Jon Stanbrough Presented With 2008 KISS Champion’s Helmet

Lawrenceburg, IN, August 30, 2008 –- The 2008 King of Indiana Sprint Series Champion’s Helmet was presented to four-time series champion Jon Stanbrough at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Saturday night.  Lawrenceburg’s promoter Dave Rudisell represented the KISS series tracks as Doug Auld, publisher of Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, made the presentation.
 
“It is really special, especially for me this year,” Stanbrough acknowledged.  “We’ve not had quite the stellar year that we’ve had the last couple years.  To be able to win three of those races and win the championship, that’s obviously nice to do that this year.  I thought last year’s helmet was really nice looking and this year’s is even nicer looking.  It’s something that I can set up on my shelf and keep with me for the rest of my life and look back on it.  It will be a great memory for me.”
 
The KISS Champion’s Helmet is sponsored by Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance Products, and features a one-of-a-kind design is by Eagle Graphix helmet artist Noah Ennis.
 
The attached photo is credited to Tim Thomas.  More photos are available at www.kissracing.com.
 

KISS Champion’s Helmet To Be Presented At Lawrenceburg Speedway

From: Mike O'Leary ([email protected])

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The 2008 King of Indiana Sprint Series
A Summary and Some Thoughts

Stanford, IN, July 1, 2008 –- The 2008 King of Indiana Sprint Series is in the books.  While the spring of ’08 will be remembered for heavy rains and devastating flooding around the Hoosier state, there were five races, and they weren’t always easy to get in.  Following a week that was wracked by vicious storms, many competitors had difficulty driving to both Haubstadt and Kokomo.  Some, including Jon Stanbrough, spent more than 8 hours on the road, as many state roads and national highways were closed, cutting the northern half of the state off from the southern.  Yet, they showed up to race, averaging more than 23 cars a night, as did the fans.  Just days after flooding wrecked homes, cut off electric service, and caused the evacuation of much of Paragon and nearby towns, Paragon Speedway hosted the KISS finale. 
 
With this havoc, six drivers, Jon Stanbrough, Hunter Schuerenberg, Kyle Cummins, Jeff Bland Jr., A. J. Anderson, and Scott Hampton, competed in all of the events.  They made all of the feature races, with the exception of Schuerenberg, who wrecked in his heat race the first night, at Gas City, but rebounded to win at Kokomo Speedway and finish second in the points.
 
Stanbrough claimed his fourth KISS championship, the third in a row, and his three wins gave him a series total of 14.  Once he captured the first two races, at Gas City and Bloomington, then finished second to Daron Clayton at Tri-State Speedway, everyone knew that it would be difficult for anyone else to challenge for the title unless some catastrophe struck.  But the race for second remained close until the final checkered flag, with Cummins, Schuerenberg, Bland, Anderson, Brady Short and Jesse Hockett all involved. 
 
Each event on this year’s schedule demonstrated the excitement of Hoosier sprint car racing.  At Gas City, the Demon, Damion Gardner, started 22^nd, raced to the front where he battled Stanbrough wheel-to-wheel until making contact with a car he was lapping and flipping spectacularly.  With 60 cars in Bloomington’s pits, it was Short, dueling with Levi Jones for second, who had fans on their feet.  Schuerenberg scrapped his way from the sixth row to win at Kokomo, and in what may have been the most memorable performance of the series, after getting caught in a first lap tangle during the finale at Paragon, Hockett charged through the C- and B-Mains to earn fifth in the feature, starting at the back of each race. 
 
“This kind of goes back to our old Indiana Sprint Week the way it used to be, without any sanctioning bodies,” Stanbrough said after securing the title.  He pointed out that the local race tracks run the series and the atmosphere is more laid back and enjoyable than bigger shows.  “You know I’ve won the Sprint Week championship, but this is something that I’ll be able to look back at and be proud of having won it four times,” he added. 
 
While he had won USAC events at Paragon Speedway in the past, the fact that he and the Fox’s had yet to visit Paragon’s Victory Lane together wasn’t forgotten.  “It was important to me to try to come down here and win tonight, or at least run as good as I can, because I didn’t want to win the championship finishing in the back of the race.  It makes the championship that much sweeter to be able to win the final race down here tonight,” he said.
 
Looking at the historical aspect of the King of Indiana Sprint Series, the first five years saw as many different champions: Dickie Gaines, Tony Elliott, Stanbrough, Michael Burthay and Justin Marvel.  Stanbrough scored four wins in those five years, but Elliott had three, Kevin Briscoe, Kent Christian and Burthay had two each.  Then, in 2006, Stanbrough teamed with Steve and Brad Fox and the status was no longer quo. 
 
Over the last three KISS tours, Stanbrough and the Fox brothers have won ten of 17 main events, an amazing 58.8%  This performance has brought a variety of reactions from fans and competitors.  While most appreciate the fact that the team will be remembered as one of the best sprint car teams of this or any era, a few thought something funny was going on. 
 
Two complaints heard were that Stanbrough always got to start the heat races on the front row, and another was that they are using traction control.  Obviously, he doesn’t get preferential treatment at any of the tracks, and the numbers don’t support starting every heat race at the front.  This year, his starting spots were 6 – 6 – 2 – 1 – 3, and of course his finishing positions were 2 – 3 – 1 – 1 – 1.  In 2007, his KISS heat race starting spots were 7 – 7 – 1 – 6 – 4 – 2, and his finishes were 2 – 1 – 1 – 9 – 2 – 1.  The year before, he started 2 – 5 – 6 – 3 – 6 and finished 1 – 1 – 4 – 1 – 2.  One of the keys to short track racing is to transfer to the feature through the heat race, which Jon did nearly 100% of the time over the last three years, one of the two exceptions was when he was caught up in a first lap wreck at Putnamville last year.  And in those same 16 races, he’s started on the front row just five times, while starting in the third row or further back eight times, which is fairly average for anyone running all of the races.
 
As for traction control, or any other technical advantages, it certainly can’t be said that the Fox’s have a significantly larger budget than anyone else.  Each of the tracks is responsible for ensuring the rules of their facility, and there has never been a hint of illegality in their equipment.  While traction control is not expensive and there are various schemes to hide it, it provides more of an advantage on pavement and may be easier to detect on the dirt.  Clearly, USAC’s technical inspectors have more ability to identify traction control devices at their events, and IF the Fox team was using it in local and KISS races, their performance could be expected to fall off when they remove it for a USAC program.  Yet, they have won more USAC sprint car features than anyone else over the last two years.  ‘Nuff said.
 
Last summer, Stanbrough earned the first KISS Champion’s Helmet.  Sponsored by Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance Products and painted by Noah Ennis of Eagle Graphix, the helmet featured a theme of the Hoosier state flag and the KISS logo.  Stanbrough said that he only wanted to wear it one time in competition, and then save it on his trophy shelf.  He wore it while winning the KISS finale at Paragon Speedway.  The photo attached to this release (photo credit: David Heithaus) shows him prior to the start of that 30-lap feature.
 
Unfortunately for everyone, the weather delayed completion of construction at the Lawrenceburg Speedway and that event was canceled.  Looking forward to the 2009 KISS series, the track promoters will have another private dinner this fall to fashion the schedule, review the rules and determine the details.  If at all possible, it will be bigger and better than the previous eight editions.  And next May, everyone will start with 0 points and chase one of the most valued crowns in sprint car racing.
 
 
Final 2008 KISS Points: 1. Jon Stanbrough 717, 2. Hunter Schuerenberg 563, 3. Kyle Cummins 562, 4. Jeff Bland Jr. 547, 5. AJ Anderson 529, 6. Daron Clayton 405, 7. Scott Hampton 379, 8. Shain Matthews 359, 9. Jesse Hockett 345, 10. Thomas Meseraull 326, 11. Scotty Weir 314, 12. Brady Short 295, 13. Chase Stockon 273, 14. Hud Cone 270, 15. Robert Ballou 267, 16. Casey Shuman 256, 17. Jesse Cramer and Matt Goodnight 251 (tie), 19. Brett Burdette 240, 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. 239
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16             Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24            canceled
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30             Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7            Clayton
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8               Schuerenberg
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21             Stanbrough
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.

Stanbrough Captures Fourth KISS Crown With Paragon Victory

June 21, 2008 –- Just call him “King Jon”.  Brownsburg’s Jon Stanbrough retained the throne of the King of Indiana as he brought the curtain down on the 2008 King of Indiana Sprint Series season with a dominating victory at Paragon Speedway on Saturday.  The win was Stanbrough’s 14^th in KISS series competition and secured his fourth championship, as he continues to write the KISS record book.  Taking the lead on the third lap, Stanbrough took the checkers a half-straightaway ahead of Kyle Cummins, Hunter Schuerenberg, Hud Cone and Jesse Hockett.
 
“I was really good right off the bat,” Stanbrough said of his Fox Brothers DRC.  “I got a little bit loose right at the end and at that last red they snugged it up a little bit more.  That helped us.  We’ve been getting better and better on slick race tracks, so that was a good night for Brad and Steve and the whole team, because we hadn’t won down here since we’ve been together.”
 
Cone paced the first two circuits, until Stanbrough charged from fourth into the lead.  Once out front, he quickly stretched his advantage to three seconds while Cummins raced from eighth into the top three.  At ten laps, Stanbrough had a straightaway advantage and was quickly beginning to lap slower cars.
 
Two red flags and a caution were the only things that could slow Stanbrough’s torrid pace.  On lap 14, Shain Matthews made contact with Schuerenberg on the front stretch, veered into the outside wall and somersaulted to the first turn.  He was not injured. 
 
While Stanbrough used a clear track to rebuild a comfortable lead, the racing was tight from second back as Cummins, Cone, Jeff Bland Jr., Schuerenberg and Danny Holtsclaw contended for the top five slots.  While Stanbrough showed that his line around the bottom was quick, Cummins, Bland and Schuerenberg worked the whole track, from the inside to the rim.  Schuerenberg, who captured the previous KISS round at Kokomo Speedway, grabbed third just after a caution on lap 21, but Bland claimed the spot a lap later, only to be re-passed. 
 
On the 27^th circuit, Tony Reed and Scott Hampton got together just under the flagstand and both cars flipped, bringing another red flag.  Later, as he worked to get his car into his trailer, Reed explained, “We were coming down the front stretch and Scott Hampton had a run on the top and going down into one he all of a sudden just turned from the wall and just turned to the bottom.  I locked it up and threw it sideways to try to keep from hitting him but I had too much momentum.  I told him that these don’t stop on a dime but he started yelling at me over there.  I hit him in the left rear of the tail tank with the right side of my car.  It spun me around and the car just started flipping.  It’s pretty much junk.  I liked that car, too.”
 
Bland headed to the pits under caution, but Cummins and Schuerenberg continued their duel over the final three laps as Stanbrough ran ahead.   Schuerenberg worked inside of Cummins, for second, through the second turn on lap 27, but Cummins reclaimed the position with a strong run around the top of turn four.  At the finish, Stanbrough held a half-straightaway lead, over Cummins and Schuerenberg, earning his third KISS victory of the season. 
 
While the racing at the front was tight, it was Hockett’s run that had fans talking at the end of the night.  Wheeling the Indy Race Parts machine, Hockett had gotten caught up in an incident at the start of the second heat, and took the green for the C-Main from the tenth row.  Capturing the final transfer on the last lap, he lined up 20^th for the B-Main.  Again he was mostly on the top, passing cars wherever he could, and when there was a tangle in turn four on the last lap, he snagged the fifth finishing spot.  For the third consecutive race, he lined up on the tail and with the same all-out effort, passed all except the top four finishers.   
 
It was Stanbrough’s first victory on the Paragon oval in several years, which added to the enjoyment of the ceremonies.  “I’m sure that the flooding down here had a little bit to do with the track conditions down here tonight,” he noted.  “The race track was good, it wasn’t rough and it had a little more moisture in it than normal.  I’m sure that probably helped.  The guys have been working real hard on the car to try to get it tighter and tighter on the slick race tracks.  I think we had a good setup.  We got a little loose at the end, but we were still good enough to hang on.”
 
In his pit, Cummins pointed out where he had cut the front end off his car and welded a bar front end in it’s place during the previous week.  He and Schuerenberg had finished just a point apart in the final KISS standings, and he talked about their duel.  “We tapped there a little bit.  I laughed when it was over because he came by and just gave me a (wave) – we knew what was going on.  He’s a clean racer, so I knew that there was no problem there.  I was for sure that he was going to go to the top, and he left me just a tiny bit and I had to try it.  I had been running second the whole time, I wasn’t going to get passed the last four laps.”
 
Heat races were won by Schuerenberg, Holtsclaw, Jon Sciscoe, Cummins and Stanbrough; Jesse Cramer captured the C-Main, and Eric Smith took the B-Main win. 
 
Results KISS Paragon Speedway, June 21, 2008
 
Heat 1: 1. Hunter Schuerenberg 11 (6), 2. Hud Cone 14c (2), 3. Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (9), 4. Scott Hampton 42 (1), 5. Jared Harris 81h (5), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. 9k (7), 7. Nick Johnson 15 (8), 8. Eric Edwards 44 (3), 9. Johnny Johnson 72j (4), DNF: Brady Short 36 (10)
 
Heat 2: 1. Danny Holtsclaw 3 (1), 2. Josh Cunningham 6s (2), 3. Ty Deckard 48 (5), 4. Ray Kenens k9 (4), 5. A. J. Clark 3ac (8), 6. John Boyd 16b (7), DNF: Jesse Cramer 12t (9), Taryn Laskey 3t (3), Shawn Krockenberger 21k (10), Jesse Hockett 71 (6)
 
Heat 3: 1. Jon Sciscoe 7 (6), 2. Shain Matthews 67 (2), 3. Kevin Briscoe 5 (9), 4. Chase Stockon 32 (4), 5. Chase Briscoe 5b (1), 6. Doug Heck 55 (5), 7. Donnie Gentry 51 (7), 8. Ethan Barrow 15 (3), 9. Brian Mattox (10), DNS: Arin McIntosh 34m (8)
 
Heat 4: 1. Kyle Cummins 3c (4), 2. Steve Rone 22 (1), 3. Chris Babcock 35 (6), 4. A.J. Anderson 34 (8), 5. Jake Scott 1 (3), 6. Aric Gentry 10 (2), 7. Adam Beliles (9), 8. Brian Crawford 13 (7), DNS: Dustin Beliles 71b (5)
 
Heat 5: 1. Jon Stanbrough 53 (3), 2. Lance Grimes 87 (2), 3. Tony Reed 8 (4), 4. Eric Smith 14s (1), 5. Jim Dugan 7d (5), 6. Dave Peperak 77p (6), 7. Nick Bilbee 17 (8), 8. Nevil Algieo 11a (9)
 
C Main: 1. Cramer (2), 2. D. Gentry (3), 3. N. Johnson (1), 4. A. Beliles (4), 5. Hockett (17)
 
B Main: 1. Smith (5), 2. Hampton (1), 3. Stockon (3), 4. Anderson (4), 5. Hockett (20), 6. Kenens (2), 7. Scott (9), 8. A. Beliles (19), 9. N. Johnson (18), 10. C. Briscoe (8), 11. Thomas (11), 12. Heck (13), 13. Dugan (8), 14. Boyd (12), 15. Harris (6), 16. Cramer (16), 17. Clark (7), 18. A. Gentry (14), 19. Peperak (15), 20. D. Gentry (17)
 
Feature (30 laps): 1. Stanbrough (5), 2. Cummins (8), 3. Schuerenberg (6), 4. Cone (2), 5. Hockett (19), 6. Sciscoe (4), 7. Holtsclaw (7), 8. Grimes (9), 9. Deckard (12), 10. Anderson (18), 11. Rone (1), 12. Stockon (17), 13. Cunningham (10), 14. Scott (20), 15. Babcock (13), 16. Bland (11), 17. Smith (15), 18. Hampton (16), 19. Reed (14), 20. Matthews (3), DNS: K. Briscoe
 
Final 2008 KISS Points: 1. Jon Stanbrough 717, 2. Hunter Schuerenberg 563, 3. Kyle Cummins 562, 4. Jeff Bland Jr. 547, 5. AJ Anderson 529, 6. Daron Clayton 405, 7. Scott Hampton 379, 8. Shain Matthews 359, 9. Jesse Hockett 345, 10. Thomas Meseraull 326, 11. Scotty Weir 314, 12. Brady Short 295, 13. Chase Stockon 273, 14. Hud Cone 270, 15. Robert Ballou 267, 16. Casey Shuman 256, 17. Jesse Cramer and Matt Goodnight 251 (tie), 19. Brett Burdette 240, 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. 239
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16             Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24            canceled
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30             Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7            Clayton
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8               Schuerenberg
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21             Stanbrough
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.

King Of Indiana Sprint Series Finale at Paragon Saturday
Town Recovering From Flooding Devastation

June 15, 2008 –- “High Water” and “Road Closed” read folding signs at the entrance to Paragon Road.  As I turned around to head toward an alternate route, a friendly voice from across the street shouted, “Hey, the road’s open now, if you want to go through.”  I slowly continued through a 360-degree turn and conveyed my thanks as I drove away.   The town of Paragon was one of the hardest hit by the torrential rain and flooding that swept throughout the Midwest in the last couple weeks.  The water has receded, and townspeople are busy surveying the damage, repairing what is repairable, and removing wet, ruined possessions from their homes. 
 
Paragon Speedway received a lot of rain, but after two consecutive cancellations, the Ford family is anxious to host a big night of racing this weekend.  The KISS series will wrap its memorable 2008 tour with a 30-lap main event on Saturday night, and at its conclusion, the sprint car King will be crowned. 
 
For the third consecutive year, Jon Stanbrough appears to have a lock on the title.  The three-time champion (2003, 2006, 2007) built a 33-point lead with wins in the first two KISS races, at Gas City and Bloomington.  He extended it to a 115-point advantage with a runner-up finish to Daron Clayton at Haubstadt’s Tri-State oval, and a 7^th place run behind Hunter Schuerenberg’s thrilling victory at Kokomo, last weekend.  With a third place at Tri-State, Jeff Bland Jr. climbed to second in the points, while young Schuerenberg jumped to third with his triumph.  A.J. Anderson maintained fourth spot, and Kyle Cummins slipped to fifth. 
 
Paragon Road was open from Indiana’s Route 37 to Paragon, although some of the road is damaged and requires repairs.  Route 67 is open as well.  Saturday’s racing will start at 7:30, with the pit gate and grandstand gates opening at 4:00 and 5:00 pm.  The program includes street stocks, bombers and pure stock divisions.  General admission is only $15, and pit passes are $30.  Directions and other information are available at www.paragonspeedway.com .  All KISS events follow the rules of the host track.  Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions regarding track rules. 
 
KISS Points: 1. Stanbrough 567, 2. Bland Jr. 452, 3. Schuerenberg 423, 4. Anderson 419, 5. Cummins 417, 6. Clayton 405, 7. Meseraull 326, 8. Weir 314, 9. Hampton 287, 10. Matthews 273
 
SCHEDULE.  The KISS series celebrates the first day of summer with the final event of the KISS season, crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16             Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24            canceled
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30             Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7            Clayton
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8               Schuerenberg
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 

Schuerenberg Earns Kokomo KISS Victory
 
June 8, 2008 ­- Hunter Schuerenberg narrowly held
off Robert Ballou on a late-race restart to add
his name to the list of King of Indiana Sprint
Series feature race winners, scoring a thrilling
victory at Kokomo Speedway on Sunday.  As the ’08
KISS tour wrapped up its doubleheader weekend,
Schuerenberg hustled from deep in the field to
lead the final ten circuits.  Bart Grider trailed
Ballou in third, with Daron Clayton and Cole Whitt securing top five finishes.
 
“That was big,” Schuerenberg said after
celebrating in victory lane.  “A big weight
lifted off my shoulders.  Leaving Yeley’s and not
knowing where I was going to go, and getting a
phone call from Jeff Walker to come do this, it‘s
just a blessing.  Walker’s given me a good car,
we’re running up front every night and just having a good time.”
 
Ballou grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Jon
Stanbrough in the second turn of the first lap,
and Clayton took second from the series point
leader on the second circuit.  This set the stage
for a battle between Ballou and Clayton that
lasted much of the race.  On a restart following
a four-car tangle, Ballou slipped over the
cushion in turn two, opening the door for Clayton
to reclaim the point, as Stanbrough challenged for second.
 
By lap 6, Schuerenberg had raced from 13th to
fourth, using any part of the track that he
wanted.  Ballou regained the lead from Clayton on
lap 10, but when Stanbrough got underneath
Clayton two laps later, everything quickly halted
with the display of the red flag.  Shain
Matthews, who had charged from 19th to eighth in
just those dozen laps, had gotten high coming off
the second turn, caught the outside wall and
flipped spectacularly through turn three.  He
walked away, but the car was destroyed.
 
“I think the key to getting to the front was just
missing the big tall ledge coming of two,”
Schuerenberg said.  “It didn’t matter if you were
under it or above it, just as long as you
straddled it or got under or above it.  If you
didn’t hit it and upset the car, then you were
okay, you could get a lot better run down the
back straightaway and into three and it pretty
much made your whole lap better.”
 
With a car that was too tight for the track
conditions, Stanbrough began to slip back,
Schuerenberg and Grider passing him just after
the green.  Frequently, Schuerenberg was driving
Jeff Walker’s Jam-It-In Storage machine over the
cushion in turn one and making passes around the
top of the second turn.  But on lap 17, he used
the inside of turn four to pass Clayton for
second.  After battling Ballou for the next four
circuits, he used a similar inside move in turn four to take the lead.
 
Ron Dennis brought out a second red flag when he
got into the first turn wall and rolled over on
lap 23.  Schuerenberg opened a dozen car lengths
on the restart, but Ballou began to cut into the
lead and when he challenged with a slide job in
turn three, the two came off turn four
side-by-side, just as Kyle Wissmiller rolled to a
stop to bring out another caution with just two laps remaining.
 
Ballou went after the lead on the restart, taking
a good look inside on the last lap, but each time
Schuerenberg used his momentum to pull
ahead.  With just a car length separating them,
Schuerenberg became the second driver from
Sikeston, Missouri, to earn a KISS win in as many
nights.  Just outside the top five, Casey Shuman
scrambled to a sixth place finish after starting in the last slot.
 
While the fans had been on their feet for the
final circuits, Schuerenberg felt he was in
complete control.  “I knew he was there.  I had
made some previous adjustments to the car, to
free it up to run it on the top.  Right before he
slid me, I was actually moving my shocks back in
to tighten the car up because I was getting
free.  So that wasn’t really unexpected to see
him try to put a slide job on me because I
started to fade before I got to play with the
shocks.  That caution at the end came just at the
right time, I really needed that to be able to readjust the car.”
 
“Part of starting up from and running in the lead
is you don’t know where the guys behind you are
running,” Ballou explained after the race.  “We
were definitely faster, but I just screwed up a
few too many times and that cost me.”
 
After winning the night before, Clayton was
pleased with his fourth place run.  “This is not
one of my best race tracks and this is definitely
a good finish for me here.  The track changes
throughout the race and if you’re not searching
around, and I’ve been passed so many times by not
sticking to a line here.  So I was trying to kind
of stick with one thing tonight, and it backfired
on me.  I wasn’t staying on top of the track
changing.  We’ve struggled a lot, and we ran good
tonight.  The car’s in one piece and I had a good time.  Everybody’s happy.”
 
 
King of Indiana Sprint Series Results, Kokomo
Speedway, Kokomo, IN, June 8, 2008
 
Heat 1: Robert Ballou 81 (2), Josh Spencer 66j
(1), Jerry Coons Jr. 5 (3), Hunter Schuerenberg
11 (8), Scotty Weir 10e (4), Sammy Imel 35 (6),
Shain Matthews 67 (7), Kevin Thomas Jr. 9k (5), Kenny Biro 22b (9)
 
Heat 2: Jon Stanbrough 53 (1), Cole Whitt 29w
(9), Bret Beauchamp 112 (3), Blake Fitzpatrick
10f (7), Coleman Gulick 14 (2), Kyle Robbins 17r
(5), Matt Goodnight 39g (8), Dakoda Armstrong 7a (6), Anthony Peterman 7p (4)
 
Heat 3: Dustin Morgan 93 (1), Daron Clayton 10
(5), Caleb Armstrong 71 (2), Kyle Wissmiller 0
(3), Thomas Meseraull 10t (6), Casey Shuman 57
(9), Dave Darland 2 (7), Lance Grimes 87 (4), Todd Gnat 51 (8)
 
Heat 4: Bart Grider 82 (2), A.J. Anderson 34 (4),
Ron Dennis 32 (6), Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (5), Adam
Byrkett 78 (7), Chris Windom 17 (3), Kyle Cummins 3c (8), Scott Hampton 42 (1)
 
B Main: Weir (1), Meseraull (3), Matthews (9),
Shuman (7), Darland (11), Peterman (18), Hampton
(16), Robbins (6), Cummins (12), Goodnight (10),
Gulick (2), Thomas (13), D. Armstrong (14),
Grimes (15), Gnat (19), Byrkett (4), Imel (5), Windom (8), Biro (17)
 
A Feature (30 laps): 1. Schuerenberg (13), 2.
Ballou (2), 3. Grider (5), 4. Clayton (3), 5.
Whitt (8), 6. Shuman (20), 7. Stanbrough (1), 8.
Anderson (7), 9. Meseraull (18), 10. Bland (16),
11. Weir (17), 12. Coons (9), 13. Morgan (4), 14.
Beauchamp (10), 15. Spencer (6), 16. C. Armstrong
(11), 17. Wissmiller (15), 18. Dennis (12), 19.
Matthews (19), 20. Fitzpatrick (14)
 
KISS Points: 1. Stanbrough 567, 2. Bland Jr. 452,
3. Schuerenberg 423, 4. Anderson 419, 5. Cummins
417, 6. Clayton 405, 7. Meseraull 326, 8. Weir
314, 9. Hampton 287, 10. Matthews 273
 
 
SCHEDULE.  The KISS series will celebrate the
first day of summer with the final event of the
season, crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on
Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 16 Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 24 canceled
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 30 Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 7 Clayton
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, June 8 Schuerenberg
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works,
Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning
sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS
Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson
Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized
and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint
car race track promoters to provide the best
sprint car racing.  More information is available
on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 

Clayton Captures Thrilling Tri-State KISS Feature
Stanbrough Builds Point Lead With Second Place Run
 
 
June 7, 2008 –- Missouri’s Daron Clayton scored a
brilliant victory on a very quick night, in the
King of Indiana Sprint Series/MSCS tilt at
Tri-State Speedway, in Haubstadt, IN.  Starting
from the pole, Clayton led wire-to-wire, as KISS
point leader Jon Stanbrough was able to close,
but not catch him.  Jeff Bland Jr. claimed third,
followed by Hud Cone and Mitch Wissmiller.
 
“I was just out there running my own race, trying
to be as careful as I could, but not giving up
anything at the same time,” Clayton said
afterwards.  “I was just on kind of a Sunday
cruise.  It was a great car, I can’t thank these
guys enough for sticking behind me and it’s just a good night, finally.”
 
Wheeling the Trucker’s 24 Hour Truck Service DRC,
Clayton led Kyle Cummins and Jesse Cramer early,
on a very fast track.  With continuous two and
three-wide racing throughout the field, there
were three cautions during the first eight
circuits.  Each restart saw Clayton surge ahead
and rebuild a lead, only to have another caution.
 
Racing at the front was fierce, and Stanbrough’s
Fox Brothers DRC found moving forward difficult
and each pass took 3 – 4 laps of hard
scrapping.  On lap 17, he took second from Cone,
but found that Clayton had put a handful of cars
between them.  Without cautions in the second
half of the main event, Clayton sliced quickly
through traffic, and Stanbrough battled the same
lapped cars as he tried to catch him.  At the
checkers, Clayton maintained a half-straightaway
advantage over Stanbrough.  Bland, Cone and
Wissmiller battled each other and lapped traffic
for well-earned top five results.  Schuerenberg’s
eighth place run was hard fought as he restarted
on the tail after an early caution.
 
For Stanbrough, it was tougher than a Sunday
drive.  “The lapped traffic was just terrible
tonight,” he said.  “There’s a couple of guys
that wanted to race with you after they got
lapped and that held me up for probably two or
three laps.  At the beginning of the race I got
held up a little bit.  The lapped traffic was
really tough tonight.  Once I got clear of the
lapped traffic I started reeling him in, but we just ran out of time.”
 
Clayton’s second KISS series victory, and first
this season, showed that the Truckers’ team is
getting closer to finding answers they’ve been
looking for.  He explained, “We’ve had an
up-and-down season and we’ve tried everything
with the car to get it right.  We’ve been
struggling and they haven’t lost faith in
me.  That’s what’s important, they can’t lose
faith in the driver.  I kept telling them that
it’s not me, we’ll get this thing right and we’ll
win some races.  Hopefully tonight’s the first night we start that tour.”
 
With Clayton climbing to sixth in the KISS
points, Stanbrough increased his advantage over
Cummins to nearly 100.  However, with heavy
storms and flooding prevailing throughout the
KISS State, it was a racing program that he
nearly missed, Stanbrough said.  “I wasn’t sure
if I was going to get here.  I left Brownsburg
around 12:30 and didn’t get here until 7:30
because of all the floods and road closures.  I’m
happy we’re here.  I would have liked to won, but
the car’s all one piece and everybody’s in one
piece and we’ll go tomorrow and see what happens.”
 
 
King of Indiana Sprint Series Results, Tri-State
Speedway, Haubstadt, IN June 7, 2008
 
Heat 1: Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (2), Daron Clayton 10c
(3), Mitch Wissmiller 23 (4), John Memmer 4m (1),
Kevin Thomas Jr. 9k (8), Coleman Gulick 14g (5),
Kurt Gross 22x (7), Bret Triplett 22 (6)
 
Heat 2: Jon Stanbrough 53 (2), Kyle Cummins 3c
(4), Blake Fitzpatrick 10f (7), Sammy Imel 35
(3), Chase Stockon 32 (8), Lance Grimes 87 (1),
Scott Hampton 42 (5), Craig Budde (6)
 
Heat 3:  A.J. Anderson 34 (8), Jesse Cramer 12t
(5), Brett Burdette 17b (6), Erik Folger 17e (3),
Jake Cook 18c (7), Ron Gerhardt 53g (4), Donny
Brackett 4b (2), Thomas Meseraull 10t (1)
 
Heat 4: Hud Cone 14 (2), Hunter Schuerenberg 11
(8), Chad Boespflug 98 (5), Chris Urish 77u (3),
Ricky Williams 11w (7), Neil Shepherd 4n (9),
Arin McIntosh 34m (6), Jerry Ruble 17j (4), Randy Bateman 51b (1)
 
B Main: Williams (4), Stockon (2), Thomas (1),
McIntosh (12), Hampton (10), Gross (9), Triplett
(13), Budde (14), Ruble (16), Gulick (5),
Gerhardt (7), Shepherd (8), Cook (3), Grimes (6),
Bateman (17), Brackett (DNS), Meseraull (DNS)
 
 
A Main (30 laps): 1. Daron Clayton 10c (1), 2.
Jon Stanbrough 53 (5), 3. Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (7),
4. Hud Cone 14 (4), 5. Mitch Wissmiller 23 (9),
6. Kyle Cummins 3c (2), 7. Blake Fitzpatrick 10f
(10), 8. Hunter Schuerenberg 11 (6), 9. Sammy
Imel 35 (14), 10. John Memmer 4m (13), 11. Ricky
Williams 11w (17), 12. Chad Boespflug 98 (12),
13. A.J. Anderson 34 (8), 14. Chris Urish 77u
(16), 15. Kevin Thomas Jr. 9k (19), 16. Erik
Folger 17e (15), 17. Arin McIntosh 34m (20), 18.
Chase Stockon 32 (18), 19. Jesse Cramer 12t (3), 20. Brett Burdette 17b (11)
 
 
KISS Points: 1. Stanbrough 445, 2. Cummins 351,
3. Bland Jr. 342, 4. Anderson 301, 5.
Schuerenberg 273, 6. Clayton 270, 7 Short 267, 8.
Burdette 240, 9. Hampton 217, 10. McIntosh & Hockett 215 (tie)
 
SCHEDULE.  Next up will be Kokomo Speedway’s KISS
show on Sunday, June 8.  The series will then
celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the
2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 16 Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 24 canceled
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 30 Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 7 Clayton
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works,
Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning
sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS
Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson
Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized
and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint
car race track promoters to provide the best
sprint car racing.  More information is available
on our website, www.kissracing.com.

 
June 4, 2008 –- Money and points will be at stake when the King of Indiana Sprint Series competes back-to-back, Saturday and Sunday.  With two races in the books and only three remaining in the 2008 KISS campaign, the races scheduled for this weekend, at the Tri-State and Kokomo Speedways, will be pivotal in determining who will wear the crown.  Will Jon Stanbrough continue his hot streak and lock up his third consecutive, and fourth overall KISS championship?  Will Brady Short dominate this weekend and take command of the point lead?  Or will one of the other drivers who still have a remote chance, like Kyle Cummins, A.J. Anderson or Jesse Hockett, make a dramatic charge and carry the battle to the final race?
 
Stanbrough’s ability to win at any track where he belts into a sprint car has always been impressive.  For the record, in addition to two KISS victories already, he’s won twice at Kokomo this season.  When he won at Tri-State in May, it was his second MSCS victory of the season.  Still, even with all of his success, he admits that each KISS race is important. 
 
“This series is something special to me,” he explained last Friday.  “I don’t have a pavement car, so I can’t go run USAC.  I’m far enough in my career and old enough in my age now that I’m not going to NASCAR or Indy Car, so it’s real important to me.  When I retire and I can look back and say that at one point in time, I kind of dominated the series.  Maybe that’s not real good for fans, but it’s something that I can treasure in my lifetime.  And if I get another one of those helmets, I can set it up on top of my cabinets with the rest of them.  That will be a nice memorabilia piece for me.”
 
The helmet he refers to is the KISS Champion’s Helmet.  Stanbrough keeps the 2007 KISS helmet, the only one previously awarded, with many of his other trophies. 
 
For the record, 222 miles, or 4 hours and 15 minutes, separate Tri-State Speedway, the Haubstadt, IN, host of the Saturday program, from the historic Kokomo Speedway, site of Sunday’s show.  Kokomo Speedway will open its front gate at 4 pm, and the pit gate at 3:30.  Racing starts at 6:15.  Tickets are just $15 general admission and pit passes are $30.  The program includes street stocks and thunder cars.  More information is available at www.kokomospeedway.net.
 
Each event on the KISS tour will pay $2,500 to win, and 250 to start.  Sponsorship from Indiana Stone Works has boosted the B-Main starting money to $100 for drivers not transferring to the A feature.  The point fund pays $1000 to the new champion, who will also earn the 2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Champion’s Helmet.
 
KISS Points (corrected): 1. Jon Stanbrough 300, 2. Brady Short 267, 3. Kyle Cummins 225, 4. A.J. Anderson 220, 5. Jesse Hockett 215, 6. Scotty Weir 207, 7. Jeff Bland Jr. 202, 8. Thomas Messeraull 192, 9. Shain Matthews 190, 10. Matt Goodnight 187
 
SCHEDULE.  The KISS series will celebrate the first evening of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway             Friday, May 16              Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24          canceled
Bloomington Speedway              Friday, May 30              Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway                    Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                    Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                    Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.

Stanbrough Continues KISS Domination
Adds To Record Book With Bloomington Victory

 
May 31, 2008 –- Looking for his third consecutive King of Indiana Sprint Series crown, Jon Stanbrough scored his second KISS feature victory of the 2008 campaign at Bloomington Speedway Friday night.  Stanbrough led the second half of the race, taking the lead from A.J. Anderson on a restart just after the halfway mark.  Brady Short grabbed second from Levi Jones on the last lap, as Hunter Schuerenberg and Anderson filled the top five.
 
With a car that was able to make passes anywhere on the Bloomington quarter-mile oval that Stanbrough put it, he credited the Fox Brother’s team, “Maybe experience paid off tonight.  Definitely Brad and Steve and Tim, and all of their experience and all of my years of experience, especially trying to race on a slick race track, probably had a little bit to do with it.  But I think no matter what condition the race track was in, I’m sure we would have been able to get pretty close to where we were.”
 
Starting 15^th, Stanbrough was in heavy traffic early, as Cole Whitt pushed his Red Bull F-5 machine into the lead from the pole.  Anderson was working the bottom, followed by Kenny Niflis, as they battled past Brett Mellenberndt for second.  On the 12^th circuit, Anderson charged into the lead when Whitt slipped out of the inside lane in turn two.  As they went through three and four, Niflis tried to follow Anderson past Whitt.  But as they came off turn four wheel-to-wheel, they ran out of room and the Axsom Body Shop Competition Welding car climbed a wheel and somersaulted down the front straight.
 
“It just seemed to start going away a little bit there and I was trying to play with some cockpit adjustments,” Whitt said later.  “I just got off the bottom and A.J. got by me.  I was kind of working through the race track.  I don’t know who got into me, but someone got into me and flipped over the top of us and split the tail.  I was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time.  Maybe if we were a little bit better, we wouldn’t have been able to get ran over.”
 
Stanbrough picked off cars methodically, one after the other, giving a clinic on how to handle race traffic.  When the race restarted after the red flag, the Fox DRC was already fifth.  While Mellenberndt back to slip back, he took second from Jesse Cramer just two circuits later.  Staying on the top, he quickly caught Anderson and drove around him going into the first turn, but a yellow stopped the action and Anderson retained the point.  But it was short-lived as Stanbrough again took Anderson’s DRC at the same spot, a lap into the green.
 
While Stanbrough built a straightaway lead, Jones, wheeling a new Viper chassis, claimed second from Anderson, with Short right on his tail.  A spin by Jimmy Light bunched the field, but Jones and Short continued their battle while Stanbrough put a half-straightaway between them.  With a pair of wins at Bloomington already this season, Short hounded Jones, running inside, outside, and side-by-side, lap after lap.  Driving the Indiana Stone Works Maxim, he finally claimed the spot as they took the checkered flag.
 
A key to Stanbrough’s record 13^th KISS series victory was being able to negotiate passes quickly.  He explained, “I didn’t have much choice but to run everywhere on the race track while I was in traffic.  Once I got clear, I thought we were pretty good anywhere we wanted to run so I just found a line and stuck with it.  There’s not a whole lot you can do once you’re out in front unless someone sticks a nose under you, then you have to change your line or try to do something different.  But I never saw anybody, so I just stuck with what I was doing and it worked.”
 
While Anderson looked uncatchable after taking the lead, he said that the bottom went away near the midpoint of the race.  “It kept getting slower and slower.  I probably should have moved up, it’s easy to say now.”
 
With 60 sprint cars in the pits, Jeff Bland Jr., Mellenberndt, Short, Light, Niflis and Whitt captured heat race wins.  Dickie Gaines won the D Main, Chris Babcock the C, and Robert Ballou the B Main. 
 
Results: King of Indiana Sprint Series, Bloomington Speedway, May 30, 2008
 
Heat 1: Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (9), Shain Matthews 67 (2), Levi Jones 38 (7), Andrew Prather 8p (5), Chase Stockon 32 (4), Coleman Gulick 14g (8), Kevin Briscoe 5 (6), Kyle Robbins 17r (10), Ted Hines 12h (3), Ricky Williams 11w (1)
 
Heat 2: Bret Mellenberndt 97 (1), Jesse Cramer 12t (2), Danny Holtsclaw 3 (6), Kenny Carmichael 92 (4), Jon Sciscoe 7s (5), Jason Holt 99 (9), Scott Hampton 42 (3), Mike Weber 22w (8), Jake Cook 18c (7), Blake Fitzpatrick 10f (10)
 
Heat 3: Brady Short 36 (2), Todd Kimmel 33 (1), Jon Stanbrough 53 (6), Kyle Cummins 3c (9), Neil Shepherd 4n (7), Kenny Carmichael Jr. 92c (3), Chris Babcock 35 (4), Rex Norris III 63 (10), Brett Burdette 17b (8), Kevin Thomas Jr. 9k (5)
 
Heat 4: Jimmy Light 23 (10), Arin McIntosh 34m (5), Matt Goodnight 39g (8), Caleb Armstrong 71 (9), Brian Lake 39 (1), Kevin Chambers 18 (2), Dakoda Armstrong 7a (7), Jonathan Hendrick 68 (3), Dickie Gaines 11c (4), A.J. Clark 3ac (6)
 
Heat 5: Kenny Niflis 11a (1), Hunter Schuerenberg 11 (5), Ty Deckard 48 (3), Robert Ballou 81 (7), Scotty Weir 22 (8), Thomas Messeraull 10t (2), Trey Robb 12r (4), Daron Clayton 10 (6), Ryan Pace 44 (10), Steve Barth 14b (9)
 
Heat 6: Cole Whitt 29w (1), A.J. Anderson 34 (3), John Memmer 4m (8), Eric Smith 14 (2), Marc Arnold 57 (9), Jesse Hockett 11p (10), Bobby Stines 9 (5), Chase Briscoe 5b (6), Ryan Tusing 16 (4), Kenny Biro 22k (DNS)
 
D Main: 1. Gaines (4), 2. Hines (1), 3. Cook (2), 4. Barth (8), 5. Tusing (6), 6. Brudette (3), 7. Pace (5), 8. Williams (7), Fitzpatrick, Biro, Thomas, Clark (DNS)
 
C Main: 1. Babcock (1), 2. Robbins (3), 3. Stines (6), 4. Clayton (7), 5. Hampton (2), 6. C. Briscoe (10), 7. Cook (11), 8. Barth (14), 9. Tusing (13), 10. D. Armstrong (4), 11. Hines (12), 12. Gaines (9), 13. Norris (5), 14. Weber (8), Robb, Burdette, K. Briscoe, Hendrick (DNS)
 
B Main: 1. Ballou (5), 2. Cummins (3), 3. Carmichael (2), 4. Stockon (7), 5. Sciscoe (8), 6. Weir (11), 7. Hockett (18), 8. Smith (6), 9. Meseraull (17), 10. Arnold (12), 11. Babcock (19), 12. Gulick (13), 13. Robbins (20), 14. Holt (14), 15. C. Armstrong (4), 16. Lake (10), 17. Chambers (16), 18. Carmichael Jr. (15), 19. Prather (1), Shepherd (DNS)
 
Feature: 1. Stanbrough (15), 2. Short (11), 3. Jones (13), 4. Schuerenberg (8), 5. Anderson (3), 6. McIntosh (10), 7. Ballou (19), 8. Deckard (17), 9. Cramer (6), 10. Bland (9), 11. Cummins (20), 12. Holtsclaw (14), 13. Mellenberndt (2), 14. Whitt (1), 15. Memmer (18), 16. Kimmel (12), 17. Goodnight (16), 18. Light (5), 19. Stockon (22), 20. Matthews (4), 21. Niflis (7), 22. Carmichael Sr. (21)
 
KISS Points: 1. Stanbrough 320, 2. Short 287, 3. Cummins 242, 4. Anderson 240, 5. Hockett 235, 6. Weir 227, 7. Bland Jr. 222, 8. Messeraull 212, 9. Matthews 210, 10. Goodnight 207
 
SCHEDULE.  Next up will be a double-header of KISS racing, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running a KISS/MSCS Shootout Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s KISS show on Sunday, June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway             Friday, May 16              Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24          canceled
Bloomington Speedway              Friday, May 30              Stanbrough
Tri-State Speedway                    Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                    Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                    Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 

Bloomington Hosts May 30 KISS Race
 

Stanbrough On Crusade For Third Title

May 22, 2008 –- With a thrilling victory in the opening event of the 2008 King of Indiana Sprint Series, Jon Stanbrough heads the KISS contingent as they turn toward the Bloomington Speedway on Friday, May 30.  Although he led every lap, everyone in the grandstand at Gas City’s I-69 Speedway witnessed one of the most exciting sprint car events of this young season.  The defending, and two-time champion holds a 5-point margin over Jesse Hockett. 
 
Stanbrough and the other KISS racers will face stiff competition, as Brady Short is already a multiple feature winner on the fast quarter-mile this season.   Stanbrough brings his own mojo, though, as he’s captured Bloomington’s KISS feature last two years.  Veteran Dickie Gaines currently tops Bloomington’s sprint car points, followed closely by Jeff Bland Jr., Jon Sciscoe, Jesse Cramer and Short. 
 
Each event on the KISS tour will pay $2,500 to win, and 250 to start.  Sponsorship from Indiana Stone Works has boosted the B-Main starting money to $100 for drivers not transferring to the A feature.  The point fund pays $1000 to the new champion, who will also earn the 2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Champion’s Helmet.
 
The green flag flies for hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:30.  All KISS events follow the rules of the host track.  Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions regarding track rules.  The program includes UMP Modifieds, paying $700-to-win, and UMP Indiana Super Stocks, racing for $600-to-win.  General admission is $15, and pit passes are $30.  Directions are available at www.bloomingtonspeedway.com.
 
SCHEDULE.  Next up will be a double-header of KISS racing, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s annual Sunday show on June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16             Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24            canceled
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.

Lawrenceburg Speedway KISS Race Canceled

 
 
May 18, 2008 –- The King of Indiana Sprint Series race scheduled for Saturday, May 24, at Lawrenceburg Speedway has been canceled.  Weather has delayed completion of modifications made to the Southern Indiana facility during the off-season.  Promoter Dave Rudisell said that he would explore the possibility of rescheduling the KISS event for later in the season.
 
SCHEDULE.  Bloomington Speedway will host the next KISS event, Friday night, May 30.  Following that will be a double-header of KISS racing, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s annual Sunday show on June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16             Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24            canceled
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.

Stanbrough Prevails in Thrilling KISS Opener at Gas City

May 15, 2008 –- Jon Stanbrough kicked off the 2008 King of Indiana Sprint Series with an unforgettable victory at Gas City’s I-69 Speedway on Friday.  After leading all but the first three circuits, Stanbrough withstood a determined challenge by Damion Gardner, prevailing when Gardner tangled with a lapped car.  Jesse Hockett captured second, trailed by Brett Burdette, Scotty Weir and Casey Shuman.
 
“It just shows the caliber of my team,” Stanbrough said.  “We came here and weren’t quite right and went up and looked at the track and went back and changed some stuff.  We went back and looked again and changed it again.  They probably changed it three or four times and they made the right decision.  We work good together and we communicated really well tonight and I think that we hit the car setup just right.”
 
Matt Goodnight and Jesse Hockett each led before Stanbrough hustled around Hockett coming off turn four on the third lap.  He then quickly built a straightway lead in the Fox Brothers’ DRC.  Chris Malone brought the red flag with a turn four flip on lap 9, and on the restart, Daron Clayton bicycled and somersaulted hard in turn two while running third. 
 
They call Damion Gardner “The Demon”.  His effort and supernatural skills were on full display in the opening KISS feature.  Working with the new Beast chassis throughout the program, he was added as a promoter’s option and started the 30-lap main event on the tail.  By the 9^th lap red flag, he had passed 14 cars and was seventh.  Working wherever he needed, he picked off car after car, slipping under Hockett in turn one on lap 17. 
 
Stanbrough had clearly been in command, unchallenged until a caution put Gardner on his tail with ten laps remaining.  The Jason Leffler/Pace Electronics Beast quickly went for the lead, Gardner going high and pulling even in turn 2.  They ran the lap side-by-side, then Stanbrough opened a car-length.  The leaders quickly caught lapped cars and Gardner was looking for an opening.  On the 29^th lap, a small pack filled the track ahead of them.  Stanbrough stayed low while Gardner went to the rim, getting past in turn 2.  But in turn four, Stanbrough found a slot in between the slower cars and gunned through it, pulling inside of Gardner and driving him wide as they ran wheel-to-wheel off the turn.  Stanbrough cleared the lapped cars going through turn 1, but right behind him, Gardner made contact, sending him into a high somersault, tumbling three times, slamming hard on its cage and finally stopping in the second turn. 
 
The Demon climbed out, unscathed, and walked slowly back to the pits.  Stanbrough was back in command at the restart, as Hockett, in Scott Benic’s RWB Maxim, held off Burdette’s determined thrust on the final lap. 
 
“Yeah, me and Stanbrough got together there on the front stretch and got me a little behind,” Gardner explained as he and crew chief Daryl Saucier examined the car in the pits.  “Then he went low on that lapper and I went wide around him and he pushed a little, no fault of his, he got tight and I just barely clipped him and that was it.”
 
Following the victory lane ceremonies, Stanbrough was concerned about the sequence.  He said, “I ran the bottom the whole race and never really saw anybody.  I got into lapped traffic and Damion pulled up on the outside and when a spot opened up for me to go around the outside of the lapped car I had to go, I couldn’t wait.  There was some people up (in the grandstands) yelling and screaming, saying that I caused that.  But I talked to my team and they said that he ran over a lapped car.  That makes me feel a little better.  I certainly wouldn’t want to cause anybody to have a wreck.”
 
Gardner went back to his West Coast roots to describe his charge from 22^nd to battle for the lead of the 30-lap KISS feature.  “I was telling Daryl that it was like Chico style out west there, it was pretty cowboy up.  You had to put your car on extreme and we had the car really, really nice.  The hardest thing was trying to miss them when I’d go by them because they were having a really hard time.  I was hoping to win from the back but I’ll have to wait for another night.”
 
 
Results: King of Indiana Sprint Series, May 16, 2008, Gas City I-69 Speedway
 
Heat 1: Daron Clayton 10 (4), Brady Short 36 (2), Mark Clark 42G (1), Bill Rose 6 (5), Steve Barth 14B (6), Damion Gardner 71 (8), Ted Hines 12 (3), Matt Rossi 2j (7), Ryan Hamilton 91 (DNS)
 
Heat 2: Jeff Bland 21S (3), Critter Malone 71 (2), Brett Burdette 17B (5), Scott Hampton 42H (9), Kyle Robbins 17R (1), Ron Dennis 32 (6), Tony Manis 74 (7), Hunter Schuerenberg 11S (8), Travis Welpott 18 (4)
 
Heat 3: Matt Goodnight 39 (1), Kyle Cummins 3C (5), Andrew Prather 8P (3), Shane Hollingsworth 85 (8), A.J. Anderson 11A (7), Steve Ott OTT (6), Kent Christian 1c (4), Tony Sessions 17(2)
 
Heat 4: Jesse Hockett 2B (4), Josh Spencer 66J (2), Thomas Messeraull 10T (8), Shain Matthews 67 (7), Jason Holt 99 (1), Rex Norris III 63 (5), Jonathan Hendrick 68 (3), Brent Smith 7 (6)       
 
Heat 5: Scotty Weir 10E (1), Jon Stanbrough 53 (6), Adam Byrkett 78 (5), Casey Shuman 57 (4), Jared Harris 81H (3), Nevil Algieo 11A (2), Greg Van Alst 08 (7), Sammy Imel 35 (DNS)
 
C-Main: Hendrick (4), Mains (2), Welpott (7), Christian (3), Hines (1), Rossi (6), Sessions (8), Smith (5)
 
B-Main: Rose (1), Matthews (4), Shuman (5), Hollingsworth (3), Hampton (2), Robbins (7), Gardner (11), Anderson (8), Hendricks (16), Barth (6), Norris (14), Hines (20), Holt (9), Christian (19), Mains (17), Algieo (15), Harris (10), Welpott (18), Dennis (12), Ott (13)
 
A-Main: 1. Stanbrough (4), 2. Hockett (3), 3. Burdette (12), 4. Weir (8), 5. Shuman (19), 6. Messeraull (14), 7. Short (9), 8. Cummins (6), 9. Prather (13), 10. Matthews (17), 11. Hampton (20), 12. Rose (16), 13. Clark (11), 14. Robbins (21), 15. Goodnight (1), 16. Byrkett (15), 17. Gardner (22), 18. Bland (7), 19. Hollingsworth (18), 20. Spencer (5), 21. Clayton (2), 22. Malone (10)
 
KISS Points: 1. Stanbrough 150, 2. Hockett 145, 3. Burdette 140, 4. Weir 135, 5. Shuman 130, 6. Messeraull 126, 7. Short 122, 8. Cummins 118, 9. Prather 114, 10. Matthews110
 
 
SCHEDULE.  The second round comes next Saturday with Lawrenceburg Speedway’s 2008 Grand Opening, adding wheel-to-wheel sprint car racing to the Memorial Day Weekend.  Bloomington Speedway hosts the KISS racers and fans the following Friday night, May 30.  The fourth weekend of KISS racing is a double-header, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s annual Sunday show on June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16             Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 

Curtain Set To Rise On Eighth King Of Indiana Sprint Series

 
May 7, 2008 –- The opening round in the eighth annual campaign for the King Of Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) crown is just a week away.  Friday, May 16, the curtain will rise at Gas City’s I-69 Speedway. 

KISS has proven to be one of the most competitive sprint car series in the country.  Even though Jon Stanbrough has won seven of the last dozen races, no other driver won more than once in the last three years.  It's a fact.  Since 2004, the following racers have visited KISS victory lanes: Daron Clayton, Shane Cottle, Kevin Briscoe, Kent Christian, Dave Darland, Levi Jones, Billy Puterbaugh, Mat Neely, AJ Anderson and Brandon Petty. 

KISS promoters keep it short and sweet.  This year the KISS racers will compete on six of the premier Hoosier sprint car tracks.  And in just five weeks, the King will be crowned and the series will be over for another year.

Gas City’s I-69 Speedway will drop the green flag on the ’08 KISS tour on Friday, May 16.  Each event in the series will pay $2,500 to win, and 250 to start.  Sponsorship from Indiana Stone Works has boosted the B-Main starting money to $100 for drivers not transferring to the A feature.  All KISS races follow the rules of the host track.  Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions regarding track rules.  Gas City I-69 Speedway opens at 4 pm and racing starts at 7:30.  The program includes UMP Modifieds, Mod Lites and Thunder Cars.  General admission is $15, and pit passes are $30.  Directions are available at www.gascityi69speedway.com.

SCHEDULE.  The second round comes just a week later when Lawrenceburg Speedway adds wheel-to-wheel sprint car racing to the Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 24.  Bloomington Speedway hosts the KISS racers and fans the next Friday, May 30.  The fourth weekend of KISS racing is a double-header, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s annual Sunday show on June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21

SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  The 2008 KISS Championship Helmet is sponsored by Simpson Performance Products, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix – watch for details of this year’s helmet design to be announced soon.

The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 

2008 KISS Series Opening Night Just Weeks Away – Who’s Hot?

April 24, 2008 –-  One of the surest signs of spring is the resumption of racing after a truculent winter.  The 2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) is poised to get underway in just three weeks, and with only a couple of races completed at Hoosier ovals, two drivers have emerged as early favorites. 
 
Shane Cottle captured the KISS round at Kokomo Speedway last June, outrunning Dave Darland for the second KISS triumph of his career.  Cottle and Contos Racing have expanded their plans for 2008, with Cottle running both dirt and pavement events.  This has proven to be a hot combination as Cottle claimed the season opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway, and followed that with a thrilling win in the USAC national sprint series at the same track a week later.  With Tray House twisting the wrenches on the Contos machines, Cottle has the potential to win any time they unload. 
 
One driver who had a quiet, but brilliant, effort on the 2007 KISS tour is Brady Short.  Although Short hasn’t claimed a KISS victory yet, he tallied five top-5 finishes including three third-place runs and finished second in the final point standings.  Short showed his readiness to race when he came from deep in the pack to win Bloomington Speedway’s season kick-off.  He has returned to the family car, which is proving to be as quick as ever.  Don’t count on him not capturing his first KISS victory soon.
 
SCHEDULE.  Gas City’s I-69 Speedway will again launch the KISS program as they drop the green flag on Friday, May 16.  The second round comes just a week later when Lawrenceburg Speedway adds wheel-to-wheel sprint car racing to the Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 24.  Bloomington Speedway hosts the KISS racers and fans the next weekend, with a Friday night show on May 30.  The fourth weekend of KISS racing is a double-header, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s annual Sunday show on June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21
 
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series. 
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  More information is available on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 
KING OF INDIANA SPRINT SERIES
Public Relations Contact: Mike O’Leary Phone: 812-825-9614
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.KissRacing.com

 
January 30, 2008 –- Three-time King of Indiana Sprints Series champion Jon Stanbrough received the inaugural KISS Championship Helmet on Sunday, January 27.  During presentations at the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans (HARF) Awards Ceremonies in Indianapolis, Stanbrough was presented the one-of-a-kind award.  With a 30-win season in 2007 sprint car competition, in addition to the KISS title, the Brownsburg, IN, driver was honored as the HARF Driver of the Year for the third time.
 

 

 
Promoters of several of the KISS series tracks, Dave Rudisell (Lawrenceburg Speedway), Mike Miles (Bloomington Speedway), Jiggs Thomason (Gas City I-69 Speedway) and Keith Ford (Paragon Speedway) made the presentation.  The helmet, a Simpson Performance Products Vudo model with exclusive artwork, is sponsored by Simpson, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Eagle Graphix Design. 
 
The KISS race track promoters and helmet sponsors have agreed to present another unique KISS Championship helmet to the 2008 champion following this year’s concluding event, at Paragon Speedway on June 21.  Noah Ennis, of New York-based Eagle Graphix, is already working on the new layout.

2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule

Gas City I-69 Speedway                  Friday, May 16
Lawrenceburg Speedway                Saturday, May 24
Bloomington Speedway                   Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                          Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                          Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                          Saturday, June 21
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  KISS is continuing to look for sponsorships for the upcoming series.  Not only will a sponsor actively participate in one of the most exciting sprint car programs of the coming season, but their investment will also garner the benefits of broad visibility and productive publicity among a growing segment of motorsports enthusiasts in Indiana’s most active metropolitan areas.  For more information contact the promoter at your closest KISS racing track.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  Information is now available on our website, www.kissracing.com.
 

2008 KISS Schedule Promises Spring Excitement

updated January 20, 2008 
January 19, 2008 –- The Alberta Clipper?  A Siberian Cold Wave?  It’s just Mother Nature’s way of helping us better appreciate pleasant spring weather.  With the first official day of spring less than 60 days away, planning for the racing season has moved into top gear.  Six of the top sprint car venues in the nation will present the 2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series programs.
 
SCHEDULE.  Gas City’s I-69 Speedway will again launch the KISS program as they drop the green flag on Friday, May 16.  The second round comes just a week later as Lawrenceburg Speedway adds wheel-to-wheel sprint car racing to the Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 24.  Bloomington Speedway hosts the KISS racers and fans the next weekend, with a Friday night show on May 30.  The fourth weekend of KISS racing is a double-header, with Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway running Saturday night, June 7, followed by Kokomo Speedway’s annual Sunday show on June 8.  The series will then celebrate the first day of summer by crowning the 2008 King Of Indiana on Saturday, June 21 at Paragon Speedway.
 
2008 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway                 Friday, May 16
Lawrenceburg Speedway            Saturday, May 24
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, May 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Saturday, June 7
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 8
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 21
 
CHAMPIONS.  Jon Stanbrough is the defending KISS champion.  Only Billy Puterbaugh kept Stanbrough from sweeping all of the 2008 races.  He has worn the King’s crown three of the past five years and his 11 KISS feature wins tops the series’ history.
 
SPONSORS.  Bedford’s Indiana Stone Works, Elliottbrand Web Designs, in Westport, IN, and Kiva Networking in Bloomington are returning sponsors for the KISS series.  KISS is continuing to look for sponsorships for the upcoming series.  Not only will a sponsor actively participate in one of the most exciting sprint car programs of the coming season, but their investment will also garner the benefits of broad visibility and productive publicity among a growing segment of motorsports enthusiasts in Indiana’s most active metropolitan areas.  For more information contact the promoter at your closest KISS racing track.
 
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana sprint car race track promoters to provide the best sprint car racing.  Information is now available on our website, www.kissracing.com.