10/15/2014
Key Secures Two Show-Me Showdown Top Fives
(Photo by Hale Photography)
SWEET SPRINGS, Mo. – For the final micro sprint race of his 2014 season, Kameron Key returned to Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex’s annual “Show-Me Showdown,” attempting to defend his A-Class feature win during the event last season, and also to try to improve one more finishing position on his stock nonwing finish in the 2013 show, where he finished second in the finale after being victorious in the preliminary feature in that class.
Though last year’s version of the prestigious event was three full nights of racing, the skies opened up all week long, leaving the grounds soaked and unable to host on-track action for Thursday and Friday night; the track’s board decided to consolidate the show into a single night on Saturday.
Key got his night underway by logging a seventh-quick effort in qualifying among 37 entries in the stock nonwing class, with the car’s familiar #21 replaced by #98d in memory of his late grandfather, local modified racing legend Mark Dyer. He’d then move into the Waters Motorsports #7jr for outlaw class qualifying, but could muster only a 24th quick effort among 41 cars. To close out qualifying, Key re-entered his own car, now sporting wings for the A-Class division, being the third-quickest at the time he timed in, but he fell to seventh by the time all cars (37 total) had been on the clock to match his nonwing qualifying position.
After qualifying came heat races, lined up on a full invert from qualifying, with nonwing up first; Key piloted his machine up to the second finishing position, coming from sixth on the grid. The next race the Warrensburg, MO native was set to compete in was the sixth and final outlaw heat race, starting third and finishing fifth. In A-Class heat action, he again put the #98d machine in the runner-up finishing position after starting sixth.
The top five in each heat race were then grouped into qualifier races, aligned based on heat race finishing position. Key’s nonwing heat finish gave him a third-place starting spot in his qualifier, but he dropped one position to fourth in that event. A-Class was up next, as the outlaw class events were moved to the tail of the order of events for the remainder of the night; Key once again repeated his nonwing showing, finishing fourth after starting third. To close out the qualifier races, Key was unable to overcome his starting position deep in the field of his outlaw qualifier, but still moving up three spots from tenth to seventh in the twelve-lap race.
In both the stock classes, Key’s point totals across the whole night qualified him to start top ten, even netting him a spot in the top-six invert for nonwing, but in outlaw, he was sent to the B-Main, where the top eight cars would transfer to the night’s headline 30-lap race, which paid $1500 to the winner. Unfortunately, the driver could not make the car work well enough in the race to move to the feature, scoring a 15th place finish in the B, and leaving Key to do battle for the stock division wins, scheduled to pay $1000 apiece.
Post-inversion in the nonwing class, the UCM freshman took the green flag starting fifth, and ran in the fourth position when the yellow lights came on on lap number five. On the restart, both he and the third-place driver both got under the car that had been running in the second position, where they’d run for ten laps. Key tried to make the top side of the track work, but jumped the cushion and fell back to fourth. The third spot once again belonged to Key when the car he was battling with spun, bringing out the yellow with five laps remaining. After one more green-flag lap, there was a red-flag period for two flipped cars in turn two. Key mentioned under the open red that there was nothing the team could do to make the car better for the last four laps: the bottom was simply too good to be able to pass without someone making a mistake. As the field went back green and the final laps ticked off, Key drove smart and guided his car to the checkered, taking the last step of the podium.
After about an hour break, Key’s final race of the incredibly long night was up, with the cars rolling onto the track for the A-Class feature around 3:25 AM. Within the first three laps, he moved his Stallard/Yamaha into the top five after starting eighth, but lost the spot a lap later. Near the halfway point, a caution emerged. Key took advantage on the restart, recapturing the fifth position. Again, he held the spot for only a lap, losing it to a different driver, but staying fairly close over the next ten laps. He closed in with three or four laps remaining, and one of the best side-by-side races of the night developed. Key was giving it all he had to finish top five, and got there just in time, making the pass coming out of turn four, with the checkered flag waving.
Key would like to thank Bybee Lawn Care for their continued support with his family’s #21 car.
Key is possibly competing on October 25 at Springfield Raceway in Springfield, MO in the #93 360ci nonwing sprint car.
Quick Results
October 11 – Sweet Springs, MO – 600cc Nonwing – Qualifying: 7; Heat: 2 (6); Qualifier: 4 (3); Feature: 3 (5)
October 11 – Sweet Springs, MO – 600cc Stock – Qualifying: 7; Heat: 2 (6); Qualifier: 4 (3); Feature: 5 (8)
October 11 – Sweet Springs, MO – 600cc Outlaw – Qualifying: 24; Heat: 5 (3); Qualifier: 7 (10); B-Main: 15 (9)
Season Stats
42 races, 8 wins, 22 top fives, 26 top tens, 12 DNFs
Social Media
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kameronkey_21
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kameron.key.9
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Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions