Back Home Again in Belleville ‘06 - Part 1

There was no road trip to Belleville this year. Unemployment is great for having the time to do such a thing but diesel at $3.00+ per gallon combined with impending fatherhood is not conducive to taking the scenic route. Flying into Oklahoma City the Friday before Nationals week was the option selected for this year’s trip.

The reason for flying into Oklahoma City instead of options closer to Belleville was that it afforded the opportunity to visit a high school friend whose job transplanted him from California nine years ago. Brian drove up to Belleville last year to check it out and was sufficiently impressed to take the whole week off for another round this year. This did not surprise me since return visits by first time visitors to Belleville are more the rule than the exception.

Mr. Wilkes showed me around the better parts of Oklahoma City which included a visit to the bombing memorial and their museum of art. The memorial is impressive during the day, which is when I saw it, but I have the feeling that it is even more so at night. The act of terrorism that took place eleven years ago in the heartland of America accomplished absolutely nothing politically but did bring about quite a re-vitalization of downtown OKC. No matter how you try to put a positive spin on the aftermath, in my opinion, Tim McVeigh’s self justified cowardly act of revenge against the government that he felt had outgrown its bounds is no more justified than the foreign terrorists that are intent on perpetrating similar acts on the objects of their delusional hatred around the world. The Museum of art, on a brighter note, is a surprising gem that should not be missed if you are in the area.

Starting the trek to Belleville from Oklahoma City afforded the opportunity to travel north straight up highway 81. A Tuesday night USAC National Midget Series event at 81 speedway in Wichita, KS gave us enough reason to stop there on the way. My good friend Mike Arthur had last visited 81 Speedway around 20 years ago and all he could remember about the place was that it was windy. Arthur’s recollection was accurate, as it turned out, at least as far as the weather conditions go.

81 Speedway is a very well run and fairly modern facility that features a semi-banked half mile that is laid out with the straightaways in the north / south orientation. This is a significant detail because on this night a relentless 30 mile an hour south to north wind combined with low humidity and temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit conspired to create a dry slick racing surface. Midgets hadn’t competed at 81 Speedway since 1973 and the track record set by Billy Shuman was bettered by a little over half of the 26 car field but that fact had little to do with track conditions. The dry slick racing surface, that did not include even the slightest cushion, produced minimal passing and led to a tire-conserving veteran Jerry Coons Jr. picking up the win.

Not that it would have made for a significant increase in the entertainment value of this Tuesday night midget program in Wichita but many wondered aloud why USAC insisted on scheduling the event against one already scheduled the same night at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, NE. Fresh off questionable Sprint Week cancellations at Lawrenceburg and Terre Haute USAC seemed to be gaining detractors in rapid fashion. Combined with the infinitely unpopular “new generation” pavement Silver Crown cars it would seem that the intentional scheduling of a conflicting event would be counterproductive at the least. The event at 81 Speedway could have easily been scheduled for Monday and been just as successful as well as allowing teams to at least have the option of running the events at McCool.

After very little post-race track time we hit the road to our final destination at about 11:00 with each of us taking more than our fair share of the racing surface with us on our bodies along for the ride. Our arrival in Belleville occurred just after 1:30 AM and, oddly enough – once again, our usual spot in the park at the Republic County Ringers’ horseshoe pit was awaiting us. Very little sleep led to an early morning $1.00 city pool shower (worth every penny) that washed away 81 Speedway and paved the way to enjoying being back home again in Belleville.

The first immediate order of business after the shower was to buy our tickets for the 4H dinners that take place Thursday through Saturday. Saturday features prime rib and that one sells-out every year. One of the best deals in town are these three dinners and they support a good cause. Do yourself a favor and look for Tandy in the 4H building as soon as you get into town and she will take care of you. The 4H is also the place for breakfast and the Methodist food-stand is the best place for lunch or your sweet tooth with their outstanding pies.

A $5,000 winners check awaited the winner of the second night of racing at McCool Junction on Wednesday after Brad Kuhn secured the $3,000 Tuesday night victor’s check. Enjoying a quiet “calm before the storm” evening in Belleville was too priceless to pass up and we missed young hot shoe Brady Bacon being awarded the winner’s check after Kuhn came up light at the scales. Whatever amount Kuhn missed the minimum weight by had to sting because it wiped away what would have been a two night $8,000 bank deposit. After soaking up what we knew would be our only remaining night off we waited as the remainder of our fellow seekers of the Belleville experience trickled in from McCool.

The weather in the Midwest this summer has been hot which is not unlike the rest of the country but without the humidity that often accompanies it and tends to melt those of us from more arid climates. National’s week weather forecasts were for high temps, clear skies, and virtually no threats of rain. Fortunately for all involved the weatherman and Mother Nature were in synch for a change.

Thursday was a busy day for anyone who took the effort to take on the entire day’s possibilities. The 2006 High Banks Hall of Fame and Museum induction started at 11:00. Twelve new inductees were honored in what was the eighth induction class. It never ceases to amaze me how so many people who are already in town don’t make an effort to go to the induction ceremony. For the cost of a donation attendees get a decent lunch and an opportunity to see history in the making. If you are reading this and find yourself in Belleville next year on Thursday morning during Nationals week you owe it to yourself to attend the induction. You’ll be glad you did.

Immediately following the induction a ceremony was held to unveil a beautiful cornerstone at the HBHOFM. The incremental improvements to the museum fuel anticipation of the next phase of the project. Whether you donate through any of the many membership programs available or donate something to the auction that gets held on Saturday morning you will be making a great contribution to the preservation of our racing history. Contributions are tax deductible and more information can be had at www.highbanks-museum.org .

Thursday night’s racing program did not include a midget racecar of any kind. The fair and amusements committee, which manages the racetrack, wisely put the USAC Ford Focus division in their rearview mirror and scheduled a NCRA vs. ASCS regional event instead. A rare opportunity to see winged 360 sprint cars test the Highbanks of Belleville was enough to attract a full house. It isn’t hard to figure out why when the price tag to get in was just $12.00 which bought you a show that included a field of cars that was at least 50% greater than last year’s. The most remarkable thing about the evening is that they started twenty-four cars in a twenty lap feature event that ended up going non-stop. It marked the first time I’ve seen cars go that fast - blinding fast - with all but one of them end up finishing the race without a single caution flag. It really was impressive and there were battles for position throughout the field.

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