Instant Replay: 10th Annual Belleville Midget
Nationals - 1987
[ EDITORS NOTE: This is the 10th 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: 10TH ANNUAL BELLEVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS - 1987
Story by Paul Haase
BELLEVILLE, Kan. (July 19, 2001) - In what turned out to be from one extreme
to the other, the 1987 Belleville Midget Nationals finals were run on Sunday
afternoon after rain cut short or canceled the preliminary nights. On
Sunday, the sun came out and turned the track into a hard surface, causing
the finals to be more of an endurance race than one of driving skill.
Ron 'Sleepy' Tripp joined Stan Fox as being the only two-time title holders
of the Belleville Midget Nationals championship. Tripp won his first title
in 1985 with Fox winning his in 1979 and '80.
As the championship got underway, Fox jumped to a big lead. At times, an
eight-car gap was separating Fox and Tripp for first and second. On the 14th
lap, however, Fox touched the rail just a little too hard and blew his right
rear tire, forcing him to watch the race from the pits.
Fox was unable to coast into the pits and brought a yellow flag out. On the
re-start Tripp held on to the lead with veteran Belleville High Banks driver
Jon Backlund on his tail all the way, but unable to get by.
Robby Flock finished in third spot for the second straight year, while John
Heydenreich and Randy Roberts rounded out the first five across the finish
line.
The big story of the 10th annual event was tires.
Throughout the finals, race cars were retiring when tires were unable to
withstand the hard surface and either wore to the cores or blew. The life
saver for many cars was the misfortune of past champion Mike Gregg. Gregg
was slowly working his way up the pack but on the 29th lap he tangled with
Scott Hatton, who was coming down the banking after blowing a tire. This
brought out a red flag, and according to the rules you can change tires on
the car on a red flag. This brought crews out to the track with fresh tires,
and most of the remaining cars were able to finish the race.
Three records were broken with John Andretti taking the eight-lap record
from Tommy White. Dan Boorse set the 10-lap record and Steve Lotshaw lost
his four-year standing record for 15 laps to Dean Erfurth.
10th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals - 1987
Top 5 finishers:
1. Ron 'Sleepy' Tripp
2. Jon Backlund
3. Robby Flock
4. John Heydenreich
5. Randy Roberts
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.
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.BHB2001-20.
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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