MIDGETS: Darland takes Belleville Midget Nationals opener

6 August 1999

By Jeff Nun

BELLEVILLE, KS- When opportunity knocked, Dave Darland was there to answer.

Darland, driving Steve Lewis' familiar white and red no. 9 Ford-powered Beast, captured the opening night main event of the 22nd annual Belleville Midget Nationals, leading the final 13 of 25 laps after a thrilling battle with Scott Hatton. The win was worth $1,000 for the Walton, Ind., pilot, but more importantly, guaranteed him a top-eight starting position for Saturday's $10,000-to-win 40-lap main event.

From the onset, the main event was a duel between Hatton and Darland, with Hatton showing the way through the first 12 circuits around the quick and sticky 1/2-mile speedplant.

Hatton, of Roscoe, Ill., was dominant earlier in the night, handily winning both the third heat and the 6-lap trophy dash, then shot into the lead at the drop of the main event's green flag. Darland, however, stayed tucked in behind Hatton's no. 11w Wilke/PAK Motorsports midget and showed his hand early.

The first twelve laps alone proved to be worth the price of admission as the two swapped the lead several times each lap. Darland edged ahead through the corners each time around, only to have Hatton zoom past on the outside as they raced down the steep straightaways.

On lap 12, however, Hatton missed his mark entering turn one, allowing Darland to open up a two car-length advantage down the backstretch. With a clear track over his right shoulder, Darland slammed the door at the entrance to turn three and never looked back.

Darland crossed the finish line with a half straightaway cushion over runner-up Hatton in the caution-free contest.

Clay Klepper of Kokomo, Ind., claimed the semi-feature, then picked off most of the field as he stormed to a third place finish.

Defending and two-time Belleville Midget Nationals champion, Steve Knepper of Belleville, Ill., finished fourth to earn a guaranteed top-eight starting spot in Saturday's main event, along with Darland, Hatton and Klepper.

Dave Strickland Jr. of Englewood, Colo., who completed the top five finishers in the main event, topped the qualifications with a 17.720-second lap - just three-one-thousandths of a second better than Darland's fast lap.

In addition to Hatton, 8-lap heat race checkers fell for Keith Rauch of Edgewater, Colo., Matt Westfall of Ludlow Falls, Ohio, and Jerry Coons Jr., of Tucson, Ariz.

The 22nd annual Belleville Midget Nationals, part of the USAC MCI WorldCom Midget Car Series, continues with a full program of preliminary events on Friday night, followed by Saturday's grand finale.

 
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Dave Strickland Jr., 62, Klatt-17.720
2. Dave Darland, 9, Lewis-17.723
3. Rick Treadway, 88, Treadway-17.755
4. Jerry Coons Jr., 7, CED-17.883
5. John Nervo, 21, Nervo/Coggin-17.982
6. Steve Paden, 0, Farrier-18.008
7. Steve Knepper, 15, Lawson-18.010
8. Bryan Stanfill, 76, Fontana-18.194
9. Marc DeBeaumont, 11, Sewell/DeBeaumont-18.215
10. Clay Klepper, 17, Hartman-18.247
11. Scott Hatton, 11w, Wilke/Pak-18.290
12. Wally Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-18.372
13. Boyd Calvert, 23, G & K-18.375
14. Mike Hess, 51, Hess-18.407
15. Adam Clarke, 76x, Clarke-18.414
16. Nick Lundgreen, 49, Lundgreen-18.432
17. Shane Scully, 56, Scully-18.450
18. Chad Farmer, 16, Farmer-18.466
19. Brian Tyler, 45, Hughes-18.556
20. Casey Slocum, 97s, Slocum-18.577
21. Keith Rauch, 33, Hanley-18.627
22. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-18.662
23. Jim Davies, 97, Davies-18.952
24. Randy Fiscus, 6, Wide Open-18.970
25. Phil Shapel, 84s, Shapel-19.872
26. Johnny Murdock, 0x, Murdock-19.986
27. Jeremy Farmer, 36, Farmer-NT
28. 4, Calderwood-NT
 
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 2:26.78
1. Rauch
2. Strickland
3. Scully
4. Nervo
5. Calvert
6. DeBeaumont
7. Shapel
 
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 2:27.83
1. Westfall
2. Darland
3. Hess
4. Paden
5. Klepper
6. C. Farmer
7. Murdock
 
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 2:25.38
1. Hatton
2. Tyler
3. Clarke
4. Knepper
5. Treadway
6. Davies
 
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 2:22.95
1. Coons
2. Stanfill
3. Slocum
4. R. Fiscus
5. Pankratz
6. Lundgreen
 
TROPHY DASH: (6 laps) 1:48.74
1. Hatton
2. Coons
3. Rauch
4. Darland
5. Strickland
6. Westfall
 
SEMI: (12 laps) No Time
1. Klepper
2. Treadway
3. Pankratz
4. Calvert
5. C. Farmer
6. Davies
7. Shapel
8. Murdock
9. DeBeaumont
 
FEATURE: (25 laps) No Time
1. Dave Darland ($1,000)
2. Scott Hatton ($800)
3. Clay Klepper ($700)
4. Steve Knepper ($600)
5. Dave Strickland Jr. ($500)
6. Bryan Stanfill ($400)
7. Rick Treadway ($400)
8. Matt Westfall ($400)
9. Keith Rauch ($300)
10. Brian Tyler ($300)
11. Randy Fiscus ($300)
12. Boyd Calvert ($300)
13. Shane Scully ($200)
14. Chad Farmer ($200)
15. Mike Hess ($200)
16. Casey Slocum ($200)
17. Wally Pankratz ($200)
18. Jerry Coons Jr. ($200)
19. Adam Clarke ($200)
20. John Nervo ($200)
 
Feature lap leaders: 1-12 Hatton, 13-25 Darland

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