Belleville Midget Nationals - Fact Sheet
26TH ANNUAL BELLEVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS PRESENTED BY WHOWON.COM BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS, BELLEVILLE, KANSAS THURSDAY-SATURDAY, AUGUST 7-9, 2003 FACT SHEET WHAT: 24th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals presented by WhoWon.com. WHERE: Bellville High Banks, Belleville, Kan., 1/2-mile high-banked clay oval. WHEN: Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 7-9, 2003 (Raindate: Sunday, Aug. 10). POSTED AWARDS: More than $91,000. CARS: Open wheel, non-winged midget cars. SANCTIONING BODY: United States Auto Club (USAC), 4910 West 16th Street, Speedway, Ind., 46224; Tel: 317-247-5151; Contact: Dick Jordan, djordan10@iquest.net ; Website: http://www.usacracing.com . PROMOTER: North Central Kansas Free Fair Amusements Committee, P.O. Box 349, Belleville, Kan., 66935; Tel: 785-527-2949 (days), 785-527-2179 (nights), 785-527-2488 (track/race day); Contact: Barry Bottger (administration), bottger@republic.hpmin.com ; Wayne Dake (promotions), wdake@alltel.net ; Jeff Nun (media relations), jnun@whowon.com ; Website: http://www.highbanks.org . ENDORSEMENTS: Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Assoc. (RMMRA); Midwest Auto Racing Assoc. (MARA); Badger Midget Auto Racing Assoc. (BMARA); North American Auto Racing Series (NAMARS); Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS); North Eastern Midget Assoc. (NEMA). BELLEVILLE SPEEDWEEK SCHEDULE (all times local): High Banks Hall of Fame & National Midget Auto Racing Museum open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. TUES., AUG. 5 -- NCRA 360 SPRINT SERIES & CNCTA LATE MODEL CHALLENGE SERIES 5 p.m. - Gates open. 6:30 p.m. - Hot laps. 7:30 p.m. - Heats and feature races. WED., AUG. 6 -- HALL OF FAME/AUTOGRAPH DAY 10 a.m. - High Banks Hall of Fame Induction (at Belleville High School). Social Hour begins at 11 a.m., dinner at noon, induction ceremony at 1 p.m. 6:30 p.m. - Drivers vs. USAC Officials Softball Game (City Park, west of the track). 8 p.m. - Driver/Fan Autograph Party (City Park, west of the track). THURS., AUG. 7 -- MIDGET NATIONALS PRELIMINARIES 11 a.m. - Lunch on the Courthouse Square (downtown). 12 noon - Pill draw on the Courthouse Square to determine qualifying order. Midgets on display. 1 p.m. - Infield open for unloading of cars and equipment. 3 p.m. - North gate opens. 4:30 p.m. - Infield closed - all personnel removed from pits. 5 p.m. - Main gate opens. 5:30 p.m. - Pit gate opens. 6:30 p.m. - Hot laps. 7:30 p.m. - Qualifications, heats and feature races. 11 p.m. - Track secured. FRI., AUG. 8 -- MIDGET NATIONALS PRELIMINARIES 11 a.m. - Auction at High Banks Hall of Fame new building. Viewing begins at 10 a.m. 1 p.m. - Infield open for unloading of cars and equipment. 3 p.m. - North gate opens. 4:30 p.m. - Infield closed - all personnel removed from pits. 5 p.m. - Main gate opens. 5:30 p.m. - Pit gate opens. 6:30 p.m. - Hot laps. 7:30 p.m. - Qualifications, heats and feature races. 11 p.m. - Track secured. SAT., AUG. 9 -- MIDGET NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP 1 p.m. - Infield open for unloading of cars and equipment. 3 p.m. - North gate opens. 4:30 p.m. - Infield closed - all personnel removed from pits. 5 p.m. - Main gate opens. 5:30 p.m. - Pit gate opens. 6:30 p.m. - Hot laps. 7:30 p.m. - Heats and championship finals for 26th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals presented by WhoWon.com. 11 p.m. - Track secured. THE TRACK: 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 transformed into a racing Mecca of more than 40,000 people each August. CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: 24 cars, 40 laps (20 miles), $12,500 to win; The first eight starting positions will be awarded to the top four finishers from each main event on Thursday and Friday. An eight-lap race on Saturday among the these eight qualifiers will determine the first four rows for Saturday's Championship Race, with the winner starting on the pole and the eighth-place finisher starting on the outside of the fourth row. Starting spots 9-20 in the Championship Race will be determined by four qualifying heat races on Saturday, with the top three finishers from each starting heads-up in the Championship Race. A 15-lap semi-main on Saturday will determine the final four starting spots in Saturday's Championship Race. 2002 CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINNER: Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind., Wynn's/Ford/Performance Racing Industry Beast; Owner: Steve Lewis. PAST BELLEVILLE MIGET NATIONALS CHAMPIONS: 1978 - Eddie Jackson 1979 - Stan Fox 1980 - Stan Fox 1981 - Mike Gregg 1982 - Dave Manes 1983 - Johnny Parsons 1984 - Mark Passerrelli 1985 - Ron ‘Sleepy’ Tripp 1986 - Tommy White 1987 - Ron ‘Sleepy’ Tripp 1988 - Steve Knepper 1989 - Chuck Gurney 1990 - Jeff Gordon 1991 - Jack Hewitt 1992 - Lealand McSpadden 1993 - Page Jones 1994 - Kevin Doty 1995 - Billy Boat 1996 - Robby Flock 1997 - Jason Leffler 1998 - Steve Knepper 1999 - Dave Darland 2000 - Kasey Kahne 2001 - Kasey Kahne 2002 - Dave Darland TRACK RECORDS (midget cars): 1 lap - :17.502, Jason Leffler, 7/30/98. 4 laps - 1:07.83, Jon Backlund, 8/6/88. 6 laps - 1:46.34, Ricky Shelton, 7/30/98. 8 laps - 2:22.22, A.J. Fike, 8/5/00. 10 laps - 2:59.52, Tracy Hines, 8/5/00. 12 laps - 3:40.80, Tony Elliott, 8/1/96. 15 laps - 5:11.55, Dean Erfurth, 8/8/87. 20 laps - 6:27.16, Billy Boat, 8/4/95. 25 laps - 7:42.55, Kasey Kahne, 8/4/00. RESERVED TICKETS: 1309 18th St. Belleville, KS 66935 Phone: 785-527-5179 FAX: 785-527-2876 Office hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday. 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. --- 30 --- .BHB2003-02. ---------------------- Media Contact: Jeff Nun Vice President, WhoWon.com A division of RaceFan, Inc. Tel: (402) 421-6849 Cel: (402) 730-5791 Email: jnun@whowon.com World Wide Web: http://www.racefan.com, http://www.whowon.com Sponsorship/Partner Contact: Wayne Dake Promotions Director, JW MotorSports Associates Belleville High Banks/National Midget Auto Racing Museum Tel/Fax: (402) 761-3676 Cel: (402) 440-3977 Email: wdake@alltel.net World Wide Web: http://www.highbanks.org , http://www.highbanks-museum.org Administrative Contact: Barry Bottger President, Fair Amusement Committee P.O. Box 349 Belleville KS 66935 Office: (785) 527-6050 Track: (785) 527-2488 Email: bbottger@republiccountyhospital.org World Wide Web: http://www.highbanks.org