Darland Captures King Of Indiana Sprint Series Event At Lincoln Park Speedway
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.
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
SPONSORS. 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 .
Kiva Networking, based in Bloomington, offers a full range of information technology services, from residential and business internet access and domain hosting to hardware and technical assistance for local and wide area networks. Visit them at www.kiva.net.
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.