2009/2009KISS
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September 18, 2009 - Brady Short was awarded the unique King of Indiana Sprint
Series Champion’s Helmet in ceremonies at Bloomington Speedway Friday night.
The helmet, which features a medieval king in its artwork, is truly
one-of-a-kind. Short allowed that the helmet is highly prized and he didn’t
plan to wear it in competition unless it was at a track without any dust, mud or
rocks.
This was the third helmet awarded by the KISS track promoters, with previous
presentations to Jon Stanbrough for his 2007 and 2008 KISS triumphs. Like
Stanbrough, Short earned his title on the toughest non-wing sprint car ovals in
the country. He captured the fifth round at Tri-State Speedway, and scored
three other top-five feature race finishes to edge Stanbrough, a four-time KISS
champion, by 22 points.
The KISS Champion’s Helmet is a Simpson Performance Products Vudo model, which
provides top-of-the-line safety equipment for Short. As in previous years,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson and Indocil Art are the sponsors of the
award. Both Simpson Performance Products and Sprint Car & Midget Magazine are
recognized as established leaders in their fields, with Simpson’s broad safety
and racing product base, and the magazine’s reputation for strong feature
articles, photos, editorials and race reporting for the past seven years.
Indocil Art’s Noah Ennis produced the unique artwork, as he has for all of the
KISS Champion’s Helmets. In addition to custom artwork for racing helmets,
Indocil specializes in sales and service for a broad range of safety and racing
products from their Rock Hill, SC, headquarters.
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual
Indiana sprint car race track promoters, including Gas City I-69 Speedway,
Kokomo Speedway, Paragon Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and
Bloomington Speedway, to provide the best sprint car racing and more information
is available at our website,
http://www.kissracing.com/ . Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works
in Bedford for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance Products,
Sprint Car & Midget
Magazine and
Indocil Art for the KISS champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
More information about KISS sponsors can be obtained directly from their
websites at:
Elliottbrand Web Designs -
http://www.elliottbrand.com
Simpson Performance Products –
http://simpsonraceproducts.com/
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine -
http://www.sprintcarandmidget.com/
Indocil Art -
http://www.indocilart.com/
KING OF INDIANA SPRINT SERIES
Public Relations Contact: Mike O’Leary Phone: 812-825-9614
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.KissRacing.com
September 1, 2009 - Last winter, Brady Short established winning the King of
Indiana Sprint Series as one of his primary goals for the 2009 racing season.
Signifying his achievement of that dream, one of the most unique awards in
motorsports, the KISS Champion’s Helmet, will be presented in what many would
consider a coronation at Bloomington Speedway on Friday, September 18.
The ceremony will be the third such award for the KISS track promoters,
following champion’s helmet presentations to Jon Stanbrough for his 2007 and
2008 KISS triumphs. Like Stanbrough, Short earned his title on the toughest
non-wing sprint car ovals in the country. He captured the fifth round at
Tri-State Speedway, and scored three other top-five feature race finishes to
edge Stanbrough, a four-time KISS champion, by 22 points.
The helmet, a Simpson Performance Products Vudo model provides top-of-the-line
safety equipment for Short. As in previous years, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine,
Simpson and Indocil Art are the sponsors of the award. Both Simpson Performance
Products and Sprint Car & Midget Magazine are recognized as established leaders
in their fields, with Simpson’s broad safety and racing product base, and the
magazine’s reputation for strong feature articles, photos, editorials and race
reporting for the past seven years.
While both Simpson and Sprint Car & Midget Magazine are very familiar to most
open wheel racing fans, Indocil Art may not be as well recognized. Noah Ennis,
who created the unique artistry that adorns all of the KISS Champion’s Helmets
under the banner of Eagle Graphix (his own company), moved to Indocil Art
earlier this year. The one-of-a-kind design and artwork are as stunning as
Noah’s earlier KISS creations, but now his ability to support racers is stronger
from the Rock Hill, SC, firm. In addition to custom artwork for racing helmets,
Indocil offers sales and service for a wide range of safety and racing
products. (Photos of the 2009 KISS Champion’s Helmet are online at the KISS
series website -
www.kissracing.com.)
The September 18 racing program at Bloomington Speedway will feature the MSCS
sprint car series in a big $5,000-to-win event. The evening’s card also
includes the UMP modifieds ($700-to-win) and street stocks ($600-to-win). The
schedule of events and additional details are available at
http://www.bloomingtonspeedway.com/.
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6 Brady Short
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20 Jon Stanbrough
2009 KISS Points: 1. Brady Short 740, 2. Jon Stanbrough 718, 3. Jeff Bland Jr.
656, 4. Bryan Clauson 626, 5. Nic Faas 521, 6. Dave Darland 505, 7. Casey Shuman
483, 8. Ryan Kaplan 443, 9. Shane Cottle & Hunter Schuerenberg 435 (tie)
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
and more information is available at our website,
http://www.kissracing.com/ . Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works
in Bedford for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance Products,
Sprint Car & Midget
Magazine and
Indocil Art for the KISS champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
More information about KISS sponsors can be obtained directly from their
websites at:
Elliottbrand Web Designs -
http://www.elliottbrand.com
Simpson Performance Products –
http://simpsonraceproducts.com/
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine -
http://www.sprintcarandmidget.com/
Indocil Art -
http://www.indocilart.com/
KING OF INDIANA SPRINT SERIES
Public Relations Contact: Mike O’Leary Phone: 812-825-9614
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.KissRacing.com
June 28, 2009 --- There are many reasons for the continued popularity of the
King of Indiana Sprint Series. Good racing, top cars and drivers, and strong
fan support are among them. The unique Hoosier sprint car tour delivered on all
accounts. But perhaps the most significant take-away from the ninth edition of
the KISS series was the emergence of several youthful racers who bring all of
the tools to be tomorrow’s racing stars.
The six events featured four new KISS race winners and two repeaters. Bryan
Clauson turned 20 just days before the finale at Paragon Speedway, while
Lawrenceburg winner Nic Faas has several months before he reaches that
milestone, and Chris Windom is still only 18 years old. At 25, the new King Of
Indiana, Brady Short, has many years of racing ahead. Veterans Billy Puterbaugh
Jr., in his prime at 30, and Jon Stanbrough, a tad older, had previous KISS
wins. But throughout the series, youth was well served. Jeff Bland Jr., third
in the points and the only driver other than Short and Stanbrough to run all six
events, is also just 20.
The ‘09 KISS crown is Short’s first racing title in sprint cars, coming in his
fifth season since winning Bloomington’s modified title and deciding to move up
the ladder. Even though his victory at Tri-State Speedway was his first KISS
victory, it was certainly came as no surprise since he was named 2005’s Non-wing
Rookie of the Year by the Sprint Car Hall Of Fame, and has won USAC features in
each of the three previous seasons.
Short’s KISS championship was a big Father’s Day gift for his dad, Don Short. A
solid modified racer in his own right, Don has not only supported the racing
aspirations of his sons, but also the KISS series, his Indiana Stone Works
sponsoring the B-Main events at each track the past several seasons. With Don’s
leadership as Brady’s crew chief, the Short’s had four top-five finishes and a
tenth in KISS features. But his worst finish came at Kokomo Speedway when early
mechanical problems forced Brady to jump out of his car and into that of Mark
Perry III. Unfortunately, he was caught up in another car’s incident on the
third lap of the feature and scored last.
While the results show that he was fast, Short demonstrated the traits of a
champion in the second half of the KISS campaign. The way the team responded
after the problems at Kokomo was key, as they rebounded strongly to score the
come-from-behind win at Haubstadt. Then Brady’s Indiana Stone Works team locked
up the crown with a smart run at Paragon.
Just 22 points behind Short was four-time Indiana Sprint Car King Jon Stanbrough.
After winning the final feature at Paragon, his emotions were mixed. While he
had mediocre finishes of eighth and 13th in the first two races,
including a flat tire during the feature at Lawrenceburg, the Fox brothers team
rebounded with fourth and third-place results at Bloomington and Kokomo. Then a
disastrous night at Tri-State Speedway when he was taken out of his heat race on
the first lap and blew a tire while leading the semi, failing to transfer to the
feature, put him so far behind that it was almost impossible to catch Short.
“I am frustrated if it comes into my mind. If I’m just sitting around thinking
and that pops into my head, I get a little frustrated. But when you get to the
race track, you have to focus on what you’re doing. I’m sure it will always
bother me for the rest of my life. But we have to keep on going, just like we
did tonight,” Stanbrough said. He pointed out that they didn’t let all of that
bother them. They weren’t good enough to transfer through the heat at Paragon,
and they didn’t let that bother them. They just went back to work and got the
win, racing from deep in the pack. The rest was up to Short.
116 drivers competed for the 2009 KISS championship. Bedford’s Brady Short took
the fancy trophy home, but the series was so competitive that there was a
different winner each night. Each of the races was a classic, one that will be
remembered into the future. And as important, the racers, officials and racing
fans are already looking forward to next year’s competition.
2009 KISS Points (Final): 1. Brady Short 740, 2. Jon Stanbrough 718, 3. Jeff
Bland Jr. 656, 4. Bryan Clauson 626, 5. Nic Faas 521, 6. Dave Darland 505, 7.
Casey Shuman 483, 8. Ryan Kaplan 443, 9. Shane Cottle & Hunter Schuerenberg 435
(tie)
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6 Brady Short
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20 Jon Stanbrough
Jon Stanbrough employed the night of the King of Indiana Sprint Week finale
to drive what was perhaps his finest race of the year. Even though the effort
resulted in his 15th KISS series feature victory, second consecutive
at Paragon Speedway, he came up short in the battle for the King Of Indiana
Sprint Series championship. Brady Short’s steady fifth place run garnered the
King’s crown for the Bedford, Indiana driver.
Afterwards, Stanbrough admitted that he was still disappointed. “I’m just happy
we got a win in the KISS series this year. We were so close and if we hadn’t
had the bad luck we had at Haubstadt, I think we definitely would have had a lot
better shot at it. That’s the way it goes.”
With 45 cars in the pits, Danny Holtsclaw won the re-draw and outran Casey
Shuman into the first turn from the pole. Driving Jeff Walker’s Jam-It-In
Storage Maxim, Bryan Clauson took second and quickly began looking for a way
past Holtsclaw. On the sixth circuit, Clauson moved up the track and got around
in the second turn, but Holtsclaw fought back into the lead on the frontstretch.
Transferring through the B Semi, Stanbrough started the main event in 16th
in his Fox Brothers DRC, but didn’t stay back there long. A yellow flag
on the seventh lap restacked the filed with Stanbrough already up to ninth.
With Holtsclaw trying to avoid a hole getting into the first turn, Clauson
looked to the inside on the restart, but Holtsclaw slammed the door shut in turn
two. By the tenth circuit they were still nose-to-tail, with Holtsclaw
protecting the bottom and Shuman trying to start a threesome. Two laps later,
Stanbrough passed Short for fifth, then took fourth from Kyle Cummins. On the
15th circuit, Clauson dove inside Holtsclaw, again pulling even, this
time when they made contact in turn two, Holtsclaw’s radius rod broke and he
spun down the backstretch.
Paragon promoter Keith Ford had given the KISS racers a good track for the
feature and Stanbrough was using it all. Moving to the front, he could pass
wherever he needed. Still it took him four laps to work past Shuman, who was
having a good run in the Service Drywall DRC. By the time Stanbrough got to
second, Clauson had established a half-straightaway advantage.
Stanbrough began to slowly close the gap. But Clauson began to have difficulty
exiting turn four and on lap 22, he clipped an infield tire, allowing Stanbrough
to catch him quickly. He turned to the outside as they went into the first turn
and pulled even with Clauson. Running wheel-to-wheel for half a lap, Stanbrough
took the lead coming off turn four. Clauson fought back and began looking for
an outside line. But with four laps remaining, a spin right in front of the
leaders brought out the caution lights. When Stanbrough got a quick restart and
opened a three-fourths straightaway lead, Shuman began working on Clauson for
second. At the checkers, it was Clauson and Shuman trailing Stanbrough, with
Cummins just ahead of Short.
“I got into second and he was probably 2 – 3 car lengths in front of me and it
seemed like I couldn’t find anywhere where I could close on him,” Stanbrough
explained afterwards. “He made a mistake and clipped an inside tire, got a
little bit out of shape and I closed the gap on him real quick. He was still
leading but I just decided to go ahead and run the car into the corner as hard
as I could on the outside of him and it stuck. Then I moved back down, just not
real sure where to run on the race track once I got to the lead. I figured if
he could get around the outside of me, that’s where he was going to have to get
me.”
Clauson said that neither he, nor Walker, were pleased with second, “The bottom
definitely went away over there. It just wreaked havoc on the line I was
running and I didn’t get it figured out as fast as Jon. I feel like if that
last yellow hadn’t come out, we probably still would have won. I got rolling on
the outside of him there, and made some adjustments on the yellow that I went
the wrong way on. We were just trying to take one last shot there at the end.”
The new KISS champion began his Father’s Day celebration early, allowing that
the accomplishment was huge. It was a goal that he had set over the winter, and
his father and crew chief, Don Short, had given him a good car. But he said
that it had been difficult, because he had to change his style of racing to make
it happen. “I always go out and approach it to win, that’s what was in my
mind. But the guys were telling me before I went out, you start sixth and
finish somewhere in the top-10, even if he comes up and wins. I don’t like
driving that way, I like racing, you know, get up on the wheel and drive it. I
had to drive really smart around guys tonight. We probably could have finished
fourth or third, but we didn’t have the car to win. Stanbrough had the car to
win. I’m not going to take that away from him. He was really good tonight. We
just wanted to come here and get the title and that’s what we did.”
King of Indiana Sprint Series Results
Paragon Speedway
June 20, 2009
HEAT 1
1. Scott Hampton 42h (2), 2. Jesse Cramer 12t (9), 3. Ethan Barrow 15 (1), 4.
Chase Briscoe 5b (3), 5. Cody Gentry 15g (4), 6. Jared Harris 81h (6), 7. Jeff
Shepard 46 (5), 8. Johnny Johnson 72j (9), Scott Townsend 42t (DNS)
HEAT 2
1. Kyle Cummins 3c (1), 2. Josh Cunningham 6s (2), 3. Chase Stockon 32 (7), 4.
Jon Stanbrough 53 (9), 5. Hunter Schuerenberg 2 (3), 6. Lance Grimes 14x (4), 7.
Donnie Gentry 22g (5), 8. Jimmy Light 22 (6), 9. Jon Sciscoe 7 (8)
HEAT 3
1. Danny Holtsclaw 3 (1), 2. Casey Shuman 21x (5), 3. Ryan Kaplan 27 (2), 4.
Jeff Bland Jr. 38 (6), 5. Bub Cummings 71 (3), 6. Shane Hmiel 10 (7), 7.
Jonathan Vennard 12 (9), 8. Eric Edwards 44 (8), 9. Nick Bilbee 17b (4)
HEAT 4
1. Bryan Clauson 11 (5), 2. Brady Short 36 (4), 3. Dakota Jackson 3j (2), 4.
Adam Beliles 66 (3), 5. Chris Gentry 26 (8), 6. Nick Johnson 15j (1), 7. Dustin
Beliles 25 (7), 8. Jim Dugan 7d (9), 9. David Hair 44h (DNS)
HEAT 5
1. Blake Fitzpatrick 10f (1), 2. Kyle Robbins 17r (3), 3. Ty Deckard 48 (6), 4.
Eric Smith 14s (7), 5. Chris Babcock 35 (4), 6. Jordan Kinser 82 (2), 7. Broc
Burton 0 (5), 8. Aric Gentry 61 (8), Tony Reed 34 (DNS)
C MAIN
1. Burton (3), 2. D. Gentry (2), 3. D. Beliles (4), 4. A. Gentry (10), 5.
Shepard (1), 6. Edwards (8), 7. Light (5), 8. J. Johnson (6), 9. Dugan (7)
B MAIN
1. Stanbrough (2), 2. Bland (3), 3. Smith (5), 4. Briscoe (1), 5. Chris Gentry
(9), 6. D. Gentry (15), 7. Cummings (8), 8. A. Gentry (17), 9. Kinser (13), 10.
Babcock (10), 11. Burton (16), 12. Schuerenberg (7), 13. Shepard (20), 14. N.
Johnson (14), 15. D. Beliles (18), 16. Cody Gentry (6), 17. A. Beliles (4), 18.
Harris (11), 19. Grimes (12), 20. Hmiel (DNS)
A FEATURE
1. Stanbrough (16), 2. Clauson (4), 3. Shuman (2), 4. Cummins (8), 5. Short (6),
6. Bland (17), 7. Cunningham (7), 8. Cramer (5), 9. Barrow (11), 10. Smith (18),
11. Hampton (9), 12. Jackson (14), 13. Briscoe (19), 14. Kaplan (13), 15.
Fitzpatrick (10), 16. Robbins (3), 17. Deckard (15), 18. Stockon (12), 19.
Holtsclaw (1), 20. Chris Gentry (20)
2009 KISS Points (Final): 1. Brady Short 740, 2. Jon Stanbrough 718, 3. Jeff
Bland Jr. 656, 4. Bryan Clauson 626, 5. Nic Faas 521, 6. Dave Darland 505, 7.
Casey Shuman 483, 8. Ryan Kaplan 443, 9. Shane Cottle & Hunter Schuerenberg 435
(tie)
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6 Brady Short
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20 Jon Stanbrough
KING OF INDIANA SPRINT SERIES
Public Relations Contact: Mike O’Leary Phone: 812-825-9614
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.KissRacing.com
June 16, 2009 -- It appears that the King of Indiana Sprint Series
championship could ultimately come down to a battle between two men. One is a
likely sprint car Hall of Famer, the holder of numerous records and the driver
with the most wins in the history of the KISS series. The other is a 25-year
old, driving the family sprint car. The battle to be the 2009 King will be
decided at Paragon Speedway, Saturday night.
It’s safe to say that when the KISS series is on the line, the road to victory
lane goes through Jon Stanbrough’s pit area. Stanbrough not only owns the most
KISS victories (14), but also the most series titles (4). Although Jon and the
Fox Brothers team got off to a slow start this year, they have finally found
their footing, scoring nine top-4 finishes in the past 10 races, including three
feature wins in the last week. Now he has a fifth KISS crown in his sight.
While Stanbrough is the defending KISS feature winner at Paragon Speedway, Brady
Short has never raced on the track before. Last year, a fuel pump failure kept
Short from competing in Paragon’s KISS finale. This time, even though he comes
into the event with a 42-point advantage over Stanbrough, he says that he can’t
feel comfortable. “I’m just going to go there and do the best we can.
Hopefully we go there and finish top-5, and kind of seal the deal and get the
KISS title.”
The importance of the KISS championship to sprint car racers should not be
underestimated. The series is followed around the world and the title is highly
coveted. Ask Brady where it fits and he lists it first among his objectives for
the season, saying “I wanted to win the KISS title, that was my goal this year,
and win Bloomington points and win as many races as I can. I told them over the
winter that my goal is to win twelve races this year, and so far we’ve got five
and if we keep the roll we have going, heck, you never know, we may get 20.”
Short is having the best season of his career, currently with five victories on
his 2009 card, including the most recent KISS event, at Tri-State Speedway. “My
last three nights out, we’ve got a first, a second and a first, and I thought
that we were actually good enough to win at Danville, but we never had a
caution,” he noted last weekend.
These accomplishments come as Brady’s father, Don, has taken over the crew chief
duties. Still Brady thinks that their success is based on some old fashioned
principles. Brady says that they wouldn’t be where they are without the
experience they gained from working with mechanic Michael Dutcher last year.
Now, Brady says that they don’t have any tricks, just good preparation and the
right attitude. “We’re just running good, having some good luck and going out
and having fun. You know, that’s what it’s all about. If you come to the race
track and you’re not ready to have fun, you might as well not even try to race.
That’s what it’s all about, having fun, and the wins will come to you.”
Jeff Bland Jr. is lurking close enough to claim the KISS title if Stanbrough and
Short should both have problems on Saturday, and first year Indiana sprint car
driver (and KISS winner at Lawrenceburg Speedway) Nic Faas is only a handful of
points further behind. So the situation is ripe for anything to happen. No
matter who rides away with this year’s crown, the big winner is certain to be
the fans as they have seen four first-time KISS race winners this year, and five
outstanding nights of racing action.
The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will be crowned following the final event, at
Paragon Speedway. The KISS feature will pay $2,500 to win, and $250 to start.
The racing program includes street stocks, bombers and pure stocks. Adult
admission is $15 and pit passes are $30. The pit gate opens at 4:00 pm, and the
grandstands at 5:00. Hot laps will begin immediately after the 6:00 driver’s
meeting, and racing starts at 7:30. More information is available at
www.paragonspeedway.com.
KISS Points (after June 6): 1. Brady Short 610, 2. Jon Stanbrough 568, 3. Jeff
Bland Jr. 530, 4. Nic Faas 521, 5. Dave Darland 505, 6. Bryan Clauson 481, 7.
Shane Cottle 435, 8. Chris Windom 390, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg 373, 10. Jonathan
Hendrick 361
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6 Brady Short
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
For the first time in since 2005, the King of Indiana Sprint Series could crown
a new King. The 2009 campaign for the prestigious sprint car championship will
be settled on Saturday, June 20, at Paragon Speedway, and Bedford, Indiana’s
Brady Short heads into the event with a substantial point lead. Jon Stanbrough,
the KISS champion the past three years and a four times overall, trails Short by
42 points.
Although that margin can be made up at a single event, Stanbrough will need
Short to have problems and score a high finish himself, to have an opportunity
to collect his fifth title. If both drivers should run into difficulties, Jeff
Bland Jr., Nic Faas and Dave Darland, the next three in the point standings, are
still mathematically in the mix.
This year’s KISS series has been among the most competitive, with four first
time KISS feature race winners in the five events completed. Bryan Clauson,
Faas, Chris Windom and Short earned victories at Gas City/I-69, Lawrenceburg,
Bloomington and Tri-State Speedways, while Billy Puterbaugh Jr. was the only
repeat winner, at Kokomo Speedway. Will Paragon continue the trend of
first-time winners? Will it be a driver who has been in a KISS victory lane
before? Or will Stanbrough capture his 15th KISS win as he chases this year’s
crown.
The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will be crowned following the final event, at
Paragon Speedway. The KISS feature will pay $2,500 to win, and $250 to start.
The racing program includes street stocks, bombers and pure stocks. Adult
admission is $15 and pit passes are $30. The pit gate opens at 4:00 pm, and the
grandstands at 5:00. Hot laps will begin immediately after the 6:00 driver’s
meeting, and racing starts at 7:30. More information is available at
www.paragonspeedway.com.
KISS Points (after June 6): 1. Brady Short 610, 2. Jon Stanbrough 568, 3. Jeff
Bland Jr. 530, 4. Nic Faas 521, 5. Dave Darland 505, 6. Bryan Clauson 481, 7.
Shane Cottle 435, 8. Chris Windom 390, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg 373, 10. Jonathan
Hendrick 361
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6 Brady Short
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
June 3, 2009 -- Some might see it as the Capulets against the Montagues, while
others could compare it to the war between the Hatfields and McCoys. But when
the King of Indiana Sprint Series drivers take to the track against the best of
the Midwest Sprint Car Series at Tri-State Speedway, Saturday, much more will
beat stake than just a battle for Hoosier bragging rights.
The KISS series for 2009 has worked down to just two remaining events. Saturday
night’s program will be critical in determining this year’s King. With four
races in the books, three first time winners and one repeat, the KISS points are
close. Dave Darland is just 11 ahead of four-time champion Jon Stanbrough.
Brady Short, Shane Cottle and Jeff Bland Jr. are all within striking distance,
should the leaders stumble.
Chris Windom, who captured the Bloomington Speedway KISS round, leads the MSCS
points, by 14, over Kyle Cummins. Nic Faas, Ricky Williams and Bub Cummings are
all within 25 of the leader.
Add the $2.200 purse increase on Saturday, raising the program to $3,000 to win
and $300 to start the feature, and it is a big night of racing. The racing card
includes the UMP modifieds. Adult admission is $15, students $10, children 12
and under are free, and a pit pass is $30. The pit gate opens at 3:30 and the
grandstands at 4:30. Hot laps will begin at 6:30, and racing at 7:30. More
information is available at
www.tristatespeedway.com .
KISS Points (as of May 31): 1. Darland 505, 2. Stanbrough 494, 3. Short 460, 4.
Cottle 435, 5. Bland 412, 6. Faas 391, 7. Windom 390, 8. Schuerenberg 373, 9.
Shuman 343, 10. Clauson 336
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
May 31, 2009 -- Billy Puterbaugh earned his second King of Indiana Sprint
Series victory by hauling the mail around the huggy-pole at Kokomo Speedway,
Sunday night. Puterbaugh worked the inside groove nearly to perfection, and
held off several challenges as he led all but one lap of the main event. Shane
Cottle and Jon Stanbrough were close on his heels at the checkers, with Hunter
Schuerenberg and Chris Windom fourth and fifth.
“Nobody was going to pass anybody unless you made a mistake or got a big run on
the top,” Puterbaugh said afterwards. “You had to play huggy-pole tonight and
make sure nobody beat you around the bottom.”
Driving his own DRC, Puterbaugh took the lead in the first turn and opened a
dozen car-length advantage over Kurt Gross and Hunter Schuerenberg. While
Puterbaugh worked the bottom, Schuerenberg was riding the cushion and gaining
ground. A caution bunched the field on the third circuit, when Nic Faas spun in
the second turn after another car bobbled in front of him, and collected Cole
Whitt and Brady Short.
On the restart, Schuerenberg returned to the top groove and got his nose past
Puterbaugh in turn three, but Puterbaugh fought back into the lead at the
flagstand. Schuerenberg continued to press the issue on the next circuit, again
charging past in turn three, and this time his lead lasted until the first turn,
when Puterbaugh moved back in front. Following this confrontation, Puterbaugh
opened a two-second gap that lasted until a red flag when the engine in Gross’s
machine let go.
Coming from the 8th starting slot, Cottle slipped past Stanbrough in
turn three, after the restart. But on the next lap, Shane Hmiel climbed the
wall in turn two, ripped a hole in the catch fence, returned to the track on
four wheels, and drove around to the frontstretch, where another red flag was
waving. Counting Chris Gurley’s tip-over on lap 2, it was the third stoppage of
the race.
The battle behind Puterbaugh was fierce, as Schuerenberg, Cottle, Stanbrough,
Windom and Marc Arnold scrapped for position. Like Schuerenberg, Windom spent
most of the event dancing on the unpredictable cushion. But the best results
came from the inside lane. Cottle noted, “It was kind of a one-groove deal
right around the bottom. You kind of had to root and gouge to get past them.
It was a lot of fun.”
Schuerenberg began to slip back after bouncing off the wall on lap 13. He and
Stanbrough spent most of five laps working side-by-side before Stanbrough
claimed third. Cottle slowly began to reel Puterbaugh in during the closing
laps. By the 26th circuit, he had caught the leader and was looking
for a hole to take advantage of. That hole never opened, and Stanbrough soon
made it a three-car fight. As they raced under the finish, they were
nose-to-tail.
It was a satisfying victory for Puterbaugh, who compared it to a USAC win. Then
he explained, “I didn’t want to try the top, the thing felt so good running
around the bottom, and it’s the shortest way around. That’s where the most
moisture was. So I figured if I could stay in the moisture, stay around the
bottom, they were going to have to run twice as hard to pass me around the top.”
Cottle thought that his car was better in the closing stages. ”It seemed like
he was missing his marks the last five or six laps. We kept hitting them, but
we never could get close enough to get past him. He was pretty good, though.”
Following his thrilling run, Schuerenberg was pleased with a fourth place
finish. He said, “It was mostly my fault for running fourth, it was a better
car than that. The guys that were in the top three might have been a little
tighter than me because they were better on the bottom. I tried to go down
there and we were a little too free to be able to keep up. It was to our
advantage to run the top, because I was freer, but at the same time it was just
a tougher ballgame up there, so it was hard to be consistent.”
It was the second KISS feature race victory for Puterbaugh, but his first since
2007. With a seventh place result, Dave Darland retained an eleven-point lead
in the KISS standings, over defending King of Indiana, Jon Stanbrough.
King of Indiana Sprint Series
Kokomo Speedway
May 31, 2009
HEAT 1
1. Anthony Peterman 7p (2), 2. Shane Cottle 10e (4), 3. Jon Stanbrough 53 (8),
4. Ryan Kaplan 27k (3), 5. Brady Short 3m (9), 6. Andrew Elson 27a (7), 7. Logan
Hupp 9h (6), 8. Patrick Haynes 5h (1), 9. Jeff Wimmenauer 15j (5)
HEAT 2
1. Billy Puterbaugh 16 (2), 2. Marc Arnold 4a (1), 3. Dave Darland 7r (5), 4.
Chris Gurley 12g (7), 5. Kyle Robbins 17r (3), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. 9k (4), 7.
Josh Spencer 66j (8), 8. Sammy Imel 35 (6), Mark Perry III 3m DNS
HEAT 3
1. Blake Fitzpatrick 10f (1), 2. Hunter Schuerenberg 07 (8), 3. Ryan Pace 44
(2), 4. Shane Hmiel 10 (3), 5. Coleman Gulick 14 (9), 6. Corey Smith 66s (7), 7.
Ryan Hamilton 59 (4), 8. Bryan Clauson 7 (5), 9. Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (6)
HEAT 4
1. Kurt Gross 1x (4), 2. Nic Faas 17f (6), 3. Chris Windom 11 (7), 4. Cole Whitt
29w (5), 5. Jonathan Vennard 12 (8), 6. Jason Holt 42g (1), 7. Randy Donelson 16
(3), 8. Landon Simon 24 (2)
B MAIN
1. Gulick (3), 2. Short (1), 3. Vennard (4), 4. Robbins (2), 5. Elson (5), 6.
Clauson (15), 7. Smith (7), 8. Bland (14), 9. Hupp (9), 10. Holt (8), 11.
Donelson (10), 12. Imel (12), 13. Haynes (13), 14. Wimmenauer (16), 15. Hamilton
(11), 16. Thomas (6), 17. Spencer (17)
FEATURE (30 laps)
1. Puterbaugh (2), 2. Cottle (8), 3. Stanbrough (9), 4. Schuerenberg (5), 5.
Windom (12), 6. Gulick (17), 7. Darland (10), 8. Arnold (7), 9. Gurley (14), 10.
Vennard (19), 11. Robbins (20), 12. Fitzpatrick (6), 13. Peterman (1), 14. Hmiel
(16), 15. Pace (11), 16. Kaplan (13), 17. Gross (3), 18. Faas (4), 19. Whitt
(15), 20. Short (18)
Points (as of May 31)
1. Darland 505, 2. Stanbrough 494, 3. Short 460, 4. Cottle 435, 5. Bland 412, 6.
Faas 391, 7. Windom 390, 8. Schuerenberg 373, 9. Shuman 343, 10. Clauson 336
The KISS racers return to the track at Tri-State Speedway, in Haubstadt, IN on
Saturday, June 6. As in previous years, the event will be a showdown between
KISS and MSCS sprint car teams. The purse has been raised and now features a
$3,000-to-win payoff. Adult admission is $15, students $10 and pits $30. Hot
laps will begin at 6:30, and racing at 7:30. More information is available at
www.tristatespeedway.com .
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31 Billy Puterbaugh
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
No one was surprised when Chris Windom captured the King of Indiana Sprint
Series feature at Bloomington Speedway Friday night. It was only a matter of
time before the young charger added his name to the record of KISS winners.
After diving under Brady Short for the lead, the young racer from Canton, IL,
built a straightaway advantage over Shane Cottle, Short and Jon Stanbrough at
the finish.
Scotty Weir outran Casey Shuman through the first turn to take the early lead,
while just behind them, Bryan Clauson made contact with another car in the
second turn and lost nearly a dozen spots as he gathered his machine back up.
Weir quickly built a half-straightaway lead before the caution came out on lap
5, when Shuman was knocked sideways in turn two and collected Jon Sciscoe.
The fighting behind Weir was fierce, with Stanbrough, Short, Windom, Cottle and
Jeff Bland Jr. scrapping for positions in the top five. Windom took second on
the seventh circuit and began reeling in Weir. Following a lap 11 restart,
Short moved up the track, found good footing and battled past Windom and
Stanbrough, then passed Weir for the lead on lap 14. With two wins on the
Bloomington quarter-mile already this season, Short’s Indiana Stone Works Maxim
looked ready to pull away. But a caution flag at the halfway mark bunched the
field again, with Windom, in his first race at the wheel of Jeff Walker’s
Jam-It-In Storage Maxim, on Short’s tail.
When Short slid up the track coming through turn one on the restart, Windom
charged into the hole, running even until they exited the fourth turn, where he
smoothly drove into the lead. Windom built a straightaway lead by the checkers,
as Cottle grabbed second from Short on lap 20.
After the victory lane ceremony, Windom explained, “We had to be patient. I
knew we were good on the bottom, we just kept getting caught up behind a couple
guys who were in front of us and that gave other guys runs on the outside. I
knew if I stuck down there, I’d eventually get around them. I just had to be
patient.”
“It’s awesome to get to drive for Jeff Walker,” he added. “The first night that
he let me drive his car we came out with a win. It was awesome.”
Cottle earned second after starting eleventh in the Crume – Evans Insurance
Chalk. He said, “We were all bunched up there for a little while. Brady went
up high and lost his momentum up there and we got underneath of him. Little
Windom was just a little too fast for us.”
Several pits away, Short noted that they had been working on getting the car to
where he could drive it harder, but this time that is what bit him. “I just
knew that the way I was driving the race track and kind of sliding my rear
tires, I was going to glaze them over and that’s eventually what happened. I
should have just tried to slow down and run the bottom, but my car was just a
little too tight getting in and it was killing me off. So I just kept trying
and trying, but my tires never did come back in.”
Dave Darland held onto his KISS point lead, by just 3 points over Short, with a
run through the C and B mains, and 19th starting slot, to seventh.
Defending four-time champion Jon Stanbrough sits third, with Bland and Shuman
separated by a single point for fourth.
King of Indiana Sprint Series
Bloomington Speedway, May 29, 2009
(49 cars)
HEAT 1
1. Casey Shuman 21x (1), 2. Brent Beauchamp 11 (2), 3. Shane Cottle 10e (6), 4.
Kurt Gross 1x (4), 5. Chase Briscoe 5b (3), 6. Ty Deckard 48 (7), 7. Blake
Fitzpatrick 10f (5), 8. Nic Faas 17F (8), 9. John Dick 68 (9), 10. Brian Lake
39l (DNS)
HEAT 2
1. Jon Sciscoe 7 (2), 2. Brady Short 36 (4), 3. Shane Hmiel 10 (5), 4. Mark
Perry III 3M (9), 5. Chris Gentry 26x (8), 6. Bill Rose 6 (10), 7. Kevin Thomas
Jr.9k (1), 8. Dickie Gaines 11p (3), 9. Todd Kimmel 33 (6), 10. Jonathan
Hendrick 68 (7)
HEAT 3
1. Jon Stanbrough 53 (1), 2. Chris Windom 11 (4), 3. Jonathan Vennard 12 (2), 4.
Kyle Cummins 3c (5), 5. Kent Christian 1c (8), 6. AJ Anderson 34 (10), 7. Dave
Darland 7r (6), 8. Coleman Gulick 14 (9), 9. Ted Hines 12 (7), 10. Scott Hampton
42 (3)
HEAT 4
1. Scotty Weir 5 (3), 2. Jeff Bland Jr. 21s (8), 3. Ethan Barrow 15b (1), 4.
Jeff Wimmenauer 15w (2), 5. Jesse Cramer 12t (5), 6. Ryan Kaplan 27 (6), 7.
Bobby Stines 9t (9), 8. Bub Cummings 71 (4), 9. Kyle Robbins 17r (10), 10.
Anthony Peterman 7p (7)
HEAT 5
1. Bryan Clauson 7 (2), 2. Hunter Schuerenberg 07 (9), 3. Nick Bilbee 17b (3),
4. Gary Altig 67 (1), 5. Ricky Williams 11w (5), 6. Kevin Chambers 18 (4), 7.
Ray Humphrey 1h (8), 8. Chris Babcock 35 (7), 9. Andrew Prather 8 (6)
C MAIN
1. Darland (3), 2. Fitzpatrick (1), 3. Stines (4), 4. Faas (6), 5. Thomas (2),
6. Cummings (7), 7. Gulick (8), 8. Robbins (14), 9. Hines (11), 10. Humphrey
(5), 11. Hampton (15), 12. Babcock (10), 13. Dick (9), 14. Prather (13), 15.
Lake (17), 16. Peterman (DNS), 17. Kimmel (DNS), 18. Hendrick (DNS), 19. Gaines
(DNS)
B MAIN
1. Gross (1), 2. Cummins (3), 3. Christian (8), 4. Darland (16), 5. Perry (2),
6. Cramer (9), 7. Briscoe (6), 8. Anderson (13), 9. Wimmenauer (4), 10. Gentry
(7), 11. Williams (10), 12. Deckard (11), 13. Faas (19), 14. Chambers (15), 15.
Rose (12), 16. Kaplan (14), 17. Altig (5), 18. Fitzpatrick (17), 19. Stines
(18), 20. Thomas (20)
FEATURE (30 laps)
1. Chris Windom (3), 2. Shane Cottle (11), 3. Brady Short (8), 4. Jon Stanbrough
(7), 5. Shane Hmiel (12), 6. Scotty Weir (1), 7. Dave Darland (19), 8. Brent
Beauchamp (10), 9. Bryan Clauson (4), 10. Jeff Bland, Jr. (9), 11. Jon Sciscoe
(6), 12. Ethan Barrow (14), 13. Nick Bilbee (15), 14. Kent Christian (18), 15.
Kyle Cummins (17), 16. Hunter Schuerenberg (5), 17. Casey Shuman (2), 18. Kurt
Gross (16), 19. Jonathan Vennard (13), 20. Mark Perry III (20)
KISS Points (after May 29) – 1. Dave Darland 383, 2. Brady Short 380, 3. Jon
Stanbrough 354, 4. Jeff Bland Jr. 344, 5. Casey Shuman 343, 6. Nic Faas 305, 7.
Shane Cottle 290, 8. Bryan Clauson 264, 9. Chris Windom 260, 10. Jonathan
Hendrick 254
The KISS series will continue on Sunday at Kokomo Speedway. Adult general
admission is $15, and kids aged 10 and under are free with a paying adult. Pit
passes are priced at $30. The racing program includes street stocks and thunder
cars. The pit gate opens at 3:30 pm and grandstand gates at 4:30. The first
race will start at 6:15. Directions are available at
http://www.kokomospeedway.net . All KISS races follow the rules of the host
track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29 Chris Windom
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
May 25, 2009 -- Following a strong start to the 2009 King of Indiana Sprint
Series, the third round returns to one of the ovals that has been instrumental
throughout the history of the KISS. The Bloomington Speedway event is one that
Jon Stanbrough should particularly be looking forward to as he has won the KISS
feature each of the past three years. And there is no coincidence that
Stanbrough has gone on to claim the King’s crown in each of those seasons.
Two of the best young sprint car drivers have claimed first KISS victories this
season. Bryan Clauson was a regular on the Indiana Sprint Car tracks, as early
as 2004. Winning races and collecting honors in USAC’s national sprint cars and
midgets series, Clauson was signed by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to
a driver development contract and raced frequently in NASCAR’s Nationwide
series, ARCA and ASA. This year, he has returned to the open wheel cars, and
captured the KISS feature at Gas City/I-69 Speedway. Moving to Indiana from
Huntington Beach, California, Nic Faas was last year’s USAC Western Midget
Series champion. He has been impressive as he tackles tough race tracks for the
first time. His KISS victory at Lawrenceburg Speedway last Saturday was his
second win of this season.
Even though Bloomington Speedway’s Mike Miles was one of the original organizers
of the KISS series in 2001, the first KISS race at Bloomington wasn’t completed
until 2003 because of rain. In the years since, two of Indiana’s most
successful and popular drivers, Tony Elliott and Kevin Briscoe, claimed
Bloomington wins before Stanbrough took over.
The KISS feature at Bloomington Speedway, on Friday, May 29, pays $2,500 to win,
and $250 to start. Adult general admission is $15, and ages 12 and under are
free general admission with a paid adult. Pit passes are priced at $30. The
racing program includes UMP Modifieds ($700 to win) and UMP Super Stocks ($600
to win). The pit gate opens at 4:30 pm and grandstand gates at 5:30. Hot laps
start at 6:30 and racing at 7:30. Directions are available at
http://www.bloomingtonspeedway.com/. All KISS races follow the rules of the
host track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
KISS Points (after May 23) – 1. Dave Darland 261, 2. Casey Shuman 254, 3. Nic
Faas 245, 4. Brady Short 240, 5. Jeff Bland Jr. and Jonathan Hendrick 234 (tie),
7. Jon Stanbrough 219, 8. Matt Westfall 181, 9. Bryan Clauson 150, 10. Shane
Cottle 145
In addition to the feature race payoff, the B-Main pays $100 to all starters who
do not transfer to the feature. The $3,600 KISS point fund awards the top five
point finishers. The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints champion will also receive a
new Simpson helmet with original and unique artwork by Eagle Graphix.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
Nic Faas made winning his first King of Indiana Sprint Series feature look
easy as he paced all but the first four circuits at Lawrenceburg Speedway
Saturday night. Jonathan Hendrick secured his best KISS finish with a strong
second place run. Casey Shuman, Dave Darland and Jeff Bland Jr. filled the top
five.
Ted Hines was the early race leader, as Faas moved up from the fifth starting
slot. Brady Short bicycled in the first turn and spun on the first lap, but was
able to rejoin from the tail. Defending series champion Jon Stanbrough fell
victim to a flat right rear tire during the 30-lap event, as did John Memmer and
Mark Perry III.
Hines claimed the first heat race, and Faas and Hendrick finished the second in
the same order as they would complete the main event. The third heat was
captured by Short. Thomas Meseraull outran Robert Ballou in the semi.
King of Indiana Sprint Series -
"The Eddie Bennett Memorial"
Lawrenceburg Speedway, May 23, 2009
HEAT 1
1- 12H Ted Hines
2- 10 Casey Shuman
3- 21S Jeff Bland, Jr.
4- 7R Dave Darland
5- 5J Joss Moffatt
6- 89 Shawn Westerfeld
7- 11 Jon Stanbrough
8- 07 Hunter Schuerenberg
9- 14 Coleman Gulick
10- 2 Brad Stevens
HEAT 2
1- 17F Nick Faas
2- 68 Jonathan Hendrick
3- 3M Mark Perry III
4- 9K Kevin Thomas, Jr.
5- 54 Matt Westfall
6- 81 Robert Ballou
7- 4M John Memmer
8- 9R Russ Harper
9- 22W Mike Weber
HEAT 3
1- 36 Brady Short
2- 9H Logan Hupp
3- 11W Ricky Williams
4- 1X Kurt Gross
5- 11X Brent Beauchamp
6- 12 Thomas Meseraull
7- 44 Jason Soudrette
8- 68D John Dick
9- 73 Steve Wilmot
B MAIN
1- 12 Thomas Meseraull
2- 81 Robert Ballou
3- 4M John Memmer
4- 11 Jon Stanbrough
5- 14 Coleman Gulick
6- 07 Hunter Schuerenberg
7- 89 Shawn Westerfeld
8- 2 Brad Stevens
9- 44 Jason Soudrette
10- 9R Russ Harper
11- 22W Mike Weber
DNS- 68D John Dick
DNS- 73 Steve Wilmot
FEATURE
1- 17F Nick Faas
2- 68 Jonathan Hendrick
3- 10 Casey Shuman
4- 7R Dave Darland
5- 21S Jeff Bland, Jr.
6- 12H Ted Hines
7- 11W Ricky Williams
8- 81 Robert Ballou
9- 14 Coleman Gulick
10- 36 Brady Short
11- 5J Joss Moffatt
12- 12 Thomas Meseraull
13- 11 Jon Stanbrough
14- 9H Logan Hupp
15- 11X Brent Beauchamp
16- 9K Kevin Thomas, Jr.
17- 1X Kurt Gross
18- 3M Mark Perry III
19- 4M John Memmer
20- 54 Matt Westfall
The KISS series will continue, Friday, May 29, at Bloomington Speedway. The
KISS feature pays $2,500 to win, and $200 to start. General admission is $15,
and ages 12 and under are free general admission with a paid adult. Pit passes
are priced at $30. The racing program includes UMP Modifieds ($700 to win) and
UMP Super Stocks ($600 to win). The pit gate opens at 4:30 pm and grandstand
gates at 5:30. Hot laps start at 6:30 and racing at 7:30. Directions are
available at
http://www.bloomingtonspeedway.com/. All KISS races follow the rules of the
host track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
In addition to the feature race payoff, the B-Main pays $100 to all starters who
do not transfer to the feature. The $3,600 KISS point fund awards the top five
point finishers. The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will also receive a new
Simpson helmet with original and unique artwork by Eagle Graphix.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23 Nic Faas
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
May 21, 2009 -- The second round of the 2009 King of Indiana Sprint Series
will push off at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Saturday night. With the
competitiveness of the homegrown racing series and the increase in the sprint
car purse for this event, it promises be a big night of racing at Lawrenceburg
as the KISS returns after a one-year absence.
The completely updated facilities have proven to be a model for today’s race
tracks. From the comfortable and modern grandstands and spectators’ areas, to
the new high-banked oval, Lawrenceburg has been receiving a lot of praise from
both racers and fans. Unfortunately, last year’s KISS race had to be cancelled
when weather delayed completion of the oval’s surface. However the racing held
since the new track was finished, has proven it to be very fast and filled with
action.
Bryan Clauson opened the KISS series with a commanding performance at Gas
City/I-69 Speedway last weekend. It was Clauson’s first KISS series victory.
Coming into Lawrenceburg, situated on the Ohio River, just outside Cincinnati
and minutes west of the Ohio – Indiana state line, will be a challenge for any
race team that doesn’t frequent the track’s Saturday night fare. Previous
winners of KISS features at the ‘Burg include Brandon Petty, A. J. Anderson, and
two years ago, Jon Stanbrough.
Saturday’s KISS feature has been named the “Eddie Bennett Memorial”. Honoring a
promoter of Lawrenceburg Speedway during the 1970’s who recently passed away,
Bobby Gomph and his family, in conjunction with the track safety crew, has added
$1,000 to the KISS purse. The payoff will include an additional $50 for each of
the feature starters, increasing the winner’s share to $2550, with $300 to
start.
May 23’s Budweiser Open Wheel Night at the ‘Burg includes AMSA Mini Sprints,
Midwest TQ Midgets, and a VARC (Vintage American Race Car) show and race. Adult
admission is $15, ages 7 – 12 just $7, 6 and under admitted free. Pit passes
are priced at $25. Lawrenceburg Speedway opens at 4 pm, general admission gates
at 5 pm, and the qualifying draw closes at 6 pm. Hot laps start at 6 and racing
at 7 pm. Directions are available at
http://www.lawrenceburgspeedway.com/. All KISS races follow the rules of
the host track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
In addition to the feature race payoff, the B-Main pays $100 to all starters who
do not transfer to the feature. The $3,600 KISS point fund awards the top five
point finishers. The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will also receive a new
Simpson helmet with original and unique artwork by Eagle Graphix.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15 Bryan
Clauson
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
King of Indiana Sprint Series Quick Look
May 15, 2009
Bryan Clauson hustled past Shane Cottle on the 20th lap to capture
his first King of Indiana Sprint Series feature victory as the Gas City/I-69
Speedway got the ninth KISS campaign underway. Cottle held onto second,
followed by Levi Jones, Ryan Pace and Brady Short. Complete results will be
updated later this weekend.
Feature – 30 laps
May 14, 2009 – It has nearly become a tradition – the King of Indiana Sprint
Series event at Lawrenceburg Speedway, just hours before the Indy 500. It has
become one of the most popular events of the 6-race KISS tour. This year, in
addition to Budweiser Open Wheel Night, there is a new reason for the event’s
popularity.
Promoter Dave Rudisell has named the Saturday, May 23rd KISS program
the “Eddie Bennett Memorial”. Honoring a promoter of Lawrenceburg Speedway
during the 1970’s who recently passed away, the Eddie Bennett Memorial boasts a
solid bump in the purse. The Bobby Gomph family, in conjunction with the track
safety crew, has added $1,000 to the KISS purse. The payoff will include an
additional $50 for each of the feature starters, increasing the winner’s share
to $2550, with $300 to start.
The May 23 Budweiser Open Wheel Night at the ‘Burg includes AMSA Mini Sprints,
Midwest TQ Midgets, and a VARC (Vintage American Race Car) show and race. Adult
admission is $15, ages 7 – 12 just $7, 6 and under admitted free. Pit passes
are priced at $25. Lawrenceburg Speedway opens at 4 pm, general admission gates
at 5 pm, and the qualifying draw closes at 6 pm. Hot laps start at 6 and racing
at 7 pm. Directions are available at
http://www.lawrenceburgspeedway.com/. All KISS races follow the rules of
the host track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
In addition to the feature race payoff, the B-Main pays $100 to all starters who
do not transfer to the feature. The $3,600 KISS point fund awards the top five
point finishers. The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will also receive a new
Simpson helmet with original and unique artwork by Eagle Graphix.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
May 13, 2009 – When the King of Indiana Sprint Series makes its 2009 debut at
Gas City/I-69 Speedway on Friday, most of the area’s top sprint car racers will
be unloading in the pits. But it’s amazing how few of those drivers have a KISS
series feature win on their resume. Friday’s racing presents the first of six
opportunities for local drivers to add their names in that record book.
Cole Whitt may currently be the hottest sprint car chauffeur in the Hoosier
state. Having won three of his last four feature races, including an event at
Gas City and two at Kokomo, Whitt falls in the group still looking for their
first KISS winner’s trophy. Also included in that company are Josh Wise, who
claimed the USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Damion Gardner, Brett Burdette and
Robert Ballou, each have captured Lawrenceburg features; Jon Sciscoe and Chris
Babcock, both have wins at Paragon Speedway; Brady Short, who won the opener at
Bloomington Speedway; Jesse Hockett, Dickie Gaines, Brad Sweet, Kyle Cummins and
Jeff Bland Jr.
Levi Jones, who has two wins this year, including the MSCS opening night at
Tri-State Speedway, and Dave Darland, who collected the USAC main event at Gas
City, have one KISS victory each, both coming four years ago. Several other
prominent Indiana racers have single KISS wins including Hunter Schuerenberg,
Billy Puterbaugh, A.J. Anderson and Matt Westfall. Shane Cottle and Kent
Christian are the active drivers with two feature victories each, and either is
capable of adding to that total.
In contrast to these racers, Jon Stanbrough dominates the KISS record book. He
is the all time KISS winner, with 14 trips to victory lane over the past eight
campaigns. He won twice during the KISS debut season, 2001, at Putnamville and
Terre Haute. He has won KISS features at every track that has participated in
the series, except two, the Tri-State and Kokomo Speedways. He has won the last
two KISS features at Gas City, and the last three at Bloomington. In addition
to those two tracks, he captured the Paragon Speedway round while on the road to
his fourth KISS championship, last year. This year, Stanbrough has rejoined his
old friends, Steve and Brad Fox, and they claimed their first feature, at
Vermillion County Speedway, last weekend.
The May 15 racing program at Gas City/I-69 Speedway includes UMP modifieds and
thunder cars. Gas City I-69 Speedway opens at 4 pm and racing starts at 7:30.
General admission is $15, and pit passes are $30. Directions are available at
www.gascityi69speedway.com. All KISS races follow the rules of the host
track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
KISS events pay $2,500 to win and $250 to start the feature. The B-Main pays
$100 to all starters who do not transfer to the feature. The $3,600 point fund
awards the top five point finishers. The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will also
receive a new Simpson helmet with original and unique artwork by Eagle Graphix.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS website (
www.kissracing.com).
May 5, 2009 – With the Opening Night of the 2009 King of Indiana Sprint
Series just two Fridays away, a new race track promoter could feel like he’s got
a tiger by the tail. But that isn't the case for Gas City/I-69 Speedway’s LeRoy
Battieger.
“It is a huge event. The possibilities of that thing could grow. It could get
as big as Indiana Sprint Week. It really could,” Battieger says of the KISS
series.
When Jiggs Thomason, the popular promoter of Gas City I-69 Speedway, announced
his retirement last year, many were concerned about the future of the facility.
But since Battieger stepped up to run the Speedway over the winter, it has been
a smooth transition. And with the exception of some rain, the season has gotten
off to a highly successful start.
“Right now we’re going strictly as before,” Battieger says. “Not a lot of
changes are happening. This is like a transitional year between Jiggs and I. I
give Jiggs a lot of credit; he helped me tremendously over the winter because we
made the announcement late. He’s been here helping me a lot. We’re kind of
going at it as it is this year and see what happens next year.”
Gas City opens the gate on the ninth consecutive season of the KISS racing
series on Friday, May 15. It will be the first of six KISS events over a
five-week span, all at top Indiana sprint car ovals, including Lawrenceburg,
Bloomington, Kokomo, Tri-State and Paragon Speedways.
Those who were at last year’s Gas City event may recall two things. First, the
grandstands were packed and they had to squeeze together to make room for more.
And also, it was one of the most competitive and thrilling feature races of the
year, as Damion “The Demon” Gardner raced from deep in the pack to battle Jon
Stanbrough for the win. Stanbrough held on for his twelfth KISS victory when
Gardner touched wheels with a lapped car and flipped spectacularly in the
closing laps.
Battieger notes that the KISS race is a big opportunity for a new promoter. “As
far as Gas City goes, I see it as a huge advantage. It’s an awesome event.
People talk about how competitive this business is and how (track promoters)
want the business from the other (track promoters). But if you really look at
it, you’ve got all of the track promoters in the state of Indiana working
together to put on one event, and that makes it special. Everybody is working
together to make it a good event.”
A businessman whose interests include a Frito-Lay business and the Gas City
Victory Lanes bowling center, LeRoy didn't take on the Speedway because he had
nothing else to do. “I love the sport,” he says. “I grew up right beside the
Indianapolis Speedrome as a child, and the first job I had was working at the
Speedrome. I’ve worked at three tracks and at Gas City for 11 years - I
volunteered the first three years. I do it for the love of it; I don’t do it
for the money. If I did it for the money, I sure wouldn’t be doing it. It’s
strictly the love of the sport and giving the best to the fans and the drivers.
It’s all about them.”
The May 15 racing program at Gas City/I-69 Speedway includes UMP modifieds and
thunder cars. Gas City I-69 Speedway opens at 4 pm and racing starts at 7:30.
General admission is $15, and pit passes are $30. Directions are available at
www.gascityi69speedway.com. All KISS races follow the rules of the host
track. Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions
regarding track rules.
Two of the area’s top sprint car drivers have claimed victories at Gas City
already this year, as Levi Jones captured the USAC event to open the season, and
Cole Whitt won a week later. Around the state, other top KISS racers have also
been shining. Brady Short and Jones have won at Bloomington, Josh Wise (in
another USAC event), Brett Burdette and Robert Ballou at Lawrenceburg, Whitt
(again) at Kokomo, and Jon Sciscoe at Paragon.
KISS events pay $2,500 to win and $250 to start the feature. The B-Main pays
$100 to all starters who do not transfer to the feature. The $3,600 point fund
awards the top five point finishers. The 2009 King of Indiana Sprints will also
receive a new Simpson helmet with original and unique artwork by Eagle Graphix.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
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.
Many thanks to the series sponsors, including
Indiana Stone Works for the B-Main,
Simpson Performance
Products,
Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and
Eagle Graphix for the champion’s helmet,
Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, and
Kiva Networking in Bloomington for the
KISS 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
December 29, 2008 –- 2009 is still around the corner, but Hoosier race track
promoters are already working on their schedules for the coming season. For six
of the country’s top sprint car ovals, putting the King of Indiana Sprint Series
(KISS) dates in place is a top priority and the result shows their commitment to
this homegrown series.
While some think that traditions are simply the product of public relations and
television, Hoosiers know that real traditions are built piece-by-piece, one
year at a time. The KISS series has a long way to go before it becomes a
tradition, but as it approaches its ninth consecutive season, many will agree
that it’s becoming a habit. With an average of more than 40 sprint cars in the
pits each night and exciting wheel-to-wheel racing, the story of the KISS series
continues to get better every year.
Gas City’s I-69 Speedway again hosts the KISS kickoff event, on Friday, May 15.
Last year, 44 cars signed in and Jon Stanbrough began his title defense with a
memorable victory over Damion Gardner. The second round comes just a week later
as Lawrenceburg Speedway welcomes KISS racing to southeastern Indiana on
Saturday, May 23. Lawrenceburg was unable to host their scheduled show in 2008
when weather hampered remodeling efforts. Bloomington Speedway’s KISS show
attracted 60 sprint cars last May and Stanbrough scored his second straight KISS
win. Bloomington’s May 29th show opens a two-race weekend, as the
Friday program is followed by Kokomo Speedway on Sunday, May 31. Hunter
Schuerenberg hustled from the sixth row to outrun Robert Ballou at Kokomo last
year. KISS racers return to Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway on Saturday night,
June 6, as the battle for the KISS crown begins to come into focus. Daron
Clayton led wire-to-wire in 2008, while Stanbrough earned a hard-fought second
place finish. Once again, Paragon Speedway will be the site of the finale, and
the crowning of the 2009 King of Indiana Sprints, on Saturday, June 20. Fans
won’t forget how the town of Paragon experienced severe flooding the week before
last year’s event, but when it counted, Keith and Judy Ford’s crew put on a
memorable program. Jon Stanbrough outran 47 other cars to earn the victory and
earned an unprecedented fourth KISS crown.
2009 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 15
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 23
Bloomington Speedway Friday, May 29
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, May 31
Tri-State Speedway Saturday, June 6
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 20
CHAMPIONS. Jon Stanbrough is the defending KISS champion. But we repeat
ourselves. For three of the last five year’s we’ve said that. Stanbrough won
three KISS events in 2008, and his 14 KISS feature wins and four titles far
outdistance anyone else in the series’ history. He is expected to return in
2009 to compete for his fifth KISS crown.
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.
KING OF INDIANA SPRINT SERIES
Public Relations Contact: Mike O’Leary Phone: 812-825-9614
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.KissRacing.com