heat and ran third at Quincy, one spot out of a dash opportunity. “We got up to third, but really we were lucky to finish,” he admits. “We got together with Houseman there. We were lucky the front end didn’t get knocked out, and it was just the front wing.”

The third place spot set him up outside of row four for the 25-lap main event. “We wanted an outside starting spot, so eighth worked for us,” says Kaley. “There weren’t many people up top, and it seemed like we had a wide open shot at the front.”

By lap nine, Kaley was up to fourth, and he was third by lap eleven. He grabbed second on lap 17, and took the lead from Jim Moughan Jr. two circuits later. “Jimmy came up after the race and said he wasn’t moving up until he saw someone pass him up there,” says Kaley. “He said by the time he saw me, it was too late. It worked out well for us running low in one and two, and high in three and four.”

On lap 21, the 2007 Sprint Invaders champ drove off the top of turns three and four, surrendering the lead back to Moughan. He emerged on the front straight in second, and was able to run the veteran back down and pass him a second time. “We got in there a little too hot, trying to get around another car,” he says of his trip. “I forgot to get on the brakes early enough and we drove straight off there. Luckily, we had a few laps to work our way back to the front, and we didn’t hook something and roll over.”

Although Kaley has made the feature at Knoxville the last two weekends amongst 30+ car fields, he has suffered two DNF’s in the main events. “We’ve had some steering problems, and we just haven’t been able to get going in that car,” he says. “We’ve been struggling to get the car right. I just haven’t been comfortable in it. I haven’t been able to get up in the seat like I need to, so we’re going to try a different car this week, and hopefully, that solves the problem. Maybe we’ve qualified a little better, but I think a lot had to do with us coming out early.”

The #7K team will try it again this Saturday as the Nationals draw closer.

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 owner Randy Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder Coating and Sandblasting, Scott Performance, Holtkamp's truck and trailer repair, Rockstar Graphics and all of their sponsors. The 7K team would like to thank Phillips Floors, Info2go, Wagner Excavating, Parker Signs, Redtail Painting, Rod End Supply, LWBJ, Community State Bank and Carlson Systems.

In Victory Lane at Quincy (Sandy Brockway Photo)

7/16/2009 - It was back to an old familiar ride for Kaley
Ghart last week when he reunited with car owner, Bruce Williams, and his
#7K. Kaley drove that car for much of the 2008 season. The pair joined
up to make the World of Outlaws show at Burlington before a strong
fourth place run in the second feature at Knoxville's Twin Feature
Night. Kaley also teamed up with Randy Plath's #14P for a pair of
events that included a second place run at the Lee County Speedway in
Donnellson.

The WoO visited the 34 Raceway in West Burlington where Kaley found
victory earlier this season. After qualifying 18th in the 32 car field,
Kaley got a break in his heat before finishing the main event 17th after
starting 21st in his first ride back in the 7K. "We had a little
trouble getting the steering back to where I liked it," he says. "It
was a little quicker than I'm used to. We were lucky to get through in
the heat. (Johnny) Herrera got up over the cushion, and that gave us
the transfer spot. After that, we just got some laps in. We didn't do
too well, but it gave me a chance to get used to the car again."

Thursday, Kaley was in Randy Plath's #14P for Sprint Invaders action at
the Cedar County Speedway in Tipton, Iowa. "As soon as we fired the car
up, the steering was locked," he says of his long night. "It wouldn't
turn left. We were changing gears and pumps, and anything we could
think of, and we were still having problems. We decided to run the
heat, and it was o.k. as long as we were wide open (finishing 3rd).
When we were off the throttle, it would lock up again."

Starting 9th, the car had had enough by the halfway point. "We had a
pretty decent starting spot in the feature, but a little ways in, a line
broke and we were covered in fluid," says Kaley. "That put an end to
Tipton. We ended up replacing every single line and replaced anything
to do with the power steering before we headed to Donnellson."

The Lee County Fair was commencing, and the Sprint Invaders were topping
the card for Friday night's action. Kaley started third and ended up
fourth in his heat. "The motor stumbled a bit taking off in the heat
race," he says. "We got passed by about everybody. We ended up
finishing fourth, and that put us farther back than what we would have
liked in the feature."

"Farther back" was inside row six. Immediately, he began picking off
cars, and soon he was in the top three, battling with eventual winner,
Bobby Mincer, and CJ Houseman. In the end, he would finish on three
good tires in second. "I would have liked to have started further up to
see if we could have had a shot at the front," says Kaley. "We had a
good race going on, and then our left front tire went flat for the last
three laps. You can always say 'woulda coulda shoulda', and Bobby ran a
good race to beat us, so we can't make excuses."

Twin Features Night at Knoxville was Saturday, and Kaley did well to get
in a transfer spot in his heat after qualifying 25th out of the 32 cars
assembled. "I still can't seem to qualify at Knoxville," he laments.
"We started way back in the heat race, so I needed to get to a transfer
or I would be way back in the B. I got to sixth pretty quick, but
that's where I thought I would finish. I was getting around the bottom
pretty good, and I pulled beside (Terry) McCarl when the yellow came
out. I thought for sure he'd go down there to block me on the restart,
but he left it wide open and we were able to get by him for the transfer
(fifth)."

Fortunately, a six-car melee on lap two of the first feature didn't
collect the 7K. He would finish 15th. "I saw some guys getting
sideways when I was going down the frontstretch," says the Decatur,
Illinois driver. "I started so far back, that I was able to stay out of
it. The steering was off-center, so I just kind of stayed out there and
got used to Knoxville again."

Kaley started outside of Josh Schneiderman in row one for the second
feature. "I started outside, which wasn't the best place to be as wide
as it was," he says. "We were in second, and running down Josh, and
that's when (eventual winner) Kerry (Madsen) got by me. It wasn't too
bad of a run (fourth). We could have had the car a little better, but
fourth isn't too bad your first night back out at Knoxville."

This week, Kaley will be back at Knoxville on Saturday in the #7K, and
Sunday will find him in at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Illinois behind
the wheel of the #14P with the Sprint Invaders.

Keep an eye on Kaley's progress this week and beyond at
www.KaleyGharst.com 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
mailto: sprntcar@iowatelecom.net .

Kaley and car owner Randy Plath would like to thank Sebastian Powder
Coating and Sandblasting, Scott Performance, Holtkamp's truck and
trailer repair, Rockstar Graphics and all of their sponsors. The 7K
team would like to thank Phillips Floors, Info2go, Wagner Excavating,
Parker Signs, Redtail Painting, Rod End Supply, LWBJ, Community State
Bank and Carlson Systems.

Kaley at Knoxville Raceway (Dave Hill Racing Image)