MAY 13, 2007 ---- Jon Stanbrough continued his run toward a third King of Indiana Sprint Series crown with his second victory of the weekend, at North Vernon’s Twin Cities Raceway Park.  Stanbrough took the race lead on the 13^th circuit, after bumping past leader Brady Short.  With more great old school racing, Stanbrough held off a late race charge by Robert Ballou, as Short clawed his way back to a solid third place finish.
 
Short led Cole Whitt and Stanbrough into the first turn from the pole, and Stanbrough moved into second on the second lap.  Stanbrough challenged for the lead, diving to the bottom as they charged into the first turn, running wheel-to-wheel, looking high and low for an opening, but each time Short came out ahead.  Entering the third turn on the 13^th circuit, Short stayed in front of Stanbrough instead of charging across the bottom and Fox Brothers DRC struck the tail of Short’s machine, turning him sideways.  Short saved it, slipping out of the groove as Stanbrough blasted past, but rolled to a stop.
 
“It was a good race.  Man, I really hated that we got together with Brady,” Stanbrough admitted afterwards.  “He was running down on the bottom and I was trying to get around him on the top and all of a sudden he moved up.  I was committed to the top.  I don’t think he fully got all the way to the top and he got the car really bent out of shape, and I ran it in really hard.  I just got into him.  I wanted them to put him back in the front, I was trying to motion to them to put him back on the front, but they wouldn’t do it.” 
 
Stanbrough was able to build a substantial lead, nearly half a lap at one point, as Short worked his way back through the field.  Restarting fourth, Robert Ballou battled past Shane Hollingsworth and Kyle Cummins for second on lap 22.  While Stanbrough was in lapped traffic, Ballou began to whittle down his lead. 
 
When Neil Shepherd spun on lap 27, Stanbrough quickly built a ten-car length lead on the restart.  But after Hollingsworth spun in the second turn a lap later, Ballou dove inside of Stanbrough in turn one and led into the second turn.  But Stanbrough drove back under Ballou as they charged down the backstretch, retaking the point in turn three.  Short had scrapped back into third and pulled even with Ballou, but couldn’t make the pass before the checkered flag.
 
In the pits after the race, Stanbrough made his way to the 2B Racing team hauler and briefly spoke with both Short and Scott Benic.   Short explained what had happened, “We just ran in there in the lead and I was trying to be safe so I wouldn’t mess up and get passed.  I knew Stanbrough was running second.  He got in there a little hot, I guess, and hit me the rear and knocked the car out of gear.  You’ll have that.  He came and apologized, he didn’t do it on purpose.”
 
On the other side of the pit area, a disappointed Ballou sat by his trailer.  He said, “I slid him for the lead on the restart, I got by him and then I did something that I normally wouldn’t have done.   He did what I would have done, just slide the car from the bottom to the middle, and I thought he was going to come all the way up, but wasn’t thinking, and I got blocked by him and that just ended my chance.” 
 
Then he added, “He was quick right through the middle and I just couldn’t get my momentum back to get back to him.  He did a great job and I screwed it up and gave it all away.”
 
With Friday’s victory in the opening race at Gas City, Stanbrough holds a 25 point advantage over Short, with Hollingsworth third in the standings.
 
RESULTS:
King of Indiana Sprint Series, North Vernon Twin Cities Raceway Park, May 12, 2007
(Starting positions listed in parenthesis)
 
Heat 1: Jon Stanbrough (7), Cole Whitt (1), Robert Ballou (5), Chad Boespflug (6), Ted Hines (2), Steve Ott (3), Hunter Schuerenberg (4)
 
Heat 2: Brady Short (3), Kyle Cummins (5), Shane Hollingsworth (7), Jake Martens (2), Neil Shepherd (4), Jamie Williams (6), Anthony Peterman (1)
 
Feature (30 laps): 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)
 
KISS point standings: Jon Stanbrough 260, Brady Short 235, Shane Hollingsworth 218, Robert Ballou 200, Jake Martens 159
 
The next old school KISS dogfight will be Saturday, May 26, at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, nestled in the southeastern corner of the state, in Lawrenceburg, IN.  Ticket prices at all KISS races are $15 general admission and $30 pit passes. 
 
All KISS races follow the rules of the host track.  Teams need to check with the specific track to answer questions regarding track rules.  The 2007 KISS race payoff include $2,500 to win and $250 to start the main event.  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 a special King of Indiana Sprint Series champion’s helmet sponsored by Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and Simpson Performance Products, with a unique KISS design by RockStar Paint.
 
 
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
Bloomington Speedway                     Friday, June 15
Lincoln Park Speedway                     Saturday, June 16
Kokomo Speedway                     Sunday, June 17
Paragon Speedway                     Saturday, June 23
Terre Haute Action Track            Saturday, June 30
Tri-State Speedway                     Sunday, July 8
 
 
SPONSORS.  New 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 wheel-to-wheel tour.  Information is now available on our website, www.kissracing.com.