2007kiss.htm
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2007 archives
December 1, 2007 –- One of the new efforts for the 2007 edition of the King of
Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) was the introduction of the KISS Championship
Helmet. Unfortunately, because of issues outside the control of the KISS
promoters, the helmet has not been completed and was not presented to the 2007
Champion, Jon Stanbrough. KISS has established a sponsorship relationship
with a new helmet designer and a new KISS Championship Helmet is in progress.
The new design, by New York artist Noah Ennis of Eagle Graphix Design is
included with this release and is also available on the KISS website (
www.kissracing.com). Details of the helmet presentation will be announced
when they are finalized.
This effort is sponsored by Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance
Products and Eagle Graphix Design. The promoters of the racing facilities
that conduct the KISS series thank each of them for their efforts in obtaining
a second helmet and ensuring this unique award is presented to the 2007
Champion as originally announced.
The King of Indiana Sprint Series is organized and conducted by the individual
Indiana sprint car race track promoters throughout the state of Indiana.
Information is available on our website,
www.kissracing.com.
July 10, 2007 –- The 2007 King of Indiana Sprint
Series didn't simply end with a competitive race, or a satisfying conclusion.
No, it ended with an explosion of star shells, roman candles and
thunder-boomers. The KISS racers gave a textbook demonstration of great old
school sprint car racing as the series’ biggest campaign wrapped up with one
of the most electrifying events of the year. Some of the Tri-State Speedway
spectators from that night still haven’t sat down.
Through the first four races on the ’07 KISS schedule, Jon Stanbrough was
undefeated. Four green flags, four checkered flags and four photos of
Stanbrough with the trophy. Then his luck went south for a short time as he
was wrecked by other hapless cars in heats and the main events alike. Billy
Puterbaugh Jr. and Shane Cottle toured victory lane while Stanbrough collected
last, and within slapping distance of last, and what had appeared to be a
jolly cake-walk turned into, “Hey! What’s going on here?”
When the next two events were canceled (one by rain), the whole series
suddenly boiled down to one last 30-lap hurrah. Stanbrough continued to hold
the point lead, but Shane Hollingsworth was still in the game. Just as
important, a yellow, black and white sprinter had towed in from Missouri to
chase the KISS money, too - not the points, just the money.
The way it unfolded and because in draw racing anyone can ultimately start
anywhere, Stanbrough stepped smartly into the lead from his front row lineup
and began to drive away from the field…most of the field. A couple of spots
back, the Missourian, Daron Clayton was on a mission. He drives every race
like he’s on a mission. His lines are unorthodox as he churns the clay in
areas of the track where even the farm implements don’t often tread. High
into the turns, then slicing across the middle and all the way out to the
wall, the momentum carrying his right rear just inches from the concrete
before he rockets down the straightaway. There are other versions of the same
tune, depending on traffic and the track conditions, but each produces the
same result and has the audience holding their breaths.
Clayton ate up the ground between himself and Stanbrough quickly. Once he
caught the white and black Fox Brothers machine, he sparred for a couple of
laps before making the pass. But this was just an opening gambit and
Stanbrough was back in front in turn three. Clayton didn’t blink, and retook
the lead before the flagstand. This was the script for most of the next
twenty laps. Stanbrough, the 20-year veteran, measured the yellow and black
car and tried high, and then low without progress.
Stanbrough is a master of the art of the slide-job, which has nothing at all
to do with what NASCAR does on television, and the oval was conducive to great
racing. Stanbrough would run into the turn harder on the bottom and slide up
in front of Clayton in the center. But Clayton was ready and drove back
underneath and they raced off the turn wheel-to-wheel. More than once,
Clayton made better time in the turn and instead of sliding up in front, it
appeared that Stanbrough was aimed right at the young driver. Each time
Clayton kept his foot hard on the floor and Stanbrough would have to turn his
nose down as he slowed his slide and ready for another attack in the next
turn.
This nose-to-nose racing continued while they fought through packs of slower
cars. Stanbrough would make a gritty pass and lead off turn two, then Clayton
would re-pass in four, then they would do it again. A couple of late race
cautions did little more than let them rip a tear-off and take a deep breath.
On the last lap, Stanbrough tried a low run in turn one, but didn’t quite have
the mustard that Clayton had a little higher on the track and they finished
just inches apart.
“Stanbrough definitely made me drive my butt off out there. He’s the best guy
out right now and to beat him I think we proved something tonight,” Clayton
said later. Then he explained, “I could just cut back under him real easy
down in the moisture coming off the bottom. I wish he would have slide jobbed
me every lap because it would have made my job a lot easier than trying to
guess whether he was going to try me or not.”
Minutes later, Stanbrough told the crowd that it sucked from where he sat. No
champion takes enjoyment from finishing second. But in the coolness of his
hauler, he talked about the duel, “We were a little bit too tight coming off
and there was nothing I could do. I was hoping the car would loosen up a
little bit, but the car never loosened up for me. Brad and Steve (Fox) did a
hell of a job, but we thought the race track would go away a little more than
what it did. But it didn’t. If it had loosened up getting off the corner I
might have gotten in there on it and been able to drive off the corner in
front of him. I know it was a good show for the fans - but I’m disappointed I
didn’t get the win.”
Eleven KISS feature race wins and three championships puts Stanbrough in a
group of one, far ahead of anyone else competing in the series. Like most top
racers, Jon never lets the forest get in the way of seeing the trees. “I
never really set out to win championships, I just wanted to win races. If we
won races, then the championships would come. Now that we’ve done it three
times, those championships are more special to me than what I ever set out to
accomplish.”
2007 King of Indiana Sprint Series Summary:
Friday, May 11, Gas City: 1. Stanbrough 53 (7), 2. Gardner 71 (4), 3.
Hollingsworth 10 (9), 4. Short 2B (5), 5. Neely 17N (1), 6. Malone 5 (10), 7.
Darland 44 (18), 8. Cottle 10E (17), 9. Windom 17 (3), 10. Jones 11J (19), 11.
Coons 14 (12), 12. Payter 23P (2), 13. Elliott 34 (14), 14. Bland 21S (8), 15.
Ballou 81 (16), 16. Martens 45J (15), 17. Morgan 11D (20), 18. Anderson 57
(13), 19. Puterbaugh 34 (6), 20. Petty 26 (11)
Saturday, May 12, North Vernon: 1. Stanbrough 53 (4), 2. Ballou 81 (5), 3.
Short 2B (1), 4. Cummins (3), 5. Hines 12 (9), 6. Shepherd 4N (10), 7. Whitt
29W (2), 8. Hollingsworth 10 (6), 9. Schuerenberg 10T (13), 10. Boespflug 90
(7), 11. Martens 45J (8), 12. Peterman 7P (14), 13. Williams 31 (12), 14. Ott
OT (11)
Saturday, May 26, Lawrenceburg: 1. Stanbrough 53, 2. Neely 17N, 3. Short 2B,
4. Anderson 57, 5. Hollingsworth 10, 6. Westfall 54, 7. Schuerenberg 10T, 8.
Light 23, 9. Whitt 29w, 10. Shuman 71p, 11. Welpott 18, 12. Boat 30, 13. R.
Williams 11wx (12), 14. J. Williams 31, 15. Boespflug 90, 16. Burdette 17b,
17. Osborn 11z, 18. Stone 16, 19. Moffatt 5J, 20. Clayton 69
Friday, June 15, Bloomington: 1. Stanbrough (4), 2. Neely (3), 3. Bland (12),
4. Boat (1), 5. Short (19), 6. Schuerenberg (5), 7. Hockett (16), 8. Deckard
(13), 9. Fox (11), 10. Sciscoe (18), 11. Holtsclaw (14), 12. Vennard (2), 13.
Babcock (7), 14 Stines (9), 15. Hines (6), 16. Cummings (20), 17. Martens
(15), 18. Anderson (10), 19. Whitt (8), 20. Light (17)
Saturday, June 16, Putnamville: 1. Puterbaugh (4), 2. Hollingsworth (2), 3.
Bland (13), 4. Holtsclaw (1), 5. Gaines (11), 6. Rice (3), 7. Martin (16), 8.
Tuttle (9), 9. S. Krockenberger (19), 10. Carmichael (12), 11. Clayton (5),
12. Pollock (15), 13. Prather (7), 14 Williams Jr. (17), 15. Whitt (20), 16.
Carmichael Jr. (14), 17. Sciscoe (6), 18. Deckard (8), 19. Schuerenberg (10),
20. Stanbrough (18)
Sunday, June 17, Kokomo: 1. Cottle (8), 2. Darland (19), 3. Anderson (4), 4.
D. Smith (9), 5. Morgan (18), 6. Hockett (7), 7. Hollingsworth (14), 8. Windom
(17), 9. Dennis (1), 10. Vennard (2), 11. Light (11), 12. C. Smith (6), 13.
Mellenberndt (10), 14 Gurley (20), 15. Boat (5), 16. Short (12), 17.
Schuerenberg (16), 18. Stanbrough (3), 19. Byrkett (15), 20. Burdette (13)
Saturday, June 23, Paragon Rain
Saturday, June 30, Terre Haute Canceled
Sunday, July 8, Haubstadt: 1. Clayton (5), 2. Stanbrough (2), 3. Short (4), 4.
K. Wissmiller (11), 5. Bland Jr. (7), 6. Cone (8), 7. Neely (17), 8. M.
Wissmiller (18), 9. Beauchamp (13), 10. Stines (10), 11. Memmer (6), 12.
Scheurenberg (15), 13. Cummins (16), 14. Shanks (19), 15. C. Gentry (14), 16.
Urish (1), 17. Rose (20), 18. Chandler (9), 19. A. Gentry (12), 20. Ruble (3)
Final KISS point standings: 1. Jon Stanbrough 806, 2. Brady Short 687, 3.
Shane Hollingsworth 650, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg 585, 5. Mat Neely 533, 6. Jeff
Bland Jr. 477. 7. Cole Whitt 413, 8. AJ Anderson 387, 9. Jimmy Light 305, 10.
Daron Clayton 297
SPONSORS. Sponsorship from Indiana Stone Works boosted the payoff at
each event and B-Main starters are guaranteed $100. Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, created the KISS website, which provides a
highly functional and effective tool that places the King Of Indiana Sprint
Series within arms length of racing fans around town and around the world.
Visit them at
www.Elliottbrand.com. Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance
Products and RockStar Paint sponsor the unique KISS champion’s helmet. Kiva
Networking in Bloomington is the host of the KISS website.
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 old school racing tour. 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
Stanbrough Unbeaten in KISS
July 1, 2007 –- The 2007 King of Indiana Sprint Series will reach a conclusion
on Sunday, July 8 at Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway. The race is a
head-to-head showdown between KISS racers and the Midwest Sprint Car Series on
the MSCS home turf. It will be the first KISS event on the southwestern
Indiana oval since Justin Marvel won there during the series’ inaugural season
in 2001.
With four KISS feature wins this season, two-time champion Jon Stanbrough
continues to write the KISS record book. Not only does he have the most
series victories (11), he is the only driver with multiple series titles.
Stanbrough enters the finale with a 45-point advantage over Shane
Hollingsworth, which will be difficult to overcome unless disaster strikes the
Fox Brothers team again. While he was unbeaten at Gas City, North Vernon,
Lawrenceburg and Bloomington, Jon was caught up in a first lap wreck at
Putnamville, then taken out by a lapped car while leading handily at Kokomo.
Meanwhile, Hollingsworth has five top-10 finishes, but failed to transfer to
the main event at Bloomington. Brady Short, sitting third in the points,
still has a mathematical shot at the title if Stanbrough fails to start
Sunday’s 30-lap feature race.
There will be a lot at stake on Sunday. Among his 17 overall feature wins
this season, Stanbrough won the two most recent MSCS events, including the 50th
Anniversary Race at Tri-State. Kyle Cummins currently leads the points, while
both Stanbrough and Hollingsworth are among the MSCS top-10.
Sunday’s grand finale at Tri-State Speedway will begin with hot laps at 6:30,
and racing at 7:30. Adult admission is $15, students (13 - 18) $10, children
12 and younger are admitted free. The quarter mile oval is located just
north of Evansville on US Highway 41 at Haubstadt.
With a $2,500 check for the winner at nearly every race, a victory in a KISS
feature pays significantly more than a team will earn for regular Friday and
Saturday night races. Each starter in the main event will also earn at least
$250. 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 $1,400 to the champion, $1,000 for second place, followed by $700
(third), $600 (fourth) and $500 (fifth).
The 2007 titlist will also receive the special King of Indiana Sprint Series
Champion’s Helmet. This award is sponsored by Sprint Car & Midget Magazine
and Simpson Performance Products, and will include a unique KISS design by
RockStar Paint, which can be seen at
http://www.kissracing.com/documents/KISSHelmetDesign1.pdf.
The KISS point standings going into the final race: 1. Jon Stanbrough 676, 2.
Shane Hollingsworth 631, 3. Brady Short 562, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg 496, 5.
Mat Neely 426, 6. Cole Whitt 413, 7. AJ Anderson 387, 8. Jeff Bland Jr. 362,
9. Jake Martens 281, 10. Ted Hines 254
2007 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 11 Stanbrough
Twin Cities Raceway Park Saturday, May 12 Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 26 Stanbrough
Bloomington Speedway Friday, June 15 Stanbrough
Lincoln Park Speedway Saturday, June 16 Puterbaugh
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, June 17 Cottle
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 23 RAIN
Terre Haute Action Track Saturday, June 30 CANCELLED
Tri-State Speedway Sunday, July 8
SPONSORS. Sponsorship from Indiana Stone Works has boosted the payoff
at each event and B-Main starters are guaranteed $100. Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, created the KISS website, which provides a
highly functional and effective tool that places the King Of Indiana Sprint
Series within arms length of racing fans around town and around the world.
Visit them at
www.Elliottbrand.com. Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance
Products and RockStar Paint sponsor the unique KISS champion’s helmet. Kiva
Networking in Bloomington is the host of the KISS website.
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 old school racing tour. Information is now available on our
website,
www.kissracing.com.
June 27, 2007 –- Saturday’s KISS race at the Terre
Haute Action Track has been cancelled. The 2007 King of Indiana Sprint
Series will conclude at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt on Sunday, July 8.
2007 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 11
Stanbrough
Twin Cities Raceway Park Saturday, May 12 Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 26 Stanbrough
Bloomington Speedway Friday, June 15
Stanbrough
Lincoln Park Speedway Saturday, June 16
Puterbaugh
Kokomo Speedway Sunday, June 17 Cottle
Paragon Speedway Saturday, June 23 RAIN
Terre Haute Action Track Saturday, June 30 CANCELLED
Tri-State Speedway Sunday, July 8
SPONSORS. Sponsorship from Indiana Stone Works has boosted the payoff
at each event and B-Main starters are guaranteed $100. Elliottbrand Web
Designs, in Westport, IN, created the KISS website, which provides a
highly functional and effective tool that places the King Of Indiana Sprint
Series within arms length of racing fans around town and around the world.
Visit them at
www.Elliottbrand.com. Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance
Products and RockStar Paint sponsor the unique KISS champion’s helmet. Kiva
Networking in Bloomington is the host of the KISS website.
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 old school racing tour. Information is now available on our
website,
www.kissracing.com.
June 24, 2007 –- The 2007 King of Indiana Sprint
Series (KISS) champion will have some unique headgear to show off following
the final checkered flag at Tri-State Speedway on July 8. In addition to the
champion’s trophy and the point fund, the King will be crowned with the
custom-designed KISS Champion’s Helmet. The helmet design, created by
RockStar Paint, is simple yet distinctive, incorporating the state flag and an
outline of the Hoosier state displaying the locations of all of the
participating tracks.
Through the efforts of Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Simpson Performance
Products and RockStar Paint, the helmet isn’t intended to gather dust on a
royal shelf, but as top-of-the-line safetywear, it will become highly visible
every-race wear for the 2007 series champion. RockStar’s Michael Jones
created the special one-of-a-kind design in his Spirit Lake, Iowa, studio.
Artwork showing the helmet design is available on the KISS website (www.kissracing.com).
Two rounds of the 2007 KISS series remain, the special Independence Day
celebration at the Terre Haute Action Track on Saturday, June 30. The grand
finale, crowning the 2007 King of Indiana Sprints Series, will feature a KISS
vs. Midwest Sprint Car Series battle at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt on
Sunday, July 8. Two-time and defending King of Indiana Jon Stanbrough is
leading the series, with Shane Hollingsworth trailing by 45 points. Brady
Short is 69 points further back.
2007 King Of Indiana Sprint Series Schedule
Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday, May 11 Stanbrough
Twin Cities Raceway Park Saturday, May 12 Stanbrough
Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday, May 26 Stanbrough
Bloomington Speedway