(Bill W) August 21, 2010 – Kaley Gharst and Matt Sutton emerged victorious on the "Dirt, Dust and Speed Night of the Twins" at 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa on Saturday night. The win in the first feature was Gharst's fourth of the year with the series, while Sutton took his first of the season.
The night was highlighted by a tribute to the late Brian Hetrick, and a meet and greet with Josh Schneiderman, who finished 13th in last week's Knoxville Nationals and did a set of hot laps for the fans with his 410.
Gharst battled with Ben Wagoner the first couple of laps before taking control of the first 20-lap feature after taking Kevin Hetrick's green flag. Joey Moughan was the man on the move in the event, driving from 12th to 4th by lap seven. A restart for a sixth-running Donnie Steward who tipped over on lap nine, saw Moughan grab the third position. Disaster struck on lap 13, when he went over the berm and had to restart at the tail.
Meanwhile, Gharst was cruising up front and tallied his series career record 17th win. "A big part of it was getting to start up front in the clean air," said Kaley. "We had a good race there with Ben for a lap or two. We really had planned on running the top, but the bottom worked so well, that I stayed down there. It helped that they reworked the track and brought some moisture back. Our guys did a good job of staying on top of it."
Russ Hall made a move at the midway point to get by Wagoner for second. "It was a tricky track," he said. "It was really heavy on one end, and slick on the other. We bided our time with Ben, and then I thought I may have a shot at Kaley in traffic on the last lap. We just couldn't get him. I need to thank my Dad and Mike Waddell for all the hard work they've done to get this car ready the last couple of weeks. I also have to thank Dwight Snodgrass for loaning the engine."
David Hall, who was the hard-charger, ran from 10th to 3rd. Wagoner settled for fourth ahead of Jarrod Schneiderman in the first event.
With all cars on the lead lap in feature one inverted, Gharst started inside row eight in the nightcap. John Schulz started up front, and led lap one after Jim Hetrick's green flag fell. Moughan had another rocket ship on his hands in the first night in Doc Sloan's #A12. He moved into second from row three on the first lap, and after several tries at Schulz, took the point on lap five.
Moughan built a comfortable lead until hitting heavy lapped traffic. Matt Sutton, who won the Shake-up Dash earlier, drove into second, and set his sights on Moughan. Using the lapped car of Max Pozsgai as a pick, he grabbed the lead on lap 17. A lap later, the only caution of the event flew for a spun Joe Beaver.
Sutton and Moughan left the rest behind on the restart for the green, white, checker finish. On the final lap, Moughan slid in front of Sutton for the lead in turn four, but bicycled a bit. Sutton brought his car back on the low side and powered to the win. "I have to apologize to my crew about how much I stunk up the first feature," said an excited Sutton. "I knew Joey would be tough. I knew he would make that move on the bottom that last lap. I was sure hoping my move would stick, and it did. I was just happy to get a win, and it sure is good to see Jim and Joyce (Hetrick) here."
"I had to try to redeem myself after the mistake in the first one," said Moughan, who finished second. "I think I was a little rusty after not racing for two weeks. I had a hard time getting around those guys (lapped traffic) in the second one. They didn't know I was there. I finally got through them and had a shot at the win, but we hopped a little bit there. I'd just like to thank Doc Sloan for giving me an opportunity to drive this car. It's really fast."
Ryan Jamison made a late move into third, ahead of hard-charger, Gharst, and Schulz. Earlier in the night, Gharst, Russ Hall and Steward took the heats. Sutton took the Ed Schulties Shake-Up Dash, and 14 year old Jake Blackhurst took the B. Beaver took the $100 Storm Steel Mystery Spot in the second feature.
The Sprint Invaders next action will be on Friday, September 3 at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa.
Results
Ideal Ready Mix 20-lap A main #1 Finish (started): 1. 14P, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (1) 2. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (6) 3. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA (10) 4. Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (2) 5. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (11) 6. Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA (8) 7. 1, Jayson Ditsworth, Gladstone, IL (7) 8. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (14) 9. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (15) 10. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (4) 11. A12, Joey Moughan, Jacksonville, IL (12) 12. 53H, Matt Harms, Chillicothe, IL (13) 13. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (3) 14. 2, John Schulz, West Burlington, IA (18) 15. 61J, Jake Blackhurst, Mapleton, IL (16) 16. 38, Seth Wilke, Burlington, IA (17) 17. 84x, Max Pozsgai, Lincoln, IL (20) 18. 16HD, Donnie Steward, West Burlington, IA (5) Lap Leaders: Wagoner 1, Gharst 2-20. Hard Charger: David Hall.
Ideal Ready Mix 20-lap A main #2 Finish (started): 1. Matt Sutton (6) 2. Joey Moughan (5) 3. Ryan Jamison (8) 4. Kaley Gharst (15) 5. John Schulz (2) 6. David Hall (13) 7. Ben Wagoner (10) 8. Jarrod Schneiderman (11) 9. Russ Hall (12) 10. Matt Harms (4) 11. Joe Beaver (7) 12. Jimmy Davies (19) 13. Jake Blackhurst (1) 14. Dennis Moore Jr. (20) 15. Jayson Ditsworth (9) 16. Andy Huston (3) 17. Seth Wilke (14) 18. Bart Andrews (18) 19. Max Pozsgai (17) 20. Donnie Steward (16). Lap Leaders: Schulz 1-4, Moughan 5-16, Sutton 17-20. Hard Charger: Kaley Gharst.
Golden Eagle Distributors - Budweiser of Burlington Heat Race #1 (8 laps, top five to feature, top two to Dash): 1. Kaley Gharst (6) 2. Andy Huston (1) 3. Jayson Ditsworth (5) 4. David Hall (8) 5. Jarrod Schneiderman (7) / 6. Seth Wilke (2) 7. 10T, Tim Moore, Rock Island, IL (3) 8. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (4) DNS – 10, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA
Cole Implement of Media, IL Heat Race #2 (8 laps, top five to feature, top two to Dash): 1. Russ Hall (1) 2. Matt Sutton (3) 3. Dennis Moore Jr. (5) 4. Bart Andrews (4) 5. Ryan Jamison (7) / 6. Jake Blackhurst (8) 7. 5, Shawn Whiting, West Burlington, IA (6) 8. 4, Mike Williams, Knoxville, IA (2)
Huston Land Improvement of Roseville, IL Heat Race #3 (8 laps, top five to feature, top two to Dash): 1. Donnie Steward (2) 2. Ben Wagoner (3) 3. Jimmy Davies (1) 4. Joey Moughan (7) 5. Matt Harms (4) / 6. Joe Beaver (6) 7. Max Pozsgai (8) 8. John Schulz (5)
Ed Schulthies Memorial Shake-Up Dash (6 laps): 1. Matt Sutton (1) 2. Donnie Steward (2) 3. Russ Hall (4) 4. Kaley Gharst (5) 5. Ben Wagoner (6) 6. Andy Huston (3)
Holtkamp's Truck and Trailer Repair B Main (12 laps, top five to feature): 1. Jake Blackhurst (2) 2. Joe Beaver (3) 3. John Schulz (7) 4. Seth Wilke (1) 5. Max Pozsgai (6) / 6. Tim Moore (4) 7. AJ Moeller (8) 8. Shawn Whiting (5) DNS – Bobby Mincer, Mike Williams
Contingency Awards:
Rod End Supply: Matt Harms, Ben Wagoner
Saldana Racing Products: Donnie Steward
Weld Racing: Seth Wilke
Hepfner Race Products: Andy Huston
Brake Man: Jake Blackhurst
Storm Steel Mystery Spot $100: Joe Beaver