Nic Faas enjoys the victory lane celebration. (Doug Vandeventer photo)
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 Nic 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 Nic 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
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
The KISS series will continue, Friday, May 29, at Bloomington Speedway. The KISS feature pays $2,500 to win, and $250 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).