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Belle-Clair Speedway - Belleville, IL

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A Warm Week August 9 – 15, 2010

Monday I stayed on the plains and went back down to Kansas for a stop at the Central Kansas Free Fair in Abilene. Tonight would be a figure eight race along with a combine demo derby for the grandstand entertainment on another very hot day on the plains. The radio said the afternoon temperature was 103 with the heat index adding another 12 degrees. Did I say it was hot? I have had this race on my hit list for years but to drive home from Belleville Kansas for Sun Prairie and go right back the next day to Abilene never made my must do list. This year with no race at Sun Prairie I got to see my second combine demo derby. The crowd was late to arrive, in fact at 5PM when I arrived only a few people were sitting in the shade when I got my Indian taco that fired my insides right up to the 115 degrees too. The old stone stadium says Abilene Stadium across the top and has 25 rows of aluminum seats on the concrete steps. There were also 10-row bleachers on the back side of the rodeo grounds. They had prepared the grounds by putting a dirt wall all around the arena in front of the steel cattle fencing. Then they piled two big dirt piles to form the figure eight track. The sun set behind the steep grandstand so that we were all in shade from 6PM on. The stands were nearly full by the 7:30PM race time to see 9 combines and 5 compact cars. They had good lights and excellent speakers. They started the show with the royalty of the fair riding a combine and then the parade of combines. Then they announced that they wanted to try something new. The combines would race the figure eight. Seven of the combines would try the race and were divided into two heats by size. Matt Miller made a pass to win the first heat and Cody Chase stayed out front to win the second. The compact cars ran a heat and feature for the night. The rules state that the cars must make at least one hit every two laps to be scored. Hanna Schroller won the heat but stalled while leading the feature. Darien Jacobson led but was disabled and then Travis McDonald was leading but a hard hit set off his air bags and the car stalled too. That left Clinton Rice on three wheels to finish the 12 laps and win the feature with only 2 cars running. The combines had two demo heats to qualify 3 to the feature and then Larry Park outlasted the others to claim the demo win and end the night at 9:25PM so I got an early start toward Wisconsin.

Friday was a day of work for the Stoughton Area Youth Center at their annual golf outing and after the tournament was done I was on the computer checking the weather as we had afternoon rains. The local tracks looked like they were already done with Oshkosh, Oregon and Columbus all canceled for the night. That meant I would have to work on travel plans for the weekend.

Saturday I was back in Nebraska for a visit to the Seward County Fair in Seward Nebraska. It was another warm day with some scattered showers but the Ag building was air conditioned and a band was playing polka music so I looked at all the 4-H displays before heading out to the arena about 5:30PM for the 6PM start of figure eight racing. The rodeo arena had Jersey barriers around the outside with dirt behind them but all inside the steel rodeo fencing. There was a 15-row covered aluminum grandstand facing the setting sun or a bigger 15-row concrete structure facing east so I went to the concrete stand. The surface in the arena was fine black dirt and had been watered and there were two big dirt-filled tires to form the figure eight. They had good lights and the speakers were adequate. The race drew 36 full size cars in one class (open) and the program would consist of 5 heats with first and second place advancing to the feature and 5 consies which were the heats in inverted starting order with the two transferred cars missing. Only the winner advanced from the consie and that made a 15-car feature. The Nebraska figure eight racing assn. runs the program and their rules prohibit deliberate hitting and spinning. About six black flags were displayed during the races. The leader was hit at the “X” once and the race was red flagged with the leader getting back in front and the “hitter” removed from the track. The heats were all won from the front two rows and most of the cars were competitive with few if any needing towing off after any of the races. The 20-lap feature was red flagged on the first lap after two cars were stuck together and a complete restart was given. There was one other stop on lap 12 for removal of a heavy bumper from the track. Brandon Ogorzolka started 12th and quickly passed cars then tracked down the pole sitter Jeff Wilhoft. Ogorzolka has a custom built car that handles well and won the feature over Tyler Nerud from 6th, Wilhoft and Theron Ahlman. The races were done at 8:10PM and I stopped for a piece of homemade pie on my way out. As long as it was early I drove to the I-80 Speedway exit and saw no lights so I went south to the Eagle Raceway in Eagle Nebraska where they were still racing. Little did I know that Eagle runs a very efficient program too and was done with the 4 regular features but had 4 powder puff races for the ladies in each class tonight. The hornets were finishing when I arrived and then 3 hobby stocks raced with Michelle Nicholson taking the win. The 4 sport mods were next with Crystal getting in the fence hard on the start and needing two wreckers to remove the car. Evelyn Thompson was the sport mod winner. The final race of the night was for 8 of the “A” mods and after a few laps some of these ladies were getting through the turns very well.

Sunday noon was a stop at the Nicollet
County Fair in St Peter Minnesota for the third and final race in the special point series that included Watonwan County and Blue Earth County. The fairgrounds had an old half-mile dirt oval but now they have built a cement block rectangle on the old speedway in front of the aluminum grandstand. The concrete blocks are held in place by earth piled up behind them and the inside of the oval shape was formed with some more blocks, tires and dirt. The oval had a jump on the straightaway and a slight dogleg in the backstretch and the races were billed as Ultimate Off Road Enduro Compact Car Races. They hand out a sheet with the heat race lineups printed but I was not early enough to get one as the stands were more than half full already when I arrived at the noon race time. They had a few warm ups and then went into racing for the 49 compact cars, 8 fire department cars, 7 six cylinder cars and 4 vans. The compact program is set for 8 heats transferring the winner to the feature then 4 consies transferring only the winner making a 12-car feature. The other classes run a heat and the feature. Just as I sat down I was joined by Gordy Killian so the day went fast with lots of bench racing as Gordy was on his Knoxville Nationals two week vacation. The grandstand was about 15 rows with a screen over head to give partial shade but today was cooler and very pleasant. The heats were run through in pretty quick order with some banging and some disabled cars needing towing. They watered the track 4 times during the afternoon to keep the dust and speeds down. Greg Schumacher started 4th and won the fire department race taking the traveling trophy back to the North Mankato Department. The first roll over of the day was in the 4th consi when Mark Kreykes rolled on his roof. Only two vans were able to run the feature and Shad Coyour pushed past Jill Norman to lead 8 laps and then slowed giving the win to Jill. The six cylinders started all 7 and James Matthews ran fast and led from the pole to take the win. The compact 15-lap feature was stopped on the first lap when Logan Block rolled but he was able to restart. Chad Landwer had stalled early but a fire was seen as the white flag was about to be displayed and the race stopped again. The 3 lead cars were together for the restart and there was lots of banging as they tried to get all 3 cars through a single lane around a stalled car on the restart. Trent Jahnz hit a tire and appeared to finish second but a review of the scoring and the tape of the race had him with a lap lead and thus he won over Rick Kahnke and Matt Whitney. I had a roast beef dinner at the 4-H building and headed home.