Instant Replay: 4th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals - 1981 (BHB2001-14)
[ EDITORS NOTE: This is the fourth of several feature stories which will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, chronicling the history of the Belleville Midget Nationals in Belleville, Kan. This year's event is set for Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 2-4, 2001. ] For Immediate Release INSTANT REPLAY: 4TH ANNUAL BELLEVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS - 1981 Story by Paul Haase BELLEVILLE, Kan. (July 13, 2001) - In one of the closest races in the Belleville Midget Nationals history, Mike Gregg held off a charging Ron 'Sleepy' Tripp to take the checkered by half a car length. About halfway through Saturday's 30-lap main, Tripp caught up with Gregg, who had been leading the race in fine fashion, with two-time defending champion Stan Fox right on their push bars. On the final lap all three got caught up in a group of slower cars. Gregg got caught high and Tripp used the low groove to get past him. Coming out of the fourth turn, Gregg and Tripp were still being held back by the slower cars but the high groove group was running just a little faster and Gregg was able to take Tripp right at the flagstand. In the preliminaries, the fast times were turned in by Tripp, winning Thursday's time trials, followed closely by Gene Brown. Gregg took Thursday's trophy dash. Thursday's final was won by Brian Renshaw, followed by the hot-running Steve Troxell, Jon Rahe, Gary Staggers and John Zerbe. Fox dominated Friday's events by taking quick time, winning his heat race and taking the checkered flag in the main event. Quick times were the rule Friday as Fox, Bruce Field and Casey Slocum were all under the 20-second mark. Some of the other top names and finishers in the Friday main included Arizona's Mark Passerrelli, Colorado's Randy Roberts, Bobby Fix and Steve Newman. In Saturday's events, Zerbe captured the semi-main, Jack Yeley took the consolation with Rod Ullery, Gary Bell, Dave Strickland Jr. and Gregg taking their heats. The championship had only one yellow flag when Slocum spun in the back stretch, with the rest of the race run under the green. 4th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals - 1981 Top 5 finishers: 1. Mike Gregg 2. Ron 'Sleepy' Tripp 3. Stan Fox 4. Gene Genneten 5. Gary Hayes The Belleville High Banks, located in Belleville, Kan., is managed by a volunteer racing committee that host 10-12 racing events annually. "The World's Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track" allows drivers the rare opportunity to run "wide open" the entire track, and the sweeping oval is one of the most demanding test of endurance and skill for drivers. The track's mainstay is the annual Belleville Midget Nationals, held every year during the first weekend in August. As the nation's most prestigious midget car race of the year, the best equipment, owners and drivers flock to the small rural community of 3,500, which is transformed into a racing Mecca of more than 30,000 people each August. For more information on the Belleville High Banks, write to: Belleville High Banks, P.O. Box 349, Belleville, KS 66935, or call (785) 527-6050. Sponsorship inquiries may call or fax (402) 761-3676 or via e-mail at wdake@alltel.net. Information is also available on the World Wide Web by logging on to http://www.highbanks.org or http://www.whowon.com. Reserved tickets for the 24th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals presented by WhoWon.com are available by calling (785) 527-5179, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by logging onto the Belleville High Banks Web site. - 30 - .BHB2001-14. ---------------------- Media Contact: Jeff Nun, WhoWon.com (402) 421-6894 (phone, fax) bellevillehighbanks@whowon.com (e-mail) World Wide Web: http://www.whowon.com Sponsorship/Partner Contact: Wayne Dake, JW MotorSports Associates Promotions Director Belleville High Banks/National Midget Auto Racing Museum (402) 761-3676 (phone, fax) (402) 440-3977 (cellular) wdake@alltel.net (e-mail) World Wide Web: http://www.highbanks.org , http://www.highbanks-museum.org Administrative Contact: Barry Bottger, Belleville High Banks President Fair Amusement Committee P.O. Box 349, Belleville KS 66935 (785) 527-6050 (office) (785) 527-2488 (track) bottger@republic.hpmin.com (e-mail) World Wide Web: http://www.highbanks.org