8/4/2017
RacinBoys
40th Belleville Midget Nationals is here!
By USAC PR (Belleville, KS) -- The 40th running of one of the crown jewels in all of midget racing: the Belleville Midget Nationals fires off tonight (Fri August 3) at the famed Belleville High Banks Speedway in Northern Kansas, Chad Boat swept both nights at Belleville a year ago and joined his father Billy, the 1995 winner, as a Belleville champion.
Gates open at 5:00 both nights with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:30 p.m.
A talented, star-studded lineup is expected to run this major event including Brady Bacon and Tyler Courtney, who stand third and fourth in National Midget points, respectively. Both drivers got a head start on their swing through the middle of the USA by earning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature wins over the past weekend.
Tanner Thorson captured the week's opener at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, NE on Tuesday night, and Christopher Bell triumphed on Thursday at the Chad McDaniel Memorial in Beloit, KS on Wednesday.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Bacon won at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on Saturday night while Indianapolis, Indiana’s Courtney won the following night in the series’ first race at Moberly, Missouri’s Randolph County Raceway since 1989.
Bacon has five Saturday night Belleville starts and finished a career-best 3rd in 2008 to go along with a 4th in 2016. Bacon has two USAC Midget wins in 2017, sweeping both nights of the “Kokomo Grand Prix” at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in April. Courtney, on the other hand, is a Belleville “Rookie,” but this isn’t your typical so-called rookie. Courtney has already won three times this season in USAC National Midget competition for the Clauson-Marshall Racing team who brings their three-car stable to Nebraska and Kansas with National Sprint Car point leader and Du Quoin “Shamrock Classic” winner Justin Grant (5th in points), plus Indiana Midget Week champion Shane Golobic.
Golobic, of Fremont, California, is second in a tight points race at the top of the series standings behind Lebanon, Indiana’s Spencer Bayston. Bayston, the 2015 series Rookie of the Year, leads by 21 heading into this week’s races. He leads the powerhouse Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team with seats belonging to defending USAC National Midget champ Tanner Thorson, Ryan Robinson, Holly Shelton and top Rookie Tanner Carrick.
PAST BELLEVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS CHAMPIONS
1978 - Eddie Jackson
1979 - Stan Fox
1980 - Stan Fox
1981 - Mike Gregg
1982 - Dave Manes
1983 - Johnny Parsons Jr.
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
2003 - Josh Wise
2004 - Bobby East
2005 - Jerry Coons Jr.
2006 - Josh Wise
2007 - Jerry Coons Jr.
2008 - Brad Sweet
2009 - Bryan Clauson
2010 - Bryan Clauson
2011 - Kyle Larson
2012 - Jerry Coons Jr.
2013 - Chris Bell
?2014- Rico Abreu
2015 - Bryan Clauson
2016 - Chad Boat
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
