MIDGETS: Belleville Midget Nationals round two to Yeley

7 August 1999

By Jeff Nun

BELLEVILLE, KS - J. J. Yeley wasted no time in getting to the front, Friday, as he captured the 25-lap preliminary main event on day two of the 22nd annual Belleville Midget Nationals.

Driving the white and red no. 32 Martz/Boles Racing Esslinger-powered Beast, Yeley picked off polesitter Kevin Doty after just one lap around the 23-degree banked 1/2-mile clay oval, then sped away from the field to earn a berth in Saturday night's 40-lap Championship Feature.

Yeley, who has never finished among the top-five in any of the previous Belleville Midget Nationals Championship Features, set the quick qualifying time of the night with a 18.059-second single-lap tour of the Belleville Highbanks. The Peoria, Ariz., pilot then proceeded to pull down the checkers in the first of four heat races.

In the trophy dash, Doty, of Burlington, Iowa, took the win to earn the right to set the pace for the 25-lap grand finale. But Yeley was simply too much for the field in the main event, leading second-place driver Tracy Hines by more than a straightaway midway through the race. Jay Drake of Val Verde, Calif., took over the runner-up spot from Hines just after the midpoint, and actually closed the gap between himself and Yeley during the closing laps. Yeley's mastery of traffic, however, kept Drake out of striking distance as a 10 car-length margin separated the two at the finish.

Hines held on for third, with Doty claiming the fourth a final "guarantee" spot. The top four finishers - along with Thursday's top four of Dave Darland, Scott Hatton, Clay Klepper and Steve Knepper - will compete in a 10-lap Pole Dash on Saturday night. The finish of that event will determine the line-up for the first four rows of the Championship Feature.

Hines, Doty and Bobby Boone of Palmdale, Calif., joined Yeley as heat race winners, Friday, while Ed Carpenter of Indianapolis, Ind., won the semi-feature.

The third and final night of the 22nd annual Belleville Midget Nationals kicks off on Saturday night with a full program of qualifying events, plus the $10,000-to-win 40-lap main event.

 
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. J. J. Yeley, 32, Martz/Boles-18.059
2. Michael Lewis, 91, Lewis-18.223
3. Steve Barth, 14, Barth-18.460
4. Donnie Lehmann, 31, Lehmann-18.480
5. Ed Carpenter, 3, TG Racing-18.491
6. Tracy Hines, 40, Calderwood-18.506
7. A. J. Fike, 69, Fike-18.512
8. Jay Drake, 15L, Lawson-18.530
9. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-18.542
10. Keith Rauch, 53, Minarik-18.545
11. Alex Harris, 54x, Harris-18.598
12. Kevin Doty, 11x, Wilke/Pak-18.600
13. Aaron Fiscus, 7x, Wide Open Racing-18.656
14. Jeff Flesher, 72, Flesher-18.668
15. Danny Ebberts, 14x, Ebberts/Schlachter-18.697
16. Marc DeBeaumont, 11D, DeBeaumont-18.754
17. Steven Graham, 14a, Graham-18.764
18. Kevin Ames, 24k, Hatra-18.891
19. Bobby Boone, 96, Boone-19.031
20. Michael Kendall, 1nz, Kendall-19.046
21. Scooter Ellis, 73x, Ellis-19.048
22. Steve Newman, 11N, MH2 Racing-19.080
23. Dean Franklin, 1p, Putnam-19.091
24. Michael Roselli Jr., 98, Roselli-19.098
25. Marc Dailey, 17c, CED-19.309
26. Mike Farmer, 25, Farmer-19.435
27. Cappy Mason, 47, Mason-20.423
28. Chris Shoulders, 7s, Shoulders-NT
29. Jeremy Farmer, 36, Farmer-NT
30. Rich Camfield, 18x, Camfield-NT
31. Jack Gerber, 27, Freber-NT
32. #15x, Lawson-NT
33. #17T, Hartman-NT
34. #0p, Farrier-NT
 
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) No Time
1. Yeley
2. Flock
3. Ellis
4. A. Fiscus
5. Graham
6. Dailey
7. Carpenter
8. Camfield
 
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 2:30.99
1. Hines
2. Rauch
3. Flesher
4. Ames
5. Lewis
6. Gerber
 
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 2:33.62
1. Boone
2. Fike
3. Harris
4. Barth
5. Franklin
6. Ebberts
7. Mason
 
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) No Time
1. Doty
2. Drake
3. Kendall
4. DeBeaumont
5. Roselli
6. Lehmann
7. Shoulders
 
TROPHY DASH: (6 laps) 1:52.36
1. Doty
2. Hines
3. Yeley
4. Boone
5. Barth
6. Lewis
 
SEMI: (12 laps) No Time
1. Carpenter
2. Ebberts
3. Graham
4. Franklin
5. Dailey
6. Roselli
 
FEATURE: (25 laps) 8:09.77
1. J. J. Yeley ($1,000)
2. Jay Drake ($800)
3. Tracy Hines ($700)
4. Kevin Doty ($600)
5. Bobby Boone ($500)
6. A. J. Fike ($400)
7. Keith Rauch ($400)
8. Robby Flock ($400)
9. Steve Barth ($300)
10. Aaron Fiscus ($300)
11. Ed Carpenter ($300)
12. Scooter Ellis ($300)
13. Steven Graham ($200)
14. Michael Kendall ($200)
15. Danny Ebberts ($200)
16. Marc DeBeaumont ($200)
17. Dean Franklin ($200)
18. Kevin Ames ($200)
19. Jeff Flesher ($200)
20. Marc Dailey ($200)
21. Alex Harris ($200)
22. Michael Lewis ($200)
 
Feature lap leaders: 1 Doty, 2-25 Yeley

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