Instant Replay: 24th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals - 2001

BELLEVILLE, Kan. -- As they had for 23 consecutive years prior, the greatest midget car drivers in the world converged on the Belleville High Banks in the new millennium for the 24th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals at the legendary Belleville High Banks. Without question, the world's "cream of the crop" were once again in Belleville, Kan., during the first weekend in August.

THURSDAY PRELIMINARIES

He's not even as old as the Nationals itself, but 20-year-old A.J. Fike of Galesburg, Ind., drove the high groove of the Belleville High Banks Thursday like a seasoned veteran.

Starting sixth in the 25-lap Eddie Jackson Memorial feature, Fike needed just one lap to take the lead. Making it a three-wide race to lead the first lap, Fike put the RFMS Racing/McGladrey & Pullen/Azer Clinic/Weld/Hoosier/Pink Racing Engines/Sparco USA/Bell Helmets Ford-powered Beast dangerously close to the fence, but completed the pass on polesitter Alex Harris and two-time Belleville Midget Nationals champion Steve Knepper.

Except for lapped traffic, it was the only pass Fike would have to make the rest of the night as he paced all 25 laps for the victory. The win guaranteed Fike a spot in Saturday's Championship Race, including the pole in Saturday's 8-lap dash to determine the first 8 spots in the 40-lap finale.

Knepper, who became the youngest inductee into the High Banks Hall of Fame earlier in the day, finished second to Fike and will be among the favorites in Saturday's Championship Race. The Belleville, Ill., veteran will be shooting for an unprecedented third crown -- the only driver with that opportunity. Only two other drivers have won twice -- Ron "Sleepy" Tripp and Stan Fox. Tripp is not competing at Belleville this year and Fox was tragically killed in a non-racing automobile accident this past December.

USAC Western Midget Series regulars Harris and Thomas Meseraull held on for the third and fourth spots, guaranteeing each of them a spot in Saturday's Championship "pole dash."

Danny Ebberts completed the top five finishers.

The only major incident of the night came on lap 11 of the main event Thursday when Kenny Lewis, Kevin Eggert, Shane Scully and Tony Rossi were all involved in a turn-1 incident. All four cars were finished for the night and Eggert was taken to Republic County Hospital for treatment of a possible concussion.

THURSDAY'S RESULTS:

Qualifications: 1. Steve Paden, 01, Farrier-18.239; 2. Danny Ebberts, 14, Ebberst/Schlacter-18.319; 3. Alex Harris, 54, Harris-18.371; 4. Jeff Flesher, 72, Flesher-18.463; 5. Bryan Stanfill, 52x, Stanfill-18.561; 6. Kenny Lewis, 5D, Conklin-18.587; 7. Davey Ray, 2, HMK-18.630; 8. Steve Knepper, 15, Lawson-18.640; 9. Matt Streeter, 97, Streeter-18.714; 10. Shane Scully, 56, Scully-18.722; 11. Matt Westfall, 7, Hartman-18.755; 12. A.J. Fike, 69, RFMS-18.792; 13. Ryan Scott, 48, Ryno-18.806; 14. Robby Flock, 76, Fontana-18.810; 15. Thomas Meseraull, 57, TST-18.861; 16. Wally Pankratz, 1, Pankratz-18.935; 17. Josh Wise, 94, Wise-18.946; 18. Michael Kendall, 1nz, Kendall-18.958; 19. Scott Hatton, 1H, Huston-19.046; 20. Marc Dailey, 22, Mega Motorsports-19.051; 21. Tony Rossi, 14R, Rossi-19.168; 22. Glenn Carson, 26, Bock-19.463; 23. Craig Carey, 30, Carey-19.466; 24. Aaron Kirk, 45, Hughes-19.843; 25. John Lucas, 1p, Putnam-19.946; 26. Derrick Hearron, 27x, Hearron-20.351; 27. Kevin Eggert, 98, Eggert-21.987; 28. Keith Rauch, 23, Minarik-NT; 29. Dave Strickland, Jr., 62, Klatt-NT.

First Heat (8 laps): 1. Carson, 2. Hatton, 3. Scott, 4. Paden, 5. Pankratz, 6. Ray, 7. Scully, 8. Lucas, 9. Flesher. 2:31.52

Second Heat (8 laps): 1. Knepper, 2. Wise, 3. Flock, 4. Westfall, 5. Ebberts, 6. Dailey, 7. Stanfill, 8. Carey. 2:33.04

Third Heat (8 laps): 1. A.J. Fike, 2. Lewis, 3. Harris, 4. Meseraull, 5. Kendall, 8. Eggert, 7. Rossi, 8. Kirk, 9. Streeter. 2:30.12

Qualifying Dash (6 laps): 1. Harris, 2. Knepper, 3. Paden, 4. Ebberts, 5. Carson, 6. A.J. Fike. 1:53.83

Semi (12 laps): 1. Flesher, 2. Ray, 3. Streeter, 4. Pankratz, 5. Dailey, 6. Eggert, 7. Scully, 8. Rossi, 9. Kirk, 10. Lucas, 11. Stanfill, 12. Carey, 13. Kendall. NT

Feature (25 laps): 1. A.J. Fike, 2. Steve Knepper, 3. Alex Harris, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Danny Ebberts, 6. Davey Ray, 7. Ryan Scott, 8. Robby Flock, 9. Josh Wise, 10. Matt Streeter, 11. Glenn Carson, 12. Wally Pankratz, 13. Marc Dailey, 14. Aaron Kirk, 15. Scott Hatton, 16. Steve Paden, 17. Jeff Flesher, 18. Matt Westfall, 19. Kenny Lewis, 20. Kevin Eggert, 21. Shane Scully, 22. Tony Rossi. NT (Lap leader: fike 1-25)

FRIDAY PRELIMINARIES

On Friday morning, the Belleville High Banks held a dedication to the late legendary Stan Fox -- a two-time Belleville Midget Nationals champion and High Banks Hall of Fame driver. Friday night was the second night of the $70,000+ 24th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals was held, highlighted by the inaugural Stan Fox Memorial feature.

But the could also be called the Steve Lewis Benefit Race.

Lewis' stable of three Beasts proved to be the class of the field on the steep banks of "The World's Fastest Half Mile Dirt Track," leading all qualifiers to begin the night, then streaking to a 1-2-3 finish in the 25-lap nightcap. Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. -- the 1999 Nationals Champion -- led the feature from start to finish, followed by defending Champion Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw, Wash.

Phoenix, Ariz.'s J.J. Yeley finished third despite starting dead last after an ignition probelm surfaced during the warm-up laps. Yeley, who would have started third, dashed into the pits for some quick work then rejoined the field moments before the green flag was unfurled. By mid-race, however, Yeley had caught back up with his Pink-powered posse to make it a three-car nose-to-tail runaway.

The only blemish all night for Lewis' threesome was a 2-3-4 finish in the "pole dash" behind Jay Drake of Val Verde, Calif. Drake, driving the Wilke-Pak no. 11, tried in vain to keep up with the leaders in the main event, but finished fourth.

Darland, Kahne and Yeley each earned a spot Saturday's eight-car, eight-lap "pole dash" along with fourth-place finisher Drake. The dash will determine the first eight spots in the 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Championship Race.

Saturday's Belleville Midget Nationals Championship line-up will feature four heat races, with top three from each transferring to the grand finale. Two more starters will join the elite field of 24 through a last-chance semi-main.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS:

Qualifications: 1. Kasey Kahne, 19, Lewis-17.937; 2. J.J. Yeley, 91, Lewis-17.953; 3. Dave Darland, 9, Lewis-17.990; 4. Dave Strickland, Jr., 62, Klatt-18.041; 5. Michael Lewis, 85, Beauchamp-18.046; 6. Jay Drake, 11, Wilke-Pak-18.123; 7. Aaron Fike, 32, RFMS-18.138; 8. Keith Rauch, 23, Minarik-18.148; 9. John Heydenreich, 52, Klatt-18.173; 10. Casey Slocum, 97x, Mitchell-18.233; 11. Jerry Coons, Jr., 15L, Lawson-18.244; 12. Matt Westfall, 17, Hartman-18.406; 13. Mike Hess, 51, Hess-18.512; 14. Rik Forbes, 95, Forbes-18.633; 15. Matt Hummel, 57x, TST-18.656; 16. Rich Camfield, 87, Camfield-19.035; 17. Derrick Hearron, 27, Hearron-19.135; 18. Kevin Olson, 55, Knepper-19.445; 19. Dean Franklin, 5, Meents-19.664; 20. Phil Shapel, 84s, Shapel-20.006; 21. Al Murie, 3R Murie-22.982; 22. Tracy Hines, 66, JS-NT; 23. #3k Murie-NT; 24. #11w, Wilke-Pak-NT.

First Heat (8 laps) 1. Camfield, 2. Aaron Fike, 3. Strickland, 4. Kahne, 5. Hess, 6. Slocum, 7. Franklin. 2:27.22

Second Heat (8 laps): 1. Yeley, 2. Lewis, 3. Rauch, 4. Forbes, 5. Hearron, 6. Coons, 7. Shapel. 2:24.86

Third Heat (8 laps): 1. Drake, 2. Westfall, 3. Heydenreich, 4. Darland, 5. Hummel, 2:27.72

Qualifying Dash (6 laps): 1. Drake, 2. Darland, 3. Yeley, 4. Kahne, 5. Strickland, 6. Camfield. 1:49.50

Semi (12 laps): 1. Slocum, 2. Hummel, 3. Hearron, 4. Franklin, 5. Murie, 6. Hines. 1:52.83

Feature (25 laps): 1. Dave Darland, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Aaron Fike, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. Derrick Hearron, 9. Rik Forbes, 10. Keith Rauch, 11. Michael Lewis, 12. Rich Camfield, 13. Tracy Hines, 14. Dave Strickland, Jr., 15. Dean Franklin, 16. Casey Slocum, 17. Matt Hummel, 18. Al Murie. NT (Lap leaders: Darland 1-25).

SATURDAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Although hundreds have tried, only 20 drivers have shown the skill and fearlessness required to win the Belleville Midget Nationals. In 23 years, only three have been able to do it twice, and just one -- the legendary Stan Fox -- did it in back-to-back years.

Until Saturday, that is.

Kasey Kahne has suited up for The Nationals just twice, but he has yet to know the heartache of failure at Belleville. Saturday night, Kahne joined Fox as the only other driver to conquer "The World's Fastest Half Mile Dirt Track" in consecutive years, winning the 24th Annual Championship Race with a dominating performance.

At age 21, Kahne was just three months old when Fox completed the feat in 1980, but the defending USAC National Midget Series Champion from Enumclaw, Wash., looked more like a 21-year veteran as he rode the dangerous high line to a $10,000 payday.

The unforgiving Belleville back stretch wasted little time Saturday night in claiming its first victims in the Championship Race, including polesitter J.J. Yeley. Yeley, Tracy Hines and Jeff Flesher all flipped on the first lap of the feature, which resulted in Flesher being transported to Republic County hospital for a precautionary check. Casey Slocum and Aaron Fike also retired from action, trimming the 24-car starting field to 19 for the re-start.

When the green flag unfurled again, Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz., grabbed the top spot and began building a big lead on his chasers. Steve Paden, who had moved into the top-three by lap 10, tagged the back stretch wall on lap 11, ending his night and erasing Coons' huge advantage.

On the re-start, Kahne dove to the inside of Coons to steal away the top spot. Coons fought back, but couldn't return the favor. Kahne settled into his high line near the guardrail and drove away, leading the final 29 circuits uncontested.

1999 Nationals Champion Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind., moved into second shortly after the re-start and remained there to the finish, giving Steve Lewis' Pink-powered Beast stable a 1-2 finish and his third straight title as a car owner.

Joining the podium celebration was Robby Flock, who brought the familiar Fontana no. 76 home third after starting 14th. It was Flock's eighth top-five finish in the annual classic and his first since winning the event in 1996.

Strong runs netted Josh Wise and Ryan Scott career-best fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.

Davey Ray, Michael Lewis, Jay Drake and Scott Hatton finished sixth through ninth, while Kenny Lewis took 10th after gaining the final transfer spot in the semi-main and starting last in the 40-lap main event.

Tickets will go on sale soon for next year's 25th Annual "Silver Anniversary" Belleville Midget Nationals. The Belleville High Banks will wrap up the 2001 season with the third appearance of the NCRA Late Model and Modified Series on Sunday, Sept. 2. Hot laps start at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7:30.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS:

First Heat (8 laps): 1. Danny Ebberts (#14x Schlacter/Ebberts), 2. Steve Paden (#01 Farrier), 3. Jeff Flesher (#72 Flesher), 4. John Heydenreich (#52 Klatt), 5. Wally Pankratz (#1 Pankratz), 6. Shane Scully (#56 Scully), 7. Aaron Kirk (#45 Hughes). 2:26.40

Second Heat (8 laps): 1. Ryan Scott (#48 Ryno), 2. Robby Flock (#76 Fontana), 3. Scott Hatton (#1H Huston), 4. Matt Westfall (#17 Hartman), 5. Dave Strickland, Jr. (#62 Klatt), 6. Matt Hummel (#57x TST), 7. Phil Shapel (#84s Shapel). NT

Third Heat (8 laps): 1. Casey Slocum (#97x Mitchell), 2. Aaron Fike (#32 RFMS), 3. Tracy Hines (#66 JS), 4. Kenny Lewis (#5D Conklin), 5. Bryan Stanfill (#52x Stanfill), 6. Matt Streeter (#97 Streeter), 7. Marc Dailey (#22 Mega Motorsports). 2:27.75

Fourth Heat (8 laps): 1. Josh Wise (#94 Wise), 2. Davey Ray (#2 HMK), 3. Glenn Carson (#26x Bock), 4. Michael Lewis (#85 Beauchamp), 5. Keith Rauch (#23 Minarik), 6. John Lucas (#1p Putnam), 7. Derrick Hearron (#27 Hearron), 2:28.40

Pole Dash (10 laps): 1. J.J. Yeley (#91 Lewis), 2. Jay Drake (#11 Wilke-Pak), 3. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#15 Lawson), 4. Kasey Kahne (#19, Lewis), 5. Alex Harris (#54 Harris), 6. Thomas Meseraull (#57 TST), 7. A.J. Fike (#69 RFMS), 8. Dave Darland (#9 Lewis). NT

Semi-Main (15 laps): 1. M. Lewis, 2. Westfall, 3. Heydenreich, 4. K. Lewis, 5. Scully, 6. Streeter, 7. Dailey, 8. Pankratz, 9. Lucas, 10. Rauch, 11. Stanfill, 12. Kirk, 13. Strickland. 4:41.60

Feature (40 laps): 1. Kasey Kahne, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Robby Flock, 4. Josh Wise, 5. Ryan Scott, 6. Davey Ray, 7. Michael Lewis, 8. Jay Drake, 9. Scott Hatton, 10. Kenny Lewis, 11. Matt Westfall, 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., 13. A.J. Fike, 14. Glenn Carson, 15. Alex Harris, 16. Thomas Meseraull, 17. Danny Ebberts, 18. Steve Paden, 19. John Heydenreich, 20. J.J. Yeley, 21. Casey Slocum, 22. Aaron Fike, 23. Jeff Flesher, 24. Tracy Hines. NT (Lap leaders: Coons 1-11, Kahne 12-40)

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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. Inquiries may call or fax (785) 527-6050 or e-mail Treasurer/Business Manager Barry Bottger at treasurer@highbanks.org. Information is also available online at www.highbanks.org.

Reserved tickets for the 27th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals 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 website.

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