Love at First Sight

BELLEVILLE, Kan. -- I will never forget it. The feeling that came over me. The emotions that took place. I knew it was meant to be from the first moment. All those years reading about it, dreaming about it, and planning for it all finally paid off 10 years ago.

It was 10 years ago that I finally got to make my first trip to Belleville for the Midget Nationals. When I tell people I fell in love I mean it. I fell in love with the town, the people, the track, the event, the history, and I literally mean all of it. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Belleville at least once. Belleville was everything I thought it would be. The race track was larger than life and made my hair stand on end just walking across it the first time. The racing itself was breathtaking with the sound of the cars echoing off the banks becoming the first sound I can honestly say made me feel alive.

A week later I was in Knoxville for the first time and, as hard as it is to believe, I wasn't impressed. In all fairness to The Home of the Nationals, and don't get me wrong because I do love Knoxville as well, it was television that ruined it for me. Things look so much bigger on TV. It wasn't until I drove through fog in 1997 to see the new skyboxes towering over me that the place actually took my breath away. I like Belleville for what it is and for what it hasn't become. In the 10 years since my first trip to Knoxville I have witnessed dramatic change. On that first trip to Knoxville we were in such a hurry to get there that we got there the Sunday afternoon the weekend before the Nationals. You know what? We were bored out of our skulls. There was absolutely nothing going on until the queen's contest Tuesday night. Try arriving to Knoxville now any later than the Sunday the week before and you will be lucky to get into the town.

The first time we arrived in Belleville we didn't know how the camping situation was handled. Randy (Frank) and I had picked the worst possible way to get from Kansas City to Belleville. There was terrible flooding in 1993 and for reasons I can't remember we chose to take route 36 instead of no-brainer Interstate 70. Going the way we did it took us two hours just to find a way to cross the river into Kansas. So the normally 4 hour maximum drive took us the better part of 7 hours. Needless to say when we finally pulled into Belleville our patience was wearing thin. We had endured countless detours, one of which was just 10 miles from town, and seen about all the Kansas we cared to see in a lifetime. The priorities at that point were set up camp and find the showers. Neither of us cared if they had a race that night. Since we had chosen to fly out Wednesday night there was a race that night so we had to work fast. We drove up to a guy sitting in a folding chair at the gate over by the Methodist booth and asked where we could camp. The man might have muttered something but more importantly he pointed in the direction of the city park across the street. We both thought that can't be right as we drove off.

Despite our reservations we pitched our tents under the trees next to the bathroom, found the shower under the main grandstand, and headed off to the racetrack. That is how it has always been. The car counts have fluctuated and there have been some subtle changes but the Belleville I fell in love with has remained largely unchanged since that first visit. For the most part I'm OK with that. The hassle free, welcome to our town, have a good time, and come back next year feeling that is so pervasive in Belleville while I am there suits me just fine.

Occasionally I start to get concerned though I'm almost ashamed to admit. Lately it seems that each year we come back another business is gone. Houses that were on the market the year before are still on the market. Everyone I talk to says that's just the way it is. Even though Belleville is the seat of Republic County, and that is usually where you find the heart of it all, the county is largely agricultural in nature. I brush my worries aside as quickly as I can because I love Belleville so much. The city has endured for years and in my rosy vision of the place I believe it will endure for many more. As much as I hope things don't change much I know they will because they have to but I am encouraged by the last ten years in the sense that things are unlikely to change very fast.

Over the last ten years I have been to the Midget Nationals nine times having only missed the 1995 event. I have also been blessed to see many other classes race on the Highbanks. The first time I walked across the track I thought to myself I would love to see a sprintcar go around this place. In 1996 my wish came true when I got to see the 410 sprintcars compete during a Thunder Across the Plains event on a night when Paul McMahan set a track record that will likely not be broken for many years.

Since then I have seen 360 sprints and flat track motorcycles compete in Belleville. I haven't seen the late models or the modifieds test the highbanks but I have no doubt that they would impress. Recently I bought some Midget Nationals programs from a gentleman by the name of Paul Johnson. Mr. Johnson was blessed by the ability to start attending the Nationals probably long before I knew they existed. Included in the collection of four are the 83, 87, 89 (the year I graduated high school), and the 92 souvenir programs. All included fascinating tidbits of information and the amount paid, while more than what Mr. Johnson paid, is a fraction of what they are really worth in my opinion.

One article in the 92 program that caught my attention is by Belleville Telescope resident reporter / photographer Paul Haase titled Why do People Come From All Over to the Midget Nationals? A variety of reasons were listed and this is pretty accurate in the sense that everybody seems to have their own. To me it is all of them: The fair, the town, the people, the Boyer Gallery, the power plant, the pool, the parties, the race, the history, the atmosphere, and I could go on towards infinity barely scratching the surface in the process.

Over the years we have made some amazing friends and amassed many priceless stories. We don't see each other but that one week each year but we definitely make the most of it. One great example of how much Belleville means to all of us was highlighted the year our buddy Tex (whose first trip to Belleville ironically was 1993) married his wife Mandy on the front straightaway during a break in the action at the Nationals. The best part was that we all got to be in the wedding and the picture of all of us is something I will treasure forever.

No story about friends in Belleville would be complete without a mention about our good friend and lifelong Belleville resident Marty Boyer. Marty lives less than a mile from the racetrack and annually acts as the unofficial welcoming committee for the town. If you need a place to stay or any other assistance necessary with getting you to Belleville Marty is THE MAN. We get to store everything we could possibly need to have the best campsite in the park each year at Marty's, and he sets up our camp before we get there. The number of people who owe great thanks to Marty Boyer has to be in the thousands.

I was blessed to be in the infamous Chicken Coup when Wayne Dake started talking about the need for a Museum to preserve the history of the Highbanks and the Midget Nationals. I couldn't wait to get involved and a year later won the chance to race Robby Flock in a go-kart on the front straightaway after spending countless dollars in the benefit raffle. Flock let me win providing me with one of the true highlights in my life.

It is almost overwhelming for me to see the progress that has taken us from the dream of a Highbanks Hall of Fame and Museum to the reality that will soon be housed in a beautiful permanent structure just off of Highway 81 West of the racetrack. I have been fortunate to be present during three of their induction ceremonies. With the history of racing in Belleville it will be one of the richest displays of motorsports information in the world. So why am I writing this story on the 10 year anniversary of my first trip to Belleville? I'm glad you asked, actually. It really is simple: I fell in love again. The only difference is this time I married her. In June of this year I got married and ran out of vacation time in the process so I can't be in my second adopted home during what is normally a sacred time of the year. I love my wife Kristine there is no doubt about that but I look forward to bringing her to Belleville for her second trip next year. You can count on that.

One last thing: Support the Highbanks Hall of Fame and Museum!
You will be glad you did! http://www.highbanks-museum.org

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