May 21, 2005 –-
Dave Darland topped a strong field of 48 sprint cars as the 2005
King of Indiana Sprint Series finally found dry land.
After the year's first two races fell victim to Indiana's fickle
spring rains, Darland paced all but the first five laps at
Putnamville's Lincoln Park Speedway for his first KISS
victory. Levi Jones edged A. J. Anderson in a close
battle for second, with Mat Neely and Bud Kaeding filled the top
five.
Darland jumped into
the lead with a charge around the top of turn one, but bounced
sloppily through the turn at the opposite end, opening the door for
Neely, the polesitter, to scramble past. “I had
trouble getting through the cushion in three and four,” Darland
explained. “I slid over it and had to abandon the
top. I tried the middle and then the bottom.”
Bart Grider held
third in the early laps, followed by Anderson, Matt Westfall, Shane
Cottle and Jones. Running the bottom, Grider took second
just before Dickie Gaines brought out a caution with a second turn
spin on lap five. It took just one lap after the restart
for Darland to hustle around Grider, and motor into the lead when
Neely got crossed up in turn one.
Once out front,
Darland was in control, opening a full straightaway advantage by the
halfway point. Neely began to fight a push as Jones and
Anderson worked past. On the 23 rd circuit, Grider spun
in turn four, bringing another caution. In the final
laps, Darland pulled fifteen car-lengths ahead, while Anderson
grabbed second, diving inside of Jones in the first turn.
But Jones returned the fight and reclaimed the position with two
laps to go.
Darland said that he looked at the track before the feature and saw
a lane around the top of turn one and two that he could run through
smoothly. “A big key to any race is figuring out where
you can work, and I wanted to do that early,” he pointed
out. The victory gave the Lincoln, Ind., driver the lead
in KISS series points.
May 21, 2005 - Results, Lincoln Park Speedway, Putnamville, IN
Heat 1: Shane Cottle, Jon Sciscoe, Kent
Christian, Bryan Clauson, Scotty Weir, Bobby Stines, Tommy Rockwell,
Kenny Carmichael Jr., Jason Holt, Danny Pollock
Heat 2: Mat Neely, A. J. Anderson, Jared Fox, Aaron Mosley, Bill
Baker, Jason Lynch, Justin Walden, Ty Deckard, Gary Hayden, Jeremiah
Vanosky
Heat 3: Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Kyle Wissmiller, Kenny
Carmichael Sr., Jimmy Laser, Casey Shuman, Brady Short, Brad Marvel,
Chris Kopczynksi, Bryan Stanfill
Heat 4: Bart Grider, Matt Westfall, Mitch Wissmiller, Shawn
Krockenberger, Jay Drake, Kevin Besecker, Brad Sweet, Tim Creech II,
Mitch Cunningham
Heat 5: Dave Darland, Marc Arnold, John Wolfe, Dickie Gaines, Jon
Stanbrough, Justin Marvel, Daron Clayton, Jeff Martin, Bobby Smith
B-Main #1: Dickie Gaines, Justin Marvel, Kenny Carmichael Sr.,
Clauson, Drake, Shuman, Carmichael Jr., Sweet, Stines, Cunningham,
Marvel, Stanfill, Hayden, Martin, Walden, Baker, Pollock
B-Main #2: Scotty Weir, Jon Stanbrough, Shawn Krockenburger,
Laser, Besecker, Deckard, Short, Lynch, Clayton, Holt, Kopczynski,
Smith, Creech, Rockwell, Vanosky, Mosley
Feature: 1. Dave Darland, 2. Levi Jones, 3. A. J. Anderson, 4.
Mat Neely, 5. Bud Kaeding, 6. Dickie Gaines, 7. Shane Cottle, 8.
Justin Marvel, 9. Kyle Wismiller, 10. Matt Westfall, 11. Kent
Christian, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Mitch Wissmiller, 14. Marc
Arnold, 15. Kenny Carmichael Sr., 16. Scotty Weir, 17. John Wolfe,
18. Shawn Krockenberger, 19. Bart Grider, 20. Jared Fox, 21. Jon
Sciscoe
Points: 1. Darland
135, 2. Jones 130, 3. Anderson 125, 4. Neely 120, 5. Kaeding 115
The 2005 KISS series
continues next Saturday, at Lawrenceburg Speedway, with the Roy
Mattlin Memorial. Located on Rt. 40, just off of I-70,
west of Indianapolis, the racing program includes AMSA 1200 Winged
Mini-Sprints Nationals, Budweiser UMP Modifieds and Brockman Signs
Super Stocks. The pit gate opens at 4 pm, the general
grandstand gate at 5 pm and racing will start at 7:15.
Tickets are $15, pit pass $25. Children 6 and under are
free, 7 – 10 years old $1, 11 - 15 are $10.
SCHEDULE. The KISS series returns to Kokomo
Speedway for the first time since 2002 on Sunday, June 19.
The KISS racers begin the final leg with a big show at Paragon
Speedway on June 25, a Saturday. The grand finale will
headline the Independence Day program at the Terre Haute Action
Track and crown the 2005 King of Indiana Sprints, on Saturday, July
2.
THE
PURSE. There's $2,500 to win at stake when they
push off for the main event at each track. As in
previous seasons, the teams will forgo qualifying and draw for heat
race starting spots. This year drama will be added as
the top two finishers in each heat will re-draw for feature starting
spots. Each feature pays a minimum of $250 to start,
while B-Main competitors will take home $50.
POINT
FUND. This year's point fund will pay $1,400 to
the King Of Indiana Sprint Series champion following the July 2 nd
Terre Haute Action Track finale. The point fund pays the
top five in the standings, with second place receiving $1000, while
third receives $700, fourth $600 and fifth $500.
MORE
INFORMATION. For more information, contact the
individual tracks or visit their websites.
Bloomington Speedway
- www.bloomingtonspeedway.com
Lincoln Park Speedway
- http://lincolnparkspeedway.homestead.com/
Lawrenceburg Speedway
– http://home.fuse.net/kewendel/
Kokomo Speedway - www.kokomospeedway.net
Paragon Speedway – http://www.paragonspeedway.com
Terre Haute Action
Track - http://www.terrehauteactiontrack.com
The King of Indiana
Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual Indiana
sprint car race track promoters to put the best racing in the state
on a heavy metal wheel-to-wheel tour.
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