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Haubstadt, IN - July 8, 2007. Daron Clayton won the 30 lap inaugural MSCS
- KISS Showdown at Tri-State Speedway Sunday night. But it was no easy task. The
race had all the necessary ingredients for one of the most exciting races to
ever be held at the tacky quarter mile oval. One of those ingredients was the
fact that it was also the final Championship night for the 2007 KISS series.
Both MSCS and KISS points were at stake for the 41 drivers on hand. And KISS
points leader Jon Stanbrough would be a major factor in the feature competition
on his way to collecting the KISS title.
The feature was a shootout among the front runners with Brady Short
separating Stanbrough, who had the lead, from Clayton for five laps. A restart
on lap five gave Clayton an opportunity to grab second. On lap nine he took the
lead after pushing his car to the front in turn two, exchanging spots with
Stanbrough in three, and back to the front again in four. This pattern would
continue, especially during the last six laps of the feature. Clayton defended
challenge after challenge. Jon Stanbrough would gain ground entering
the corners using a slide job while Clayton would remain poised to dive back
underneath and find the speed to undo the fleeting pass.
Daron Clayton's formable win was the seventh in his MSCS career and with the
victory he becomes the leading all time winner for the Hoosier Tire Midwest
Sprint Car Series with seven feature victories. Clayton followed the $2,500 win
with victory doughnuts dirt track style in turn four. His turn at the microphone
was short. "It was a great race! I had a lot of fun! Thanks fans! I am
going to run Indiana Sprint Week next." The native Missouri driver now
races out of Indianapolis and is sure to be "Kick-in" some more
Hoosier clay.
The second place finish brought Jon Stanbrough, of Jamestown, IN, a third KISS
series title in an illustrious sprint car driving career. The KISS point fund
was worth $1,400 to the champion along with the special King of Indiana Sprint
Series Champion's helmet designed by RockStar Paint and sponsored by Sprint Car
&Midget Magazine and Simpson Performance Products.
Brady Short finished third in the feature in the Lucas Oil Sprinter. Kyle
Wissmiller was fourth and rookie Jeff Bland Jr. was fifth. Hud Cone, Matt Neely,
Mitch Wissmiller, Brett Beauchamp, and Bobby Stines rounded out the top ten.
Cone rolled off the track after the event with a flat left front tire. It was
Mitch Wissmiller who improved 10 positions to capture the Keizer Aluminum Wheels
Hard Charger of the Race Award. John Memmer finished just outside of the top ten
to collect the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award.
Hard luck followed Shane Hollingsworth all evening. The Indianapolis driver fell
victim to a flat tire during his heat race and then flipped in the C-main in a
series of rolls. He was the runner-up in KISS points going into the event. Heat
victories went to John Memmer, Todd Chandler, Jeff Bland Jr., Jon Stanbrough,
and Daron Clayton. Fifteen year old Shane Golobic of Fremont, California, won
the C-main in his first appearance at the Speedway. MSCS Points leader Kyle
Cummins took the 20 car B-main. Dave Scott started on the pole of the B but had
the misfortune of flipping his car in turn four.
Tri-State Speedway will race next on Saturday July 21st. That is the USAC
Indiana Sprint Week date for the track. The MSCS Sprints will be back in action
on August 3rd and 4th, That upcoming two race weekend starts Friday night at
Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky and is followed by the Hoosier Sprint
Nationals paying $10,000 to win at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday.
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