The season is now officially over at Belle-Clair....See you all next spring

Sept 24, 2004

  It was the last night of regular races for the 2004 racing season and season championship night at Belle Clair Speedway on Friday night. The titles had been won but it was still racing to be done and points to be obtained. The weather was great and the racing was hot on a track that was good.

  In the UMP Late Model pits, there were only 16 cars on hand, but the racing was still good. In the first heat, Mike Schulte took the win followed by Mark Voigt, Aaron Kleine, John Paule, Mike Hammele, Frankie Martin, Kenny Helmick, and Jim Gibson. In the second heat, John Lansford took the checkered flag with Vince Grondzki, Dan Dondero, Don Klein, Rick Salter, Dan Jacober, Billy Laycock, and Rick Standridge in tow.

  The dash was lined up with the top six in pointed in the race, but lined up in inverted order. Martin took the race with Salter, Helmick, Klein, Hammerle and Standridge following.

  With the first 12 cars in points lining up in point order, Martin and Standridge started the 25-lap race on the front row. On the dropping of the green flag, it was the 2004 track champion Martin jumping into the lead that he would not give up.  Standridge, Salter and Hammerle chased Martin in the early laps.

  The first caution came out after lap one was in the books. Dondero spun out in turn four. The running order was Martin, Standridge, Salter, Hammerle, and Helmick.

  When the race resumed, Martin continued his dominance of the race. Salter took over the second spot as he passed Standridge for the spot.

  The next slowdown came on lap six as Kleine and Voigt tangled on the front straight away. Kleine lost a driveshaft and Voigt had a left rear tire get shredded. Voigt had the tire replaced and rejoined the field at the rear of the field, while Kleine was out. The running order was Martin, Salter, Standridge, Hammerle and Helmick.

  One of the cars on the move forward was 10^th starting Grondzki as he used the middle of the track to move to the front. Also, on the move was 12^th starting Lansford, who used the bottom of the track to his advantage.

  Grondzki was in the top five when his rear end broke and he had to retire from the race.

  Martin continued to lead the race with Salter trying to reel him in, but was not making too much headway. Lansford continued to pass car after car until he got to third place.

  Voigt also was on the move after restarting in the back of the pack.

  Martin went on to win his seventh feature of the year and fourth in a row to close out a good year for the Du Quion driver. Martin also captured his third straight track championship.

  Following Martin to the checkered flag was Salter, Lansford, Voigt and Standridge to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 21 cars in the pits for the season championship night. In the first heat, Bobby Bittle took the victory over David Seger, Mark Schaefer, Chris England, Chris Smith, Matt Kosterer, and Paul Reinneck. The second heat went o Wayne Downing over Dean Hoffman, Chris Gray, Mark Clary, Jason Brown, Steve Ellison, and Bobby Johnson. The third heat saw Stu Springer take the checkered flag followed by Dave Thornton, Marty Smith Jr., Denny Tribout Jr., Tom Ratajczyk, Bob Geaschel, and Rodney Armstrong.

  The dash lined up like the Late Models with the top six in points in the race. Smith Jr. won with Hoffman, England, Thornton, Bittle and Clary trailing. The consi sent Springer, Seger, Downing, Geaschel, Armstrong and Brown to the feature.

  The front row of the 20-lap race consisted of Hoffman and Bittle. With the dropping of the green flag, Hoffman jumped to the lead. Bittle and Smith Jr. were not far behind as they took to the top of the track.

  The lead changed hand on lap 3 as Bittle got to the front on the high side with Smith in tow. The racing between the three lead cars was some of the best seen all season. Who would take command was a lap by lap thing to watch as two cars ran the top and Hoffman, the point leader, was on the bottom.

  The first caution came out when England spun in turn two. The running order was Bittle, Hoffman, Smith Jr., Clary and Thornton in the top five.

  When the race restarted Bittle and Smith Jr. went to the top and Hoffman continued on the bottom. Once again this trio put on a show for the lead.  The battle on the top was the race to watch as Smith Jr. put on the pressure to Bittle lap after lap.

  The race was slowed on lap 13 as England spun again, this time on the front straight. The running order was Bittle, Hoffman, Smith Jr., Clary and Thornton.

  On the restart the race changed and a new look was about to take shape. Bittle stayed on the bottom trying to protect his lead, but Smith went to the top again and this time it was to Smith’s advantage. Smith powered his way to the front and went on to take the checkered flag ahead of Bittle, Hoffman, Clary and Thornton. It was Smith’s fifth feature win of the 2004 season.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 19 cars on hand for the races. In the first heat, Mike Harris took the win followed by Brian Eaves, Bob Casey, Randy Tyson, Craig Bessinger, Mike Jones and Jeremy Dietzel. In the second heat, David Grzywacz got the win followed by Paul Bauman, Bryan Slover, Tom Smallwood, Carl Wazum, Denny Tribout Sr. and Brian Shubirg. In the third heat, Mike Kurtz took the victory followed by Shawn Seymour, D.J. Griffaw, Lonnie Casey, Randy Kueker and Matt Tettaton. The dash went to Harris followed by Kurtz, Grzywacz, Bauman, Seymour and Eaves. The consi sent Tribout Sr., Shubirg and Dietzel to the feature.

  The 15-lap race started with Bauman and Harris on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, it was Bauman to the lead after four attempts to start the race. Harris chased Bauman for the entire race, but could not mount a challenge for the Sportsmen champion.  Bauman went on to win his 13^th feature of the year, which lead all classes in feature wins. Harris finished in second followed by Eaves, Grzywacz, and Shubirg.

  See you in 2005. I can’t believe that the season is over.

Sept 17, 2004
 

The next to the last regular season race at Belle Clair Speedway was run on Friday night with a pit full of cars and lots of fans in the stands. It was a nice night for the races and new faces in the pits again.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars on hand for the races.  In the first heat, Frankie Martin took his first win of the night over Jim Gibson, Don Klein, Rick Salter, Rick Standridge, Mark Voigt, John Lansford, and Keith Pratt.  In the second heat, Aaron Kleine got the victory followed by Mike Hammerle, Billy Laycock, Dan Dondero, Michael Kloos, Dan Jacober, Scott Geaschel, and Vince Grondzki. The third heat saw Mike Shulte with the win over Kenny Rumble, Brent Kreke, Kenny Helmick, Wayne Hicks, John Paule, and Mike Jacober. The dash went to Martin followed by Hammerle, Kleine, Shulte, Rumble and Gibson. The semi sent Voigt, D. Jacober and Lansford to the feature.

   The feature started with Martin and Gibson on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Martin jumped to the lead with Gibson, Kleine and Hammerle in pursuit.

  The race went green for 23 laps before the only caution came out. As the race went on, Martin maintained the lead while running the bottom of the track.  Kleine moved to the top and tried to move forward, but Martin was too strong for Kleine.

  During these green flag laps, the only car moving forward was 14^th starting Kloos. Kloos moved into the top five late in the race.

  The only caution came out on lap 23 as Shulte got loose in turn two and spun collecting the cars of Salter, Laycock and Kreke. Kreke would leave the track with a broken left hand after getting the hand caught in the steering wheel. Laycock, also, was out for the night.

  The running order was Martin, Kleine, Voigt, Rumble and Hammerle. On the restart, Kloos was the car  to watch as he moved up to the fourth spot at the finish after being out of the top five.

  Martin went on to complete his second straight sweep and third straight victory.  Frankie Martin has won the 2004 season championship with a 280-point advantage over second place. Kleine held on to finish second with Gibson, Kloos and Rumble completing the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 23 cars in the pits with three new drivers on hand. In the first heat, Dale Munson won followed by Paul Reinneck, Chris England, Steve Ellison, Dave Thornton, Justin Munson, Marty Smith Sr. and Matt Kosterer. In the second heat, Bobby Bittle took the win with J.D. Beal, Mark Clary, Stu Springer, Dean Hoffman, David Seger and Bob Geaschel in pursuit. In the third heat, Chris Gray took the victory with Marty Smith Jr., Matt Mevert, Tom Ratajczyk, Mark Schaefer, Denny Tribour Jr., and Bobby Johnson trailing. The dash saw Bittle with the win followed by D. Munson, Gray, Reinneck, Beal, and Smith Jr. The semi sent J. Munson, Tribout Jr. and Smith Sr. to the feature.

  The feature started with Beal and Smith Jr. on the front row. Smith Jr. took the early lead at the beginning of the race.  D. Munson, Beal and Bittle were in pursuit in the early laps.

  The first of several cautions came out on lap six when England, Ellison, Ratajczyk, Thornton, J. Munson and Springer tangled in turn one against the outside wall.  All drivers were able to continue. The running order was Smith Jr., D. Munson, Beal, Bittle and Gray.

   When the race continued, only one lap was completed before another tangle occurred when J. Munson, Tribout Jr. and Smith Sr. got together in turn two. Smith Sr. retired at this point.

   The running order was Smith Jr., D. Munson, Bittle, Beal and Gray in the top five.

   When the race restarted, again only one lap could be completed before the race was slowed. Beal and Reinneck got together in turn four.  The running order was now Smith Jr., Bittle, D. Munson, Gray and Reinneck.

  With another few laps recorded, another stoppage in the action resulted when D. Munson and Mevett got together on the front straight and both cars were damaged enough for them to retire from the race. The running order now was Smith Jr., Bittle, Gray, Reinneck and Clary in the top five.

  Only one lap was run before the next caution came out for a spinning England in turn four. There was no change in the top five.

  As the race continued, things were about to change. On lap 18 Bittle finally got by Smith Jr. to take over the lead and Hoffman moved from 14^th starting into the top five.

  At the checkered flag, it was Bittle taking the sweep with Smith Jr., Gray, Hoffman and Reinneck completing the top five. It was Bittle’s seventh victory of the year.

   Jason Davinroy won the Pure Stock season championship race.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 15 cars on hand for the season championship night. Mark Benedick won the first heat over Matt Tettaton, Brian Eaves, Mike Harris, Denny Tribout Sr., Dave Grzywacz, and Brian Shubirg. The second heat went to Shawn Seymour followed by Mike Kurtz, Mike Jones, Tom Smallwood, Randy Tyson, Jeremy Dietzel, Paul Bauman, and Lonnie Casey. Smallwood followed by Tryson, Harrison, Grzywacz, Bauman and Eaves won the dash. This race was among the top six in points started in inverted order.

  The feature was lined up in point order with Bauman and Grzywacz on the front row.  Grzywacz  took the early lead followed by Bauman. It did not take long for Bauman to take over the front spot as on lap 3, Bauman took command. Bauman won his 12 feature of the year and also has won the Sportsmen championship as well. Following Bauman was Grzywacz, Harris, Smallwood and Shubirg to complete the top five.

  Next week is the final regular night of racing for the weekly program. It will be the season championship night for the UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds. The final night of racing at Belle Clair Speedway will be on October 22 when the All Star winged sprint cars try to race after two weathered out event. 
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Sept 10, 2004
 

With the season rapidly winding down, the racing at Belle Clair Speedway continued on Friday night with a large car count. Also, a new winner was seeing in the Modified class.

  In the UMP Late Model class, there were 27 cars in the pits for the night’s racing. In the first heat, Rick Salter took the victory over Aaron Kleine, John Lansford, John Paule, Don Klein, Mark Steinwagner, Ron Jarrell and John Courch. In the second heat, Frankie Martin took an win with Vince Grondzki , Scott Geaschel, Dan Jacober, Dan Dondero, Kenny Helmick, Bruce Unterbrink, Kenny Rumble, and Steve Unterbrink in tow. In the third heat, Jim Morrison took the checkered flag followed by Michael Kloos, Rick Standridge, Billy Laycock, Brent Kreke, Mike Hammerle, Jim Gibson, Mike Jacober and Danny Haynes. The dash saw Martin with another win trailed by Kleine, Salter, Kloos, Morrison, and Grondzki. The semi sent Helmick, Rumble and Steinwagner to the end of the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Grondzki and Martin on the front row. Grondzki took the early lead with Martin and Kleine pursuit.

  As the racing went on, Martin would take over the lead on about lap 5 and run on the bottom to take over the front spot. Grondzki held on to Martin to make it a race for the lead.

  As the laps continued to click off, Grondzki had move up the track to run the middle and was gaining on the leader. On the beginning of the 17^th circuit, Grondzki was about overtake Martin for the lead when the race’s first caution came out as Steinwagner, Laycock and Paule tangled on the back straight. The running order was Martin, Grondzki, Kleine, Salter and Morrison in the top five.

  When the race continued, Martin continued his lead, but Grondzki continued to apply the pressure. During the next green lap segment, seventh starting Lansford was making his moves to enter the top five.

   The next and final yellow came out when third running Kleine stop in turn two after hitting the outside wall. The running order now was Martin, Grondzki, Lansford, Salter and Morrison.

   With only three laps to go, Martin was working on a sweep. Martin would go on to win his fifth feature of the year. He was followed by Grondzki, Lansford, Salter, and Standridge to complete the top five.

     In the UMP Modified class, there were 23 cars in the pits ready to race. In the first heat, Matt Mevert took the win followed by Dave Thornton, Roger Fohne, Dean Hoffman, Bobby Johnson, Paul Reinneck, Matt Kosterer and Mike Linsky. In the second heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the win with Bobby Bittle, David Seger, Chris Gray, Jim Burwell, Dennis Tarrant, Jason Brown, and Wayne Downing in tow. In the third heat, Tom Ratajczyk tok the checkered flag followed by Mark Schaefer, Chris England, Steve Ellison, Bob Geaschel, Mark Clary, and Marty Smith Sr. The dash went to Smith Jr. over Mevert, Ratajczyk, Bittle, Schaefer and Thornton. The semi sent Reinneck, Clary and Smith Sr. to the back of the feature.

  The 20-lap feature started with Smith Jr. and Schaefer on the front row.  The early lead went to Smith Jr., but the race was slowed early as on lap two England and Seger tangled in turn one. The running order was Smith Jr., Mevert, Ratajczyk, Thornton and Schaefer.

  When the race continued, Smith Jr. held the laed , but was pressured by Mevert. The leaders ran the bottom of the racetrack and wagered a good battle for the lead.

  As the laps clicked off, Mevert tried move after move to get by Smith, but could not quite find a way by the leader. On lap eight, Mevert finally found the power and the groove to pass Smith coming out of turn two.

  After losing the lead, Smith tried other lanes on the track to find a way back around Mevert, but to no avail.

  The next and final caution came out on lap 13 as Reinneck spun in turn one. The running order was Mevert, Smith Jr. Bittle, Scheafer and Ratajczyk.

   The next seven laps saw Mevert and Smith battle for the front spot, but Mevert had the better line and car on this night. The real battle going on on the track was for fourth as Ratajczyk and Schaefer battled one another lap after lap for that position.

  At the checkered flag, it was Mevert for his first win of the year at Belle Clair Speedway. Smith Jr. held on for second with Bittle, Ratajczyk and Schaefer completing the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 17 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Brian Eaves got the victory over Tom Smallwood, Paul Bauman, Randy Tyson, Lonnie Casey, Mike Kurtz, Brian Shubirg, Denny Tribout Sr., and Bob Casey. In the second heat, Mark Benedick got the win followed by Mike Harris, Dave Grzywacz, Shawn Seymour, Matt Tettaton, Chad Reum, Mike Jones and Jeremy Dietzel. The dash went to Benedick followed by Eaves, Smallwood, Bauman, Grzywacz and Harris.

  The 15-lap feature started with Smallwood and Grzywacz on the front row. Grzywazc took the early lead.

  Grzywazc held the lead until around lap 5 when fourth starting Bauman took command of the race. Bauman went on to win his 11^th feature of the year and a commanding lead of the Sportsmen class. Following Bauman to the finishing line was Smallwood, Grzywacz, Benedick and Seymour.

   Next week is the season ending championship races for the Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stock cars.

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September 3, 2004
 

    As the final month of racing at Belle Clair Speedway began on Friday night, some good racing took place and a new winner emerged.

  In the UMP Late Models division, there were 22 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Rick Salter took the win followed by Don Klein, Jim Gibson, Vince Grondzki, Billy Laycock, Bob Brown, Rick Standridge and Marc McClintock. In the second heat, Mike Schulte took the checkered flag with Mike Hammerle, Frankie Martin, Kenny Helmick, Dan Dondero, Tim Ratajczyk, and Ron Jarrell in tow. In the third heat, John Lansford got the win over Mark Voigt, Ron Sensel, Aaron Kleine, Jim Morrison, Mark Steinwagner and John Paule. The dash went to Lansford over Salter, Shulte, Hammerle, Klein, and Voigt.

  The 25-lap feature started with Klein and Schulte on the front row. Klein jumped to the early lead followed by Lansford, Schulte and Voigt. The racing on this night was on the bottom to middle of the track.

   The first yellow came out on lap 3 as Dondero, Steinwagner and Jarrell tangled in turn three. The running order was Klein, Lansford, Schulte, Voigt and Salter in the top five.

  When the green came on again, Klein continued to lead, but Lansford was on his rear bumper tightly. Lansford would move inside Klein coming out of turn two on the fifth lap to take command of the race.

   The next slow down came on lap 8 as Sensel hit the outside wall on the front straight. That sent Sensel to the infield and out for the night. The top five was now Lansford, Klein, Voigt, Salter and Martin.

   Only three laps were run on the next green set of lap. On lap 11, Paule pulled up on the track and pulled off. The running order was Lansford, Klein, Salter, Voigt and Martin.

  Now the race went green to the end with Lansford looking like a winner, but that did not happen as Martin got under Lansford late in the race. Martin would go on and win his fourth feature of the year and his first since the beginning of June. Following Martin were Lansford, Voigt, Salter, and Kleine to complete the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 26 cars ready to race. The first heat went to Mark Clary over Bobby Johnson, Tom Ratajczyk, Todd McGraw, Chris Smith, Bob Geaschel, Matt Kosterer, and Steve Ellison. In the second heat, Marty Smith Jr. got the victory over Bobby Bittle, Matt Mevert, Dave Thornton, Roger Fohne, Denny Tribout Jr., Marty Smith Sr., Dennis Tarrant and Rusty Griffaw. The third heat went to Mark Schaefer followed by Dean Hoffman, David Seger, Scott Weber, Paul Reinneck, Chris England, Chris Gray, and Chad Fraunfelder. The dash went to Clary over Smith Jr., Bittle, Johnson, Hoffman and Ratajczyk. The semi sent England, Tribout Jr., and Geaschel to the feature.

  The 20-lap feature started with Smith Jr. and Hoffman on the front row. Smith took the early lead and never looked back. The first of several cautions came out on lap five when C. Smith spun in turn turn. The running out was Smith Jr., Bittle, Schaefer, Hoffman and Ratajczyk.

  The race could not get started as on the next restart McGraw spun in turn one. Bittle broke in turn four and was out of the race on this restart. Now the running order was Smith Jr., Scheafer, Hoffman, Ratajczyk and Johnson.

  The next caution came out on lap 6 for McGraw again, but this time in turn four. The top five stayed the same.

  The race continued to be run on the bottom with Schaefer pressing Smith Jr. each and every lap, but could not get a good run on Smith.

  When the next caution flew on lap 9, Geaschel was spun in turn four. The running order was Smith Jr., Schaefer, Hoffman, Ratajczyk and Johnson.

  As the laps were clicking down, Smith Jr., continued his lead, but the next four cars were right there trying to make a move forward, but to no avail. Smith maintained the lead, but almost lost it by going a little wide coming out of turn two. But he was able to regain the control of his car and the lead.

  With the final caution coming out on lap 15 for Reinneck’s spin in turn four, the final five laps were run under the green. The top five for the final restart were Smith Jr., Schaefer, Hoffman, Ratajczyk and Johnson.

  Smith went on to record his four win of the year while winning this race from the bottom of the track. His other wins have come while he was using the top of the track for his line. Following Smith Jr. to the line were Schaefer, Ratajczyk, Hoffman and Johnson to compete the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 21 cars on hand for the races. In the first heat, Paul Bauman took the win followed by Mike Harris, Denny Tribout, Brian Eaves, Dave Grzywacz, Chris Sale and Matt Tettaton. In the second heat, Joe Volluz took the checkered flag with Mark Benedick, Randy Tyson, Jeremy Dietzel, Bob Casey, Carl Wazum and Lonnie Casey trailing. The third heat went to Mike Jones with Chad Reum, Brian Shubirg, Mike Kuntz, Tom Smallwood, and Tony Sarkis in pursuit. The dash went to Volluz followed by Bauman, Jones, Benedick, Harris and Reum. The semi sent Seymour, L. Casey and Tettaton to the feature.

   The 15-lap feature started with Reum and Volluz on the front row. After a few restarts to get the race going, Reum took the early lead. Reum looked like he might be on his way to a third feature win, but that did not happen as he had a rear tire go flat on him with only a few laps to go. Harris inherited the lead and went on to win his first feature of the year. Harris was followed to the line by Benedick, Volluz, Jones and Bauman to complete the top five.

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August 27, 2004
 

   The racing continued on Friday night at Belle Clair Speedway despite the threat by Mother Nature. There were cars in the pits and fans in the stands and races to be won.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 18 car ready for the action. In the first heat, Aaron Kleine took the first win over Dan Dondero, Rick Standridge, Mike Schulte, Tim Ratajczyk, Kenny Helmick, Jim Gibson, Billy Laycock and Dewayne Kiefer. In the second heat, Don Klein took the victory followed by Don Hammer, Frankie Martin, John Lansford, Rick Salter, Mike Hammerle, Bob Brown, John Paule and Vince Grondzki. The dash went to Klein with Kleine, Martin, Hammer, Standridge and Dondero in tow.

  The 25-lap feature started with Martin and Klein on the front row. This pair would race together over the first few laps door handle to door handle with no one getting a true advantage. The first caution came on lap three when Hammer slowed with a flat rear tire. The running order of the top five was Martin, Klein, Standridge, Dondero and Kleine.

   On the restart, Martin contined to lead, but that was soon to change. On lap five, Standridge power his way out of turn two and pass leader Martin to take command. Standridge would not look back after that move.

  The race would get slowed down on lap six for debris after Laycock and Gibson tangled on the back straight and Laycock losing part of his nose off his car. The running order now was Standridge, Martin, Klein, Lansford and Dondero.

  More debris slowed the restart.

  As the race finally got going again, Standridge raced away from the field, but the car on the move was Lansford. Lansford started eighth and worked his way into the top five.

  As the next nine lap were run, Lansford move his way past Klein and then going out of turn four, he got under Martin for second place.

  The fourth caution came out on lap 15 for still more debris on the track. The running order was now Standridge, Lansford, Martin, Kleine, and Klein.

    The next eight laps were run with Standridge continuing to lead and looking for win number three. No change took place in the top five as these five cars were locked into their positions.

   The final caution came on lap 23 as the front bumper of Laycock got hooked on to the rear bumper of Hammer’s. The running order was still the same with two laps to go.

  Standridge went on to win his three feature of the year and back to back features. Lansford held on for second followed by Martin, Kleine and Klein to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 19 cars on hand for the program. In the first heat, Dave Thornton took the win followed by Dennt Tribout Jr., Mark Schaefer, Roger Fohne, Jim Morrison, and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Dean Hoffman took the victory over Marty Smith Jr., Mike Schulte, Chris England, Steve Ellison, Todd Gallius and Bob Johnson. The third heat went to Mark Clary with Tom Ratajczyk, Bobby Bittle, Chris Gray, Paul Reinneck and Dennis Tarrant in tow. The dash saw Hoffman get the win with Thornton, Smith Jr., Ratajczyk, Tribout Jr. and Clary following.

  The 20-lap feature started with Hoffman and Smith on the front row. This was the setup of a good race. At the dropping of the green flag, Smith went to the high side of the track and took the lead. Hoffman used to bottom of the track for his line.

  As the race went on, the front battle was worth the price of admission. Smith was fast on the top and Hoffman tried to maintain a close second on the bottom. This continued until the first caution on lap four when England spun in turn one. The running order was Smith, Hoffman, Thornton, Clary and Ratajczyk.

  As the race continued, The Smith and Hoffman show was continuing with Smith showing some power on the top and Hoffman steadying close on the bottom. On lap seven the second caution came out as Geaschel and England tangled on the front straight. The running order was still the same five cars.

  As the race restarted, the front two continued their show as Smith went to the top and Hoffman maintained the low line. This race was worth watching as it had two of the better drivers’ competing for the win. As the laps clicked off, Smith maintained his lead with Hoffman chasing him.

  At the checkers, it was Smith collecting his third feature win of the year. Hoffman finished second with Clary moving past Thornton for third and Bittle racing to fifth.

  In the Allied Sportsman class, there were 18 cars on hand. In the first heat, Chris Sale took the victory over David Grzywacz, Randy Tyson, Brian Eaves, Mark Benedick, Denny Tribout Sr., Scott Jones, Jeremy Dietzel and Matt Westscott. The second heat saw the win go to Brian Shubirg followed by Mike Harris, Paul Bauman, Mike Jones, Tom Smallwood, Chad Reum, Mike Kurtz, Lonnie Casey and Bob Casey. The dash went to Shubirg followed by Sale, Harris, Grzywacz, Bauman and Tyson.

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August 21, 2004
 

  The 2004 racing season continued at Belle Clair Speedway on Sunday night after Mother Nature wiped out the Friday night date. There was plenty of action on a rough track with new winners and new drivers. The racetrack had to be reworked twice as the corners and the front straight needed to be smoothed out.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 16 cars on hand, but John Lansford did not race after having engine problems after hot laps. In the first heat, Mike Schulte took the checkered flag with Don Klein, Mike Hammerle, Kenny Helmick, Micheal Kloos, Bob Brown, Jim Gibson and Billy Laycock in pursuit. In the second heat, the win went to Marc McClintock over Rick Standridge, Mark Voigt, Frankie Martin, Dan Dondero, Rick Salter and Dan Jacober. The dash went to Schulte over McClintock, Standridge, Voigt, Klein and Hammerle.

   The 25-lap feature started with Klein and McClintock on the front row. McClintock jumped to the early lead in his first event at Belle Clair this year.   The first of only three cautions came out on lap two as Kloos spun in turn four. The running order of the top five was McClintock, Klein, Standridge, Schults, and Voigt.

  The race continued with McClintock still in the lead, but Standridge would over take Klein for second. The next caution came out on lap five as once again Kloos spun in turn four and that sent him out of the race. The running order was now McClintock, Standridge, Klein, Shulte and Voigt.

  As the race resumed, McClintock continued to lead, Standridge was trying all kind of lines to over take McClintock. As the racing was continuing, twelfth starting Salter was using the bottom of the track to move forward.

  The next slow down came, as the engine of Dondero appeared to let go.

  From here the racing went green and the excitement began to build. Could McClintock become the 14^th different feature winner or would Standridge get his second win of the second?

  The race was a good one up front as the two leaders used the line that felt best to them. McClintock used mostly the lower side while Standridge used moslty the top side, but tried the low side in turn three a few times to pass McClintock.

  As the laps worn down, everyone was watching the battle for the win. As the white flag fell for the final lap, it was still McClintock in the lead, but Standridge was giving it his all to get by. On the final turn, Standridge somehow found the power to overtake McClintock and get his second win of the year.

  Finishing behind Standridge were McClintock, Martin, Schulte and Salter to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 24 car in the pits. The first heat went to Bobby Bittle over Rusty Griffaw, Mark Schaefer, Marty Smith Jr., Chris England, Steve Ellison, and Mark Lueck. In the second heat, Bobby Martintoni took the victory followed by Mark Clary, Dean Hoffman, Marty Smith Sr., Mike Schulte, Bob Geaschel, David Seger and Chad Fraunfelder. The third heat saw Scott Weber get the win with Bob Johnson, Paul Reinneck, Chris Gray, Dave Thornton, Danny Haynes, Stu Springer, and Denny Tribout Jr. trailing. The dash went to Bittle over Martintoni, Griffaw, Clary, Johnson and Weber. The semi sent Ellison, Geaschel and Haynes to the feature.

  The 20-lap feature started with Clary and Johnson on the front row. Clary took the early and never looked back.  The racing up front was a good battle between Clary and Martintoni with Clary staying in front.

  The first caution came out on lap five as Smith Sr. collided with the inside wall and was done for the night. The running order was Clary, Martintoni, Johnson, Bittle and Griffaw.

  Clary continued his dominance when the race continued with Martintoni continuing to pursuit Clary over every lap run.

  The next slow down came when top five running Griffaw slowed on the track and dropped out. The running order was now Clary, Martintoni, Johnson, Bittle and Hoffman.

   The race went green with Clary hanging on to the lead until lap11 when a three-car tangle happened in turn two. Schaefer, Gray and England got together after Schaefer lost control of his car. The running order was Clary, Martintoni, Bittle, Hoffman and Johnson.

  The race went green from here with Clary hanging on to the lead. As the laps wound down, Clary was heading to his first win of the year. When the checkered flag fell, Clary took the checkered flag for his first win this year. Following Clary was Martintoni, Bittle, Hoffman and Weber rounding out the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 20 cars on hand. In the first race, David Grzywacz took the win followed by Mike Harris, Randy Tyson, Mike Kurtz, Jeremy Dietzel and Paul Bauman. In the second heat, Chris Smith took the checkered flag over Mike Jones, Brian Shubirg, Brian Eaves, Shawn Seymour, Denny Tribout Sr., and Chad Reum. In the third heat, Mark Benedick got the victory followed by Lonnie Casey, Chris Sale, Bryan Slover, Tom Smallwood, Jeff Cook and Scott Jones. In the dash, Smith took to victory with Grzywacz, Harris, Benedick, Jones and L. Casey in tow. The semi sent Smallwood, Reum, and Tribout Sr. to the feature.

**********************************
August 15, 2004
 

  The 2004 St Clair County Fair rolled into town and the Fair race was held. The UMP Late Models ran a 100 lap race and the car counts were very good. The weather was better than normal as it was cool and not hot like it normally is for the event. The St. Clair Bowl and Bel Air Bowling alleys sponsored the event and Marathon Financial also added bonuses to all the classes.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 28 car on hand to try and make the event. In the first heat, Don Klein, the ageless one, won the race followed by Billy Laycock, John Crouch, Guy Taylor, Frankie Martin, John Paule and Kenny Helmick. In the second heat, Jim Morrison took the checkers with Randy Korte, Rick Standridge, Dan Dondero, Brent Kreke, Mike Schulte, and Ron Sensel in pursuit. In the third heat, Danny Haynes won with John Lansford, Mark Voigt, Dick Taylor, Vince Grondzki, Dewayne Kiefer in tow. The fourth heat saw the win go to Mike Hammerle over Kenny Rumble, Mark Oller, Rick Salter, Jim Gibson, Lenny Garson, and Joey Garson. The dash went to Morrison over Korte, Klein, Haynes, Hammerle, Laycock, Lansford, and Rumble. The semi sent Martin, Kreke and Helmick to the feature.

  The 100-lap race started with Rumble and Lansford on the front row. Rumble took the early lead and held the lead for 18 laps.  Haynes was the early car to put the pressure on Rumble for the lead. On lap 19, Haynes took control of the race to become the second leader.

  Haynes’ lead was short lived, as he became the first caution as he spun in turn one while leading. Haynes was the car to beat at this time in the race, but went in too hard and spun giving the lead back to Rumble.

The running order was Rumble, Lansford, Hammerle, Korte, and Voigt in the top five. Voigt started 11^th and moved forward fast and was in the top five in the first quarter of the race.

    Rumble continued to lead, but that was going to be changed, as Korte was on the move in the next segment of the race. Korte took the front on lap 37 to become the third driver to lead the race.

   The race continued under green for many laps with Voigt moving closer to the front. By lap 40 it was a battle between Korte and Voigt for the lead.  Voigt took control of the race on lap 44 and never looked back.

   As the race went on, Voigt would pull away from the rest of the field and began lapping cars. The next and final caution came out on lap 63 for debris on the track. The racing was clean and competitive as laps continued to click off.

  The running order was Voigt, Korte, Martin, Lansford, and Standridge in the top five. Martin’s run into the top five was a work of art as he started 17^th and just used a good line and to moved forward.

  The race went green from here to the checkered flag. Voigt was never challenged as he built a half track lead on the field. The race was for second with Korte maintaining that position, but Martin was working on him for the spot.

  At the checkered flag it was Voigt with the win and a check for $1500 and his fifth win of the year. Korte hung on for second with Martin Lansford and Standridge compleing the top five. Only two cars dropped out and 17 cars still on the track at the end.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 23 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Dean Hoffman took the win over Matt Mevert, Chris England, Bobby Johnson, Dennis Tarrant, Matt Verbeck, David Seger and Jason Brown. In the second heat, Chad Fraunfelder got the victory with Mark Schaefer, Marty Smith, Ryan Driemeyer, Mark Gansmann, Chris Smith, Chris Gray and Bob Geaschel in pursuit. In the third heat, Bobby Bittle won followed by Dave Thornton, Denny Tribout Jr., Tom Ratajczyk, Mark Clary, Steve Ellison, and Eric Goetter. In the dash, Hoffman to the victory followed by Bittle, Mevert, Fraunfelder, Thornton and Schaefer. The semi sent C. Smith, Ellison and Gray to the feature.

   The front row consisted of Bittle and Fraunfelder for the 20-lap race. On the dropping of the green flag, Bittle jumped into the lead and never looked back despite four cautions.

  The race did not last long before the first caution would come out on lap 2 for a tangle in turn four between Tarrant, Clary and Gansmann. Gansmann would not return to the race. The running order was Bittle,  Fraunfelder, Thornton, Schaefer, and England.

  As the race continued, Bittle maintained the lead but Thornton moved into second Hoffman moving into the top five as well as Mevert.

  The next caution came out for Johnson, who spun in turn one on lap 10. Now the running order was Bittle, Thornton, Hoffman, Mevert and England.

   As the race continued, Bittle continued to have command of the race with the same four cars battling behind him for the lead. Over the next eight laps the same drivers tried to find a way to overcome Bitle but could not accomplish the task.

**********************************
August 6, 2004
 

   The racing continued at Belle Clair Speedway with lots of cars and plenty of action. And again there was new winners and new drivers.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 22 cars on hand for the night of racing. In the first eat, Frankie Martin took the win over Mark Voigt, Mike Schulte, Mike Hammerle, Rick Salter, Kenny Rumbel, John Paule, and Rick Standridge. In the second heat, it was Jim Morison taking the victory with Dan Jacober, Bob Brown, Billy Laycock, Aaron Kleine, John Lansford, and John Crouch in tow. It the third heat, Brent Kreke took the checkers followed by Don Klein, Kenny Helmick, Vince Grondzki, Dan Dondero, Jim Gibson and Ron Jarrell. In the dash, Martin took the win followed by Morrison, Voigt, Klein, Jacober and Kreke. The semi sent Lansford, Rumble and Crouch to the feature.

   The 25-lap feature started with Klein and Jacober on the front row. Klein took the early lead, but there were challenges coming from Kreke, Voigt and Martin.

   Klein held the lead for about six laps before Kreke took over the command of the race. Kreke was followed by Voigt to challenge for the victory.

  The racing action was good up front as Kreke and Voigt put on a battle for the lead that was slowed on lap 13. Involved in the tangle in turn three were Kleine, Laycock and Schulte. Kleine would retire from the race at this point. The running order was Kreke, Voigt, Klein, Martin and Morrison at this time in the race.

    On the restart, Kreke continued to command the race, but Voigt was applying the pressure. On lap 16, Voigt and Kreke tangled in turn one with Voigt receiving a cut left rear tire forcing him to retire from the race.

   This is where the action got out of control. Voigt was upset about the incident and was sitting in turn four. Kreke came around the track and stop on the front straight. Voigt then rammed into Kreke’s car in retaliation for the incident. Voigt was then disqualified from the race. A little heated discussion took place in the inside pit area, but nothing more came out of it than words.

  The running order was Kreke, Klein, Martin, Morrison and Grondzki for the restart.

  Over the remaining nine laps, Martin would use the higher line on the track to get around Klein. Grondzki also made a move to pass Morrison. Grondzki was the man on the move as he started 12^th and moved though the field to move into the top five by lap 16.

  Kreke went on to take his first win of 2004 at Belle Clair Speedway and become the 13^th different Late Model driver to win a feature this year. 13^th different winner for car number 13. Martin, Klein, Grondzki and Morrison followed Kreke across the finish line.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 21 cars on hand for the event. In the first heat, Steve Ellison took the win followed by Chris Gray, Stu Springer, Marty Smith Jr., Chris England, and Jason Brown. In the second heat, it was won by Denny Tribout Jr. with Mark Clary, Tom Ratajczyk, Chris Smith, Chad Fraunfelder, Bob Geaschel and Bob Teutraine in tow. In the third heat, Bobby Bittle got the victory over Dean Hoffman, Mark Schaefer, Dave Thornton, Bobby Johnson, Dennis Tarrant and David Seger. In the dash, Bittle won over Hoffman, Tribout Jr., Ellison, Clary and Gray.

   The 20-lap feature started with Bittle and Ellison on the front row. Ellison jumped to the early lead followed closely by Bittle.

   The first caution came out on lap 2 for a spinning Teutraine in turn four. The running order was Ellison, Bittle, Clary, Tribout and Hoffman.

   On the restart, Ellison tried to hold the lead, but Bittle took command and never looked back no matter who was chasing him.

  The next caution came out after the next lap was in the books for Seger’s spin in turn four. The change in the running order was Bittle had the lead over Ellison.

   Bittle continued to lead, but the race was stopped again before it really started to become a race as Johnson, Geaschel and Tarrant tangled in turn three on the next lap. The same running order was still lined up on the track.

   Bittle continued the lead, but the top five was about to change as second place, Ellison spun in turn two. Now the running order was Bittle, Clary, Tribout, Hoffman and Gray to continue the race.

  The race went green again until lap nine when C. Smith and Scheafer got together and slowed the race again. Now the running order changed, because Hoffman moved into third place and M. Smith moved to the top over the track and was in fourth.

  During the final laps, Marty Smith put on a show as he was the only driver to use the top of the track and go forward. Smith got into second place over the last few laps and was challenging Bittle for the lead. With the checkered flag coming out Smith tried to get by Bittle for the win, but the two made contact and Smith’s engine stopped.

**********************************
August 1, 2004
 

  The weekly racing program again was moved to Sunday night as Mother Nature dropped a whole lot of moisture on the area on Friday. There was a still lot of action and another first.

     The program started with a tribute to the fallen lives of Randy ‘Caveman’ Tyson and baby Drew Laycock. Drivers brought their cars to the track and waved checker flags and rev’ed their engines to say good bye to them.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were cars on hand. In the first heat, Rick Standridge got the victory over John Landsford, Vince Grondzki, Don Klein, Mike Schulte, Lenny Garson and Jim Morrison. In the second heat, Mark Voigt to the checkered flag followed by Mike Hammerle, Frankie Martin, Dan Jacober, Jim Gibson, Rick Salter and Mark Steinwagner. The third heat went to Brent Kreke with Dan Dondero, Ron Jarrell, Kenny Helick, John Paule and Bob Brown in pursuit. The dash went Voigt followed by Standridge, Hammerle, Kreke, Landsford and Dondero. The semi sent Salter, Garson, and Morrison to the rear of the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Kreke and Standridge on the front row. Kreke to the early lead and looked like a possible new winner, but Standridge, Landsford and Voigt were applying pressure.

  The only caution came out on lap 4 when Grondzki spun in turn two. The running order was Kreke, Standridge, Landsford, Voigt and Martin.

   On the restart, it was Kreke continuing to lead, but Standridge was pressuring him for the lead. Kreke ran the bottom and Standridge ran outside. This went on for several laps.

  The change in the race happened about lap 10 as the pair came out of turn four and approached lap traffic. Standridge was able take over the lead and went on to become the 12^th different feature winner in the Late Model class this year. Standridge has finished as the runner up at least three times this year.

  Following Standridge across the finish line were Kreke, Voigt, Landsford and Martin to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 15 cars ready to race. In the first heat, Mark Clary got the victory over Dave Thornton, Chad Fraunfelder, Mark Schaefer, Matt Verbeck, Brian Hiezer and Steve Ellison. In the second heat, Chris England took the checkers followed by Marty Smith Jr., Bobby Bittle, Dean Hoffman, Chris Gray, David Seger, Matt Acord and Jason Brown. In the dash, Smith took the win with Clary, Bittle, Thornton, England and Fraunfelder in tow.

  The feature started with Thornton and Bittle on the front row and only 13 cars starting. Bittle took the lead and never looked back even though Hoffman was right on his rear bumper the whole way.

  The first caution came out early for Brown’s spin in turn four. The running order was Bittle, Hoffman, Clary, Smith and Gray.

  Bittle continued his lead on the restart on the bottom of the track with Hoffman trying to get under Bittle with no luck.

  The next slow down came a few laps latter when Verbeck and Acord got together in turn two. The running order was still the same with Bittle in front.

  During the next green period, Bittle and Hoffman continued the battle on the low side, but Smith took to the top and moved into third passed Clary.

  The final caution flew for Acord’s spin in turn four on lap 15. The running order was Bittle, Hoffman, Smith, Clary and Gray in the top five.

  The race ended in that order with Bittle getting his fourth feature win of the year.

  In the Sportsmen class, there were 17 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Mike Jones took the victory over Chad Reum, Denny Tribout Sr., Shawn Seymour, Joe Volluz, Lonnie Casey, Mark Benedick, and Chris Sale. In the second heat, the win went to Tom Smallwood followed by Mike Harris, Paul Bauman, Brian Shubirg, Mike Kurtz, Brian Eaves, David Grzywacz, Jeremy Dietzel and Randy Tyson. The dash went to Smallwood over Reum, Jones, Bauman, Harris and Tribout Sr.

   The feature started with Tribout Sr. and Harris on the front row. Tribout took the very early lead, but only held it for a short time. Reum took the lead using the low side of the track and went on to win his second feature of the year over Harris, Bauman, Smallwood and Seymour.

**********************************
July 23, 2004
 

   The racing continued on a cool July summer’s night and new things happened that made several drivers a little happier. The complete program was able to be completed without the interruption of Mother Nature.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 21 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Rick Standridge got the win followed by Aaron Kleine, Mark Voigt, Mark Steinwagner, Mike Hammerle, Don Klein, and John Crouch. In the second heat, the win went to Brent Kreke over Rick Salter, Dan Dondero, Jeff Sloan, Jim Gibson, Bob Brown and Ron Jarrell. He third heat saw the win go to Frankie Martin followed by John Landsford, Jim Morrison, Mike Shulte, Kenny Helmick, John Pitts and Vince Grondzki. The dash was won by Standridge with Kleine, Kreke, Martin, Landsford and Salter in tow. The semi sent Hammerle, Jarrell and Crouch to the feature.

  The front row lined up with Landsford and Kleine. The first few laps were run with side-by-side racing for the lead with no real driver taking the lead. The first slow down came for debris on the track. The running order was Landsford, Kleine, Kreke, Martin and Standridge in the top first for the restart.

  The racing went green for the next 20 so laps with Kreke getting second after Kleine tried to climb the outside walls in turn two and down the back straight.

  The racing for the lead between Landsford and Kreke was some of the best of the year as the pair raced on the bottom of the track and never bumped. Kreke had a few chances to pull up along side of Landsford, but they did not work as Landsford continued his lead.

   Voigt made the best forward movement as he started seventh and moved forward to get into the top five while using several lines on the track.

  As the race was running out of laps, Landsford was looking at his first possible win. The only other caution appeared on lap 23 as Gibson spun out in turn four after contact with another car. The running order was Landsford, Kreke, Voigt, Standridge, and Martin in the top five.

  With two laps to complete, Landsford continued to hold his line and went on to win his first ever feature in a Late Model and his first in his rookie season. Landsford began the tenth feature winner in the Late Model class at Belle Clair Speedway in the 2004 season. This has been a very good year for producing new and different winners in this class at Belle Clair.

   Following Landsford to the checker flag was Kreke, Voigt, Standridge and Martin to complete the top five finishers. Only two cars dropped out during the 25-lap race.

  Belle Clair Speedway has become a good place to race as a rookie in the UMP Late Model division as Kenny Helmick Steve Maisel and Jim Morrison have also accomplished the same feat in the last four years.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 21 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Bobby Bittle took the win followed by Chris Gray, Dennis Tarrant, Roger Fohne, Stee Ellison, Mark Clary, and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the checkers with Mark Schaefer, Dave Thornton, Paul Reinneck, Matt Mevert, Chris Smith, and Jason Brown in tow. The third heat saw Marty Smith Jr. with the win with Dean Hoffman, Chris England, Denny Tribout Jr., Matt Weidner, David Seger, and Marty Smith Sr. trailing. The dash went to Bittle over Ratajczyk, Smith, Hoffman, Schaefer and Clary. The semi sent Ellison, C. Smith, Seger and Smith to the feature as Clary was unable to get his car to the starting line in time for the feature.

   The front row of the 20-lap feature started with Ratajczyk and Smith Jr. The lead was not controlled for about three laps as the front two ran head-to-head for those laps. Smith used to top of the track for his line of choice and it worked well for him as he took the lead and never looked back once in the lead. Ratajczyk and Hoffman put on a battle for the second spot.

   Smith used the top of the track line for most of the race, but did try the low side once and found it not to his liking.  The race for second was the battle to watch as Hoffman and Ratajczyk used different lines for their racing. Ratajczyk used the bottom and Hoffman tried the bottom, middle and top of the track to take control of second.

  The only car to move forward was 10^th starting Mevert. He used all of the lines, but used the middle for most of his passes to get into the top five.

  This race went 20 laps of green flag racing as Smith got his second win of the year. Ratajczyk made a strong run out of turn four to take second from Hoffman with Bittle, and Mevert rounding out the top five. 

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 16 cars on hand. In the first heat, Paul Bauman took the win followed by Denny Tribout Sr., Brian Shubirg, Mike Jones, Chris Sale, Chad Reum, Randy Tyson and Lonnie Casey. In the second heat, David Grzywacz took the victory over Chad Fraunfelder, Tom Smallwood, Mike Harris, Mike Kurtz, Shawn Seymour, Brian Eaves and Joe Vollus. The dash went to Bauman over Grzywacz, Fraunfelder, Shubirg, Tribout and Smallwood.

  The 15-lap feature started with Fraunfelder and Shubirg on the front row. Third starting and point leader, Bauman took the early lead and never looked back. After several back-to-back cautions and what was starting to look like one lap completion and then a caution was going to be the race scenario for this race. Then the drivers got down to racing and Bauman took his ninth feature of the year. Following Bauman were Grzywacz, Sale, Reum and Shubirg to complete the top five. Reum was the charger of the night in this class as he started 11^th and finished fourth. Sale started one row in front of Reum and also made good forward progress.

   The racing continued on a cool July summer’s night and new things happened that made several drivers a little happier. The complete program was able to be completed without the interruption of Mother Nature.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 21 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Rick Standridge got the win followed by Aaron Kleine, Mark Voigt, Mark Steinwagner, Mike Hammerle, Don Klein, and John Crouch. In the second heat, the win went to Brent Kreke over Rick Salter, Dan Dondero, Jeff Sloan, Jim Gibson, Bob Brown and Ron Jarrell. He third heat saw the win go to Frankie Martin followed by John Landsford, Jim Morrison, Mike Shulte, Kenny Helmick, John Pitts and Vince Grondzki. The dash was won by Standridge with Kleine, Kreke, Martin, Landsford and Salter in tow. The semi sent Hammerle, Jarrell and Crouch to the feature.

  The front row lined up with Landsford and Kleine. The first few laps were run with side-by-side racing for the lead with no real driver taking the lead. The first slow down came for debris on the track. The running order was Landsford, Kleine, Kreke, Martin and Standridge in the top first for the restart.

  The racing went green for the next 20 so laps with Kreke getting second after Kleine tried to climb the outside walls in turn two and down the back straight.

  The racing for the lead between Landsford and Kreke was some of the best of the year as the pair raced on the bottom of the track and never bumped. Kreke had a few chances to pull up along side of Landsford, but they did not work as Landsford continued his lead.

   Voigt made the best forward movement as he started seventh and moved forward to get into the top five while using several lines on the track.

  As the race was running out of laps, Landsford was looking at his first possible win. The only other caution appeared on lap 23 as Gibson spun out in turn four after contact with another car. The running order was Landsford, Kreke, Voigt, Standridge, and Martin in the top five.

  With two laps to complete, Landsford continued to hold his line and went on to win his first ever feature in a Late Model and his first in his rookie season. Landsford began the tenth feature winner in the Late Model class at Belle Clair Speedway in the 2004 season. This has been a very good year for producing new and different winners in this class at Belle Clair.

   Following Landsford to the checker flag was Kreke, Voigt, Standridge and Martin to complete the top five finishers. Only two cars dropped out during the 25-lap race.

  Belle Clair Speedway has become a good place to race as a rookie in the UMP Late Model division as Kenny Helmick Steve Maisel and Jim Morrison have also accomplished the same feat in the last four years.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 21 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Bobby Bittle took the win followed by Chris Gray, Dennis Tarrant, Roger Fohne, Stee Ellison, Mark Clary, and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the checkers with Mark Schaefer, Dave Thornton, Paul Reinneck, Matt Mevert, Chris Smith, and Jason Brown in tow. The third heat saw Marty Smith Jr. with the win with Dean Hoffman, Chris England, Denny Tribout Jr., Matt Weidner, David Seger, and Marty Smith Sr. trailing. The dash went to Bittle over Ratajczyk, Smith, Hoffman, Schaefer and Clary. The semi sent Ellison, C. Smith, Seger and Smith to the feature as Clary was unable to get his car to the starting line in time for the feature.

   The front row of the 20-lap feature started with Ratajczyk and Smith Jr. The lead was not controlled for about three laps as the front two ran head-to-head for those laps. Smith used to top of the track for his line of choice and it worked well for him as he took the lead and never looked back once in the lead. Ratajczyk and Hoffman put on a battle for the second spot.

   Smith used the top of the track line for most of the race, but did try the low side once and found it not to his liking.  The race for second was the battle to watch as Hoffman and Ratajczyk used different lines for their racing. Ratajczyk used the bottom and Hoffman tried the bottom, middle and top of the track to take control of second.

  The only car to move forward was 10^th starting Mevert. He used all of the lines, but used the middle for most of his passes to get into the top five.

  This race went 20 laps of green flag racing as Smith got his second win of the year. Ratajczyk made a strong run out of turn four to take second from Hoffman with Bittle, and Mevert rounding out the top five. 

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 16 cars on hand. In the first heat, Paul Bauman took the win followed by Denny Tribout Sr., Brian Shubirg, Mike Jones, Chris Sale, Chad Reum, Randy Tyson and Lonnie Casey. In the second heat, David Grzywacz took the victory over Chad Fraunfelder, Tom Smallwood, Mike Harris, Mike Kurtz, Shawn Seymour, Brian Eaves and Joe Vollus. The dash went to Bauman over Grzywacz, Fraunfelder, Shubirg, Tribout and Smallwood.

  The 15-lap feature started with Fraunfelder and Shubirg on the front row. Third starting and point leader, Bauman took the early lead and never looked back. After several back-to-back cautions and what was starting to look like one lap completion and then a caution was going to be the race scenario for this race. Then the drivers got down to racing and Bauman took his ninth feature of the year. Following Bauman were Grzywacz, Sale, Reum and Shubirg to complete the top five. Reum was the charger of the night in this class as he started 11^th and finished fourth. Sale started one row in front of Reum and also made good forward progress.

**********************************
July 16, 2004
 

  Another night of racing occurred at Belle Clair Speedway, but as occurred a few weeks ago, it was also a race against Mother Nature.  There was weather approaching from the west and moving down Route 15, but it was the race or the weather and it got interesting.

  In the UMP Late model pits, there were 20 car on hand. In the first heat, Frankie Martin took the win over Micheal Kloos, Mike Hammerle, Rick Salter, Vince Grondzki, Tait Davenport and Billy Lacock. In the second heat, Jim Gibson took the victory followed by Don Klein, Kenny Helmick, John Paule, Mike Schulte, Mark Steinwagner and Chad Burks. In the third heat, Mark Voigt got the win with Rick Standridge, Jeff Sloan, Dan Jacober and Dan Dondero trailing. The dash went to Martin over Klein, Gibson, Voigt, Standridge and Kloos. The semi sent Davenport, Steinwagner and Laycock to the feature.

  The feature started with Klein and Standridge on the front row. The first start resulted in a tangle on the front straight that sent Hammerle out of the race before it really began.

  On the second start, Standridge jumped to the early lead and looked like he could get his first feature win of the year.

  There was no yellow light and no yellow flags again in this race as the race went green again. As the laps clicked off, it was Mark Voigt that had the car to beat as he took the lead while using lapped traffic to get by Standridge.

  Voigt went on to collect his fourth checked flag for the year and moved past Frankie Martin in the feature wins total. There are ten different feature winners at Belle Clair Speedway this year in the Late Model division and only three drivers have won more than once. Voigt now has four, Martin has three and Hammerle has two to lead the category of feature wins.

  Vince Grondzki made the move of the night as he started 14^th and moved steadily though the field to move into the top five. Mike Schulte, also, had a good night after starting 16^th, he finished in sixth. Schulte had engine problems two weeks ago and had to rebuild the engine.

   Voigt got the win with Standridge holding on for second. Completing the top five were Martin, Grondzki and Klein.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 20 cars on hand for the race. In the first heat, Bobby Bittle took the win followed by Dave Thornton, Matt Mevert, Mark Clary, Matt Wiedner, Bobby Johnson and Steve Ellison. In the second heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the checkered flag with Mark Schaefer, Chris Gray, Chris Smith, David Seger, Dennis Tarrant, and Jason Brown in tow. The third heat saw the victory go to Tom Ratajczyk followed by Roger Fohne, Chris England, Dean Hoffman, Paul Reinneck and Denny Tribout Jr. The dash went to Bittle with Ratajczyk, Smith Jr., Thornton, Schaefer and Fohne trailing. The semi sent Tribout Jr., Ellison and Johnson to the feature.

  The 20-lap feature saw the front row consist of Thornton and Fohne. This was not the feature race that anybody wanted to race nor watch. The race began, but so did the moisture. Attempts were made to get the race in, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

  Thornton took the early lead, but the racing was slowed on lap two with Gray spinning in turn three. The racing order was Thornton, Smith, Fohne, Bittle and Mevert.

  As the race was quickly restarted, Thornton continued to lead, but debris on the tracked slowed the race again, but the weather was beginning to get a little worst. The race order was Thornton, Smith, Fohne, Bittle and Mevert.

  As the moisture started to get a little heavier, every attempt was made to at least get the race to an official completion point so the event would not be reschedule. A few laps later, Mevert spun in turn two. The race order was Thornton, Bittle, Fohne, Smith Jr. and England.

  For the second week in a row, Smith Jr. had a rear tire go flat on him and he retired. As the moisture got heavier, the midway point in the race was reached and the checkered flag fell over Bittle for his third victory of the year. Following Bittle were Fohne, Thornton, England and Ratajczyk to complete the top five in weather shortened race.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 15 cars in the pits. The first heat went to Mike Kurtz over Chris Sale, Tom Smallwood, Brian Shubirg, Jeremy Dietzel, Shawn Seymour, Chad Fraunfelder, and Rich Tettaton. In the second heat, Paul Bauman took the win followed by Joe Volluz, Mike Harris, David Grzywasz, Brian Eaves, Lonnie Casey and Denny Tribout Sr.  The dash went to Bauman over Sale, Smallwood, Volluz, Harris and Kurtz.

  Mother Nature again wiped out the feature that will be made up next week.

  This Thursday, the All Star Sprint car series will be at Belle Clair Speedway. That is 410 ci of winged Sprint cars on a 1/5 mile banked dirt track. Be there to watch the action.

**********************************
July 9, 2004
 

 The racing continued at Belle Clair Speedway despite the hot weather that finally arrived. The racing was hot and there were lots of cars in the pits.

  In the UMP Late Model pits, there were 21 cars on hand. In the first heat, Mark Voigt got the win followed by Rick Standridge, Rick Salter, Ron Jarrell, Bob Brown and John Landsford. In the second heat, only two cars finished the race. Billy Laycock won with Jeff Sloan trailing, Dan Jacober, John Paule and Frankie Martin did not finish with Kenny Helmick and Mark Steinwagner disqualified. In the third heat, Aaron Kleine won over Mike Hammerle, Dan Dondero, Jim Morrison, Don Klein, Vince Grondzki and Jim Gibson. Ih the dash, Voigt won again with Kleine, Sloan, Hammerle, Laycock and Standridge in pursuit. The semi sent Landsford, Gibson and Helmick to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Laycock and Sloan on the front row. Laycock took the early lead followed by Hammerle and Sloan.

   The first of several cautions happened on lap 3 as Jarrell spun in turn two with Kleine and Dandore involved. The running order was Laycock, Hammerle, Standridge, Voigt and Jacober in the top five.

   The race continued with Laycock continuing the lead but the race was slowed on lap five as Paule spun in turn two taking Helmick with him. The running order continued the same.

   The next caution came on lap eight with Jacober hitting the outside wall in turn four. By this time Voigt had moved though the field. The running order was now Laycock, Voigt, Standridge, Morrison and Slater.

  When racing resumed, Laycock continued in the front, but on lap 10 Voigt took over command and was never headed after that. Standridge was also moving forward as he moved into second during the next green flag period.

   As the green stayed out for ten laps, there was movement in the field behind the front three. Martin was on the outside moving into the top five from his 14^th starting spot.  Salter was also gaining some ground moving into fifth.

   The next slow down was on lap 18 when Kleine hit the inside wall in turn two hard and knocked off his front bumper. The running order was Voigt, Standridge, Laycock, Martin and Salter.

   As the racing started up again, Voigt continued his mission on a sweep by jumping to a commanding lead. On lap 22, the top five changed as third running Laycock spun in turn 4. The running order now was Voigt, Standridge, Martin, Slater and 16^th starting Landsford.

  Over the remaining three laps nothing changed in the top five and Voigt used his broom to get the sweep for the night. Standridge, Martin, Salter and Landsford completed the top five. That was Voigt’s third feature win of the year at Belle Clair.

   In the UMP Modified pits, there were 22 cars available for the racing.  In the first heat, Wayne Downing took the win followed by Steve Ellison, Marty Smith Jr., Chris Gray, Dennis Tarrant, David Seger, Deny Tribout Sr. and Jason Brown. In the second heat, Bobby Johnson got a win over Tom Ratajczyk, Paul Reinneck, Chris England, Chris Smith and Stu Springer. In the third heat, Bobby Bittle won with Dean Hoffman, Mark Schaefer, Matt Mevert, Bob Geaschel, Matt Verbeck and Dave Thornton in tow. The dash went to Bittle over Ratajczyk, Downing, Ellison, Hoffman and Johnson. The semi sent C. Smith, Thornton and Seger to the feature.

    The feature started with Hoffman and Johnson on the front row. Hoffman jumped into the lead with the dropping of the green flag and he never looked back.

    The first caution came out early as Downing lost a drive shaft and slowed going into turn three and caused a big pileup the saw Downing and Clary leave the race. The running order was Hoffman, Bittle, Johnson, M. Smith and Ratajczyk in the top five.

   When racing continued, Hoffman continued his lead with Bittle in pursuit. Johnson was holding his own, but the cars of Mevert and England were on the forward movement. 12^th starting Mevert was moving though traffic on his way to the top five. While that was going on, 14^th starting England was using the middle groove to advance.

  The only other caution came out on lap 12, as M. Smith slowed due to a left rear flat tire. The running order was Hoffman, Bittle, Johnson, Mevert and England.

   Over the next eight laps, Johnson was shuttled back sixth place as Mevert and England moved forwarded and Reinneck also got by Johnson to move into the top five.

   Hoffman went on to win his 10^th feature of the 2004 racing season and sixth in a row. Bittle finished in second with Mevert, England and Reinneck rounding out the top five.

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 18 cars available. In the first heat, Joe Volluz took the win over Denny Tribout Sr., Jeremy Dietzel, Lonnie Casey, Larry Schaefer and Brian Gibson. In the second heat, Brian Eaves took the checkered flag followed by Mike Harris, Tom Smallwood, Pat Seymour, Mike Kurtz and Chris Sale. In the third heat, the win went to Mike Jones over Paul Bauman, David Grzywacz, Randy Tyson, Brian Shubirg, and Chad Reum. The dash went to Eaves followed by Jones, Volluz, Harris, Bauman and Tribout Sr.

   The race started with Harris and Jones on the front row. Harris took the early lead looked like he could be on his way to his first feature of 2004. However, that was not to be as third starting Bauman took over the lead and went on to win his eighth feature of the year.

   The big event of this race was the engine letting go in Sale’s car in turn two on lap 11. The car went up in flames and the Allied crew work fast to put the fire out without anyone getting hurt. Sale was not hurt, but could be out for a while.

  Bauman won the event with Harris finishing second followed by Grzywacz, Eaves and Smallwood to complete the top five.

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July 2, 2004
 

It was mid season championship night at Belle Clair Speedway for the UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds and the night was being chased by Mother Nature as storms were all around the area. With it being the July 4 weekend and the championship night and the threat of weather, car counts were down a little.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were only 18 cars on hand, but one did not get to race and one only made the feature. The heat races did not count towards the feature lineup like other nights as the dash and feature lined up by track points. In the first heat, Jim Morrison won followed by Ron Jarrell, Rick Salter, Don Klein, Mike Hammerle, Dewayne Kiefer, Dan Jacober, Jim Gibson and Kenny Helmick. In the second heat, Dan Dondero took the checkered flag over Rick Standridge, Aaron Kleine, Billy Laycock, Jeff Sloan, Frankie Martin and Mark Steinwagner. In the dash, it was the top six in track point and they started in inverted order. The six-lap race was won by Standridge followed by Salter, Laycock, Martin Hammerle and Helmick.

  The 25-lap feature lined up in point order though the first 12 spots. On the front row were Martin and Hammerle. For the first few laps, no one really much of an advantage, but finally Hammerle took command and tried not to look back.

   As the race continued, Hammerle was holding off the challenges of first Standridge and then Martin. Hammerle used the low line for his line while Standridge was on the top and then Martin was on the top and middle trying to get by Hammerle.

  The first slowdown came on lap 12 for a spinning Steinwagner in turn 3. The running order was Hammerle, Standridge, Martin, Helmick, and Laycock.

  As the green came out again, Hammerle continued to use the low line. Martin got by Standridge for second. The race only last three laps before the next stoppage.

  Kiefer slowed on the front straight away and stopped with car problems. The running order now was Hammerle, Martin, Stnadridge, Helmick, and Laycock.

  The restart saw Hammerle continue to hold off Martin as Martin was doing everything he could to get by Hammerle. Martin tried the high line and then he used the middle, but nothing gave him the forward movement he need to take over the lead.

  The final caution came on lap 23 as Jacober hit the outside wall hard in turn two. Jacobor retired after that hit. The running order was now Hammerle, Martin, Helmick, Standridge and Kleine in the top five.

  With just two laps to the checkered flag, Hammerle continued his lead and took the second checkered falg of the year. Martin hung on to finish second followed by Helmick, Standridge and Kleine to round out the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 21 cars available. In the first heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the win with Dave Thornton, Marty Smith Jr., Stave Ellison, David Seger, Chris Smith, and Wayne Downing in tow. In the second heat, Mark Schaefer took the checkers ahead of Bobby Bittle, Denny Tribout Jr., Chris Gray, Marty Smith Sr., Denny Tarrant and Bobby Johnson. The third heat saw the win go to Paul Reinneck, over Stu Springer, Chris England, Dean Hoffman, Mark Clary, and Bob Greaschel. The dash was for the top six in points and they started inverted. The win went to Thornton over Clary, Bittle, Gray, Hoffman, and Smith Jr.

    The 20-lap feature started with the two point leaders on the front row, Hoffman and Bittle. Bittle took the lead from the outside of the front row.

   The racing continued until lap 5 when Ellison hit the outside wall hard in turn one hard and was done for the night. The running order was Bittle, Hoffman, Clary, Smith Jr. and Gray.

  Bittle continued to lead running on the bottom, but Hoffman was also using the same line and pressuring Bittle lap after lap. The next and last caution came on lap 8 for Clary’s spin in turn two.

  The running order was still Bittle, Hoffman, Smith, Gray and England. The green let Bittle continue his lead, but that would be only temporary as Hoffman was putting on the pressure once again. On lap 12, Hoffman finally took over the lead and would go on to record his track leading 9 feature wins.

  Bittle followed Hoffman over the line. Seventh starting England made the moves of the night to take third followed by Smith and Thornton to complete the top five.

   The Sportsmen feature did not get completed as Mother Nature wiped out the rest of the program. The feature started, but only a few laps could be run before the track got too slick to run on and then a heavy drown pour completely wiped everything out. 

  The new start times helped as features started about eight thirty and could have gotten complete in plenty of time before the 11:00 P.M. curfew. The start times are now 6:30 hot laps and racing at 7:00 P.M. until things at improved with the event timing.

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June 20, 2004
 

  The UMP Challenge of Champions tour came to Belle Clair Speedway for the first time and for the first ever Belle Clair Speedway paid the largest purse in it’s 56 year history. The race was scheduled for Friday, but Mother Nature had other ideas about that and lets a late afternoon down pour reschedule the race to Sunday.

   In the UMP Late Model division, a new event came back to Belle Clair Speedway for the first time in many years. Time trails were held and Rodney Melvin set fast time at 12.260 seconds around the 1/5 mile banked dirt track. Melvin now holds the track record.

     The dash was set to determine who would move on to the 30 lap feature.  The dash was won by Mark Voigt. The dash also sent Kenny Helmick, Frankie Martin, Billy Laycock, Melvin and Mark Faust went on to the feature.

  The heat races and time trails took care of three cars and thus no need for a semi as Mark Oller encounter front-end damage during his heat race. Vince Grondzki had engine problems after qualifying. Jimmy Burwell dropped out of his heat race with problems.

    The 20-car field started with Voigt and Helmick on the front row. Helmick jumped to a slim lead on the start, but the racing did not last long as Martin got hit in turn two and was too damaged to continue and was the first car out.

  On the restart, the top five were Helmick, Voigt, Laycock, Faust and Melvin. The restart failed as Voigt came up with transmission problems and he was out.

  On the next restart, Helmick continued to lead. The driver on the move was Melvin as he moved into second by lap 10. As one third of the race had clicked off, the running order was Helmick, Melvin, Faust, Laycock and Hammerle. The race was running green and the lead cars were running into lapped traffic.

   Helmick was holding his own trying to maintain the lead, but Melvin was too much for Helmick to hold off and Melvin took command on lap 20.

   The only additional caution came out on lap 23 as Dick Taylor and Jim Gibson got together in turn four. The running order was Melvin, Helmick, Faust, Hammerle, and Laycock in the top five.

    With seven laps to go, Melvin continued to lead the 30-lap race and went on to collect his second win of the Challenge of Champions mini series.  Following Melvin across the finish line was Helmick, Faust, Hammerle and Laycock to round out the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 16 cars in the pits. In the first heat race, Bobby Bittle took the win over Marty Smith, Mark Clary, Dean Hoffman, Denny Tribout Jr., Bobby Johnson, Chris England and Jason Smith. In the second heat, Chris Gray won followed by Mark Schaefer, Matt Wiedner, Brian Heizer, Paul Reinneck, Dave Thornton, Steve Ellison, and David Seger. The dash went to Bittle with Smith, Schaefer, Gray, Wiedner, and Clary trailing.

  The 20-lap feature race started with Clary and Gray in the front row. Clary took the early lead followed by Bittle and Smith. This race started out to be follow-the-leader, but that changed and became a good race.

  On lap 8, Reinneck lost it in turn four and that was the turning point of this race. At this point the running order was Clary, Bittle, Smith, seventh starting, Hoffman and Gray.

  On the restart, Clary continued his lead, but things change from here as Smith went to the top of the track and started his move forward. Smith passed Bittle for second and Bittle moved up the track to follow Smith. Smith took the lead on lap 10 and was hoping he had this one in the bag.

  On lap 13, Hiezer spun in turn three slowing the race for the last time. Smith continued to run the top with Bittle in tow. However, Hoffman was using the bottom to move closer to the lead. England was also on the move as he was using the middle of the track to gain spots from his 13^th starting spot.

  The race was winding down, but the action was getting hotter as Smith and Bittle continued to run one and two on the top, but Hoffman was gaining on them on the bottom. On lap 19, Hoffman made the pass on the bottom to take the lead.

   Hoffman took the checkered flag for his seventh feature win of the season. Smith, Bittle, England and Clary rounded out the top five in one of the best Modified features of the year.

    In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 26 cars on hand.  In the first heat, Dave Grzywacz took the win followed by Chad Reum, Tom Smallwood, Brian Shubirg, Mark Benedick, Rich Tettaton, Eric Melliere, Chad Fraunfelder and Tony Sarkis. In the second heat, Paul Bauman got the win with Shawn Seymour, Chris Sale, Terry Toennies, Mike Harris, Kyle Stolzer, Brian Eaves, Brian Gibson and Scott Ponder trailing. In the third heat, the win went to Chris Smith followed by Mike Kurtz, Pat Seymour, Randy Tyson, Jim Mettille, Mike Jones, Lonnie Casey and Larry Schaefer. The dash went to Bauman with Smith, S. Seymour, Kurtz, Reum and Grzywacz in tow. The semi sent Eaves, Grzywacz (in Tettaton’s car due to his engine blowing up in the dash), Stolzer and Casey to the feature.

    In the 15-lap feature, the front row consisted of Bauman and Smith. Bauman jumped to the lead and never looked back to record him sixth feature of the year and the only sweep of the night. Following Bauman was Smith, Smallwood, Sale and Toennies to complete the top five.

   Next Friday night is the mid-season Championships for the Sportsmen and Pure Stocks. 
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June 4, 2004

   The eleventh event of the 2004 Belle Clair Speedway season was held on Friday night with again plenty of cars in the pits, nice weather and plenty of action on the track.

   In the UMP Late Model division, there were 20 cars in the pits. In the first heat, ageless Don Klein won the race over Aaron Kleine, Kenny Rumble, Rick Slater, Dan Dondero, Bob Brown, and Jim Gibson. In the second heat, Frankie Martin took the win followed by Brent Kreke, Jim Morrison, Kenny Helmick, Dan Jacober, and Billy Laycock. In the third heat, Rick Standridge won with Jimmy Burwell, Mike Hammerle, Vince Grondzki, Mike Shulte, Ron Jarrell, and John Landsford in tow. In the dash, Martin pickup hissecond win of the night over Kleine, Burwell, Klein, Standridge and Kreke. The semi sent Laycock, Voigt and Gibson to the feature.

 In the 25-lap feature, Standridge and Klein started the race on the front row. Klein took the early lead, but only held it for five laps, before Kleine took over the front. Fifth starting and point leader, Martin was on the move as he was using the top of the track and picking off cars.

  By the eighth lap, Martin moved into the lead and never looked back. Kleine stayed in second place after the pass.

   For the second week in a row the feature race was run under green conditions as everyone raced cleanly and never lost there handling. Martin went on to win his third feature of the year and sweep his events. . Kleine held on to second with Standridge in third followed by Burwell and Rumble to complete the top five.

  Running a 25-lap feature under green lap conditions is not very often accomplished, but to do it two weeks in a row as very rare. Hats off to the 18 drivers that completed this feat at Belle Clair Speedway.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 18 cars on hand for the races. In the first heat, Dean Hoffman won the race followed by Chris Gray, Mark Schaefer, Denny Tribout Jr., Bob Greaschel, and Denny Tarrant. In the second heat, Matt Mevert was the winner over Mark Clary, Dave Thornton, Bobby Johnson, Paul Reinneck and David Seger. The third heat saw Bobby Bittle get the win with Marty Smith Jr., Chris England, Shawn Rayfield, Steve Ellison, and Marty Smith Sr. trailing. In the dash, Hoffman took another win over Mevert, Bittle, Smith Jr., Clary and Gray.

   The 20-lap feature started with Gray and Hoffman on the front row. Hoffman would jump into the lead on the dropping of the green flag and never look back. This race almost went green as well, but a problem for Tribout Jr. on lap 16 ended that idea of green flag racing. Tribout Jr. lost a driveshaft on the track and caused the only caution of the race. The running order was Hoffman, Smith Jr., Bittle, Mevert and Gray at that point of the race.

   The restart did not happen as Reinneck spun in turn 4 to cause another restart. When the race continued, Hoffman went on to win his fifth feature of the year and the sweep for the night. Following Hoffman were Smith Jr., Bittle, Mevert, and Clary to complete the top five.

   There were 22 cars ready to race in the Allied Sportsmen class.  In the first heat, Tom Smallwood got the win over Mike Jones, Brian Eaves, Mark Benedick, Mike Harris, Chad Fraunfelder, Denny Tribout Sr. and Brian Shubirg. In the second heat race, Chris Sale got the victory over Lonnie Casey, Mike Kurtz, David Grzywacz, Rich Tettaton, Jim Mettille, and Larry Schaefer. The third heat went to Paul Bauman followed by Chad Reum,. Randy Tyson, Bob Casey, Shawn Seymour, Chris Smith and Bob Giglotto. The dash saw Smallwood get his second win of the night. Following Smallwood were Sale, Bauman, Jones, Reum and L. Casey. The semi sent Fraunfelder, Smith and Tribout Sr. to the feature.

  The 15-lap feature started with L. Casey and Jones on the front row. With dropping of the green flag, Bauman jumped into the lead and never looked back. This race also only had one caution as on lap 6, Lonnie Casey spun in turn four. The running order was Bauman, Sale, Smallwood, Jones and Kurtz. Kurtz moved into the top five from his eighth starting position.

  When the race restarted, Bauman continued to dominate the race and went on to record his fifth feature race. Following Bauman across the line were Sale, Smallwood, Jones and Kurtz.

  Next week will be the bike race for the kids 12 years old and under. So parents bring the bikes for your kids to have fun at Belle Clair Speedway. Also, come on out and see the best racing in the St. Louis area as the racing is about as competitive as any in the area.

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May 28, 2004

  The 2004 racing season continued on Friday night and there was plenty of good racing with yet another new winner in the highly competitive UMP Late Model division.

   In the UMP Late Model division, there were 22 cars on hand as several new drivers from Central Illinois came down to run. In the first heat, Frankie Martin, the current point leader, took the win over Jim Morrison, Mike Hammerle, Kenny Helmick, Bob Goodin, Ron Jarrell, and Bob Brown. In the second heat, John Crouch got his first win in a Late Model over Dan Dondero, Jim Gibson, Jimmy Burwell, Mark Steinwagner, Mike Schulte, and Shane Allen. In the third heat, it was Aaron Kleine with Kenny Rumble, Rick Salter, Billy Laycock, Rick Standridge, Mitch Landrum and Dan Jacober in tow. In the dash, Martin got the victory over Morrison, Crouch, Dondero, Klein and Rumble. The semi sent Schulte, Klein and Landrum to the feature.

     The 25-lap feature started with Martin and Morrison on the front row. Martin took the early lead with Morrison, Kleine and Dondero in chase.

     The race was between Martin and Morrison as they had broken away from the rest of the field. They put on a show for the holiday crowd.

    As the laps clicked off, Kleine was running his own race in third place with no one close to him. Dondero also had his own race going with an eye on Kleine ahead and no one close to pressing him.

  The action was for fifth place on back, as a large pack of cars were fighting for a spot in the top ten. Rumble, Gibson, Standridge, Crouch and Helmick ran two and three wide to gain positions.

   With all the action going on on the track, there was only one possible chance for a caution. As the race up front was tightening up, Morrison and Martin tangled in turn one. The contact sent Martin around, but he did not stop. He continued by during a 360-degree spin and only lost one position. A nice piece of driving on the part of Martin.

   Morrison took over the lead on about lap 18 and went on to become the eighth different driver to win a feature at Belle Clair Speedway in nine weeks of racing.

  Following Morrison to the finish line were Kleine, Martin, Dondero and Rumble to round out the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 21 cars in attendance. In the first heat, Mark Clary took the win followed by Tom Ratajczyk, Chris England, Marty Smith Jr., Dave Thornton, Mark Schaefer, and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Dean Hoffman won with Steve Ellison, Matt Mevert, Paul Reinneck, Bob Johnson, Stu Springer and Paul Rogers in tow. In the third heat, Bobby Bittle took the victory over Chris Gray, Eric Gortter, Marty Smith Sr., Matt Verbeck, Jason Smith and Rick Standridge.   In the dash, Clary took the win over Hoffman, Ratajczyk, Bittle, Ellison and Gray. The semi sent Schaefer, Springer and Standridge to the feature.

  The 20-lap lap feature started with Gray and Clary on the front row. With the dropping of the green for the third time, third starting Bittle took the very low route to the front and never looked back.

  The race was slowed several times with the first occurring on lap three when Reinneck spun in turn four. The running order was Bittle, Hoffman, Clary, Gray and Ratajczyk in the top five. On the restart the race changed as Hoffman and Clary were involved in a restart pushing event the sent both drivers to the back of the field.

  As the race continued, Matt Mevert was on the move from his eighth starting spot. He continued to move pass car after car to move into second spot before the next slow down on lap 13 for a tangle between Goetter and Thornton in turn one. The restart saw the top five consisting of Bittle, Mevert, Ellison, Ratajczyk and Smith Jr.

   During this run, Hoffman was on the move from the rear of the field and moving forward.  The last caution came out on lap 16 when Verbeck spun in turn four. The running order now was Bittle, Mevert, Ellison, Ratajczyk and Smith in the top five.

    With four laps to go, it was Bittle’s race to lose, but he did not. Bittle went on to win his second feature of the year. Mevert, Ellison, and Ratajczyk followed Bittle with Hoffman finishing in fifth after restarting the race 17^th on lap 3.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 23 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Brian Shubirg got the win followed by Paul Bauman, Randy Tyson, Chris Smith, Chris Sale, David Grzywacz, Lonnie Casey and Shawn Seymour. In the second heat, Mark Benedick, in his first outing this year, took the checkered flag first with Mike Harris, Mike Kurtz, Chad Reum, Brad McKinnon, Denny Tribout Sr., Larry Schaefer, and Jim Mettille in toe. In the third heat, Mike Jones got the victory followed by Brian Eaves, Rich Tettaton, Kyle Stolzer, Jeremy Dietzel, Tom Smallwood and Joe Delozier. The dash went to Benedick over Bauman, Harris, Shubirg, Jones and Eaves. The semi sent Smallwood, Seymour and Tribout Sr. into the feature.

   With the point leader, Grzywacz, not in the line up for the feature, it looked like the point lead would change hands after the completion of the race. The front row for the 15-lap feature saw Harris and Eaves starting the race. Harris jumped into the lead and was looking like a new feature winner as he lead 12 of the laps. Bauman overtook Harris for the lead on lap 12 and went on to win his fourth feature of the year and also took the point lead. Following Bauman were Harris, Benedick, Eaves and Sale to complete the top five.
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May 21, 2004
 

  Another interesting racing night at Belle Clair Speedway as there was plenty of action on the track with plenty of cars in the pits and warm weather. There were new cars on hand and results that made people wonder.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars on hand. In the first heat, Mike Hammerle got the victory with Dan Jacober, Jim Morrison, Jim Gibson, Jimmy Burwell, Ron Jarrell, Mark Oller and Vince Grondzki trailing. This was the race with all the action that sent three cars to the pits for the night. The second heat saw Rick Standridge get a win followed by Frankie Martin, Mike Schulte, Mark Voigt, Dave Eaves, Kenny Helmick, Mitch Landrum and Aaron Kleine.  The third heat went to Don Klein over Billy Laycock, Dan Dondero, John Crouch, Andy Pyror, Rick Salter, and Bob Brown. The dash went to Standridge followed by Hammerle, Klein, Laycock, Martin and Jacober. The semi sent Salter, Helmick, and Brown to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Jacober and Hammerle on the front row. No one had any real control of the front until the once caution came out on lap 3 for Dondero’s spin turn three. Hammerle had the lead then and was followed by Jacober, Standridge, Martin and Laycock.

  On the restart, Hemmerle had command of the race, but things were changing behind him as Standridge was using the high side of the track and passed Jacober for second and Laycock moved to fourth.

  The next caution came out for point leader Martin as he had front-end problems and spun in turn three while running in the top five. This occurred on lap six.  Martin was out for the night and the first car out. The top five looked like this - Hammerle, Standridge, Jacober, Laycock and Klein.

     The restart had Hammerle in the lead again and looking for his first win at Belle Clair since 2002. Now there were plenty of green laps as the race went green until lap 20. During the green flag period, eight starting Schulte and 11^th starting Voigt moved into the top five. The grooves were all over the track as many used the top while a few used the bottom to gain positions.

  On lap 20 the next yellow appeared for Burwell’s tangle with the turn three outside wall. The top five now looked like this - Hammerle, Standridge, Schulte, Voigt and Morrison.

   With five lap to go, it looked like a good race for the finish, but on lap 22, Morrison, who was running in the top five, got spun out in turn three and caused an eight car pileup. Morrison was done for the night. Voigt was disqualified at this point and he too pulled off the track. The running order was Hammerle, Standridge, Schulte, Jacober and 15^th starting, Salter.

  Hammerle went on to become the seventh different feature winner for the 2004 season. Following Hammerle were Standridge, Schulte, Jacober and Slater.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 23 cars ready to race. In the first heat, Chris Gray got the win followed by Dave Thornton, Gary Haynes, Marty Smith Sr., Bobby Johnson, Ryan Driemeyer, Jason Brown and Mark Schaefer. In the second heat, Dean Hoffman won over Brian Heizer, Chris England, BoB Geaschel, Marty Smith Jr., Stu Springer, Steve Ellison and David Seger. The third heat went to Paul Reinneck with Mark Clary, Bobby Bittle, Denny Tribout Jr., Matt Verbeck, Kent Schoeck, and Dave Rogers in pursuit. The dash went to Hoffman with Gray, Thornton, Clary, Heizer and Reinneck in tow. The semi sent Springer, Driemeyer and Ellison to the feature.

   The 20-lap feature started with Reinneck and Clary on the front row. Clary jumped to the lead on the dropping of the green flag. He ran the top of the track and drove a good race. Hoffman worked his from fifth starting position on the bottom up to second before the only caution flag flew.

  The only caution flag came out on lap eight for Heizer’s spin in turn one. The running order was Clary, Hoffman, Gray, Thornton and Reinneck.

  When the race continued, Clary continued his leading effort and still used the top to continue to maintain control of the race. However, as the laps wore down, Hoffman began to work on Clary’s lead. By lap 16, Hoffman took the lead coming out of turn four. Hoffman went on to win his track high of four features and another sweep. Following Hoffman to the line was Clary, Gray, Thornton and Bittle to complete the top five.

  There were 18 cars in the Allied Sportsmen pits. In the first heat, Tom Smallwood got the win over Shawn Seymour, Mike Jones, Chad Reum, Lonnie Casey, Jeremy Dietzel, Denny Tribout Sr., Joe Delozier and Larry Schaefer. In the second heat, Paul Bauman took the event followed by Brian Shubirg, Chris Sale, Brian Eaves, David Grzywacz, Mike Harris, Chris Smith, Randy Tyson and Mike Kurtz. The dash went to Bauman followed by Shubirg, Sale, Smallwood, Seymour and Jones.

  The 15-lap feature started with Jones and Bauman on the front row. Bauman jumped in front to take the lead on the dropping of the green flag and he never looked back. Once again the Sportsmen put on a good show with only two cautions during the race.

  Bauman made it a broom night as he won all three of the events he was in. Sale came from sixth starting position to put pressure on Bauman in the latter part of the race. Sale finished second followed by Smallwood, Jones and Grzywacz to complete the top five.

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May  16, 2004 Sunday
 

  Mother Nature again played havoc with the racing program on Friday night and moved it to Sunday night. The weather was better than the last Sunday night and the program ran smoother and got over at a reasonable time. The racing was not bad at all.

  The night started in a somber way as a fallen member of the racing community was honor, but not for what he did but what happened to him. The usual flag ceremony was dropped to honor, Don Odum Jr. Don was a member of Kenny Helmick’s pit crew and was a good friend of Kenny’s. Don was shoot and killed last Sunday morning. Helmick, his crew and car were on the front straight for the opening ceremony and public address announcer, Mike Muerer said some very nice words about Don Odum. It was not the way to start a race night, but it was a way to honor a long time racing friend that will not be with us any longer.

   In the UMP Late Model division, there were 17 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Frankie Martin took the checkered flag over Ed Dixon, Billy Laycock, Kenny Helmick, Dan Dondero, Jimmy Burwell, Mike Schulte, Don Klein, and Matt Taylor. In the second heat, the win went to Rick Salter over Jim Gibson, Mark Voigt, Mike Hammerle, Rick Standridge, Andy Pryor, Mark Oller, and Kenny Rumble. The dash saw Martin with his second win of the night followed by Gibson, Voigt, Salter, Dixon, Laycock.

  The 25-lap feature started with Gibson and Martin on the front row. Martin jumped into the lead which he never was challenge for. Early in the race, Salter, Dixon and Gibson tried to give Martin a run for the lead, but could do little with Martin and the track.

  The race went on for 12 laps before for the first caution came out for a spun Helmick in turn one. At this point, it was Martin, Dixon, Voigt, Laycock, and Salter in the top five.

  Martin continued his domination of the race as the green came out again. Things were about to change behind Martin as Voigt got by Dixon for second and Standridge was moving forward from his tenth starting spot.

  The final slowdown happened on lap 17 as Dondero got spun out on the front straight. Now the top five were Martin, Voigt, Dixon, Laycock and Standridge.

  The final eight laps saw Martin continue his domination as he would go on to win his second feature of the year and his second sweep of the young season. Voigt would finish second for his best finish in years. Laycock got around Dixon for third and Standridge complete the top five.

    In the UMP Modified class, ther were 22 cars on hand. In the first heat, Bobby Bittle took the win over, Brian Bielong, Bobby Johnson, Dave Thornton, Chris Gray, Denny Tribout Jr., and Eric Goetter. In the second heat, Mark Clary took the checkered followed by Chris England, Marty Smith Jr., David Seger, Ed martin, Bob Gaeschel, and Jason Brown. In the third heat, Steve Ellison won with Dean Hoffman, Stu Springer, Brian Heizer, Steve Meyer, Wayne Downing and Mark Scheafer trailing. In the dash, Bittle took the win over Ellison, England, Hoffman, Clary and Bielong. The semi sent Tribout Jr., Schaefer, and Goetter to the feature.

  The 20-lap feature had a front row of Bielong and Clary. Bielong took the lead at the dropping of the green flag and never looked back. Hoffman moved into second but could not over take Bielong.

  The race looked like the Late Model feature and could have gone green, but a caution came out on lap 15 for a spun out Hiezer in turn four. The running order was Bielong, Hoffman, Ellison, England and Bittle.

  Bielong continued his domination of the race as it continued until lap 17 for the final caution. Goetter stopped on the back straight. During the two laps that were run England managed to get by Ellison for third with the rest of the cars in the to five the same.

  Bielong went on to win his first feature at Belle Clair with Hoffman in second followed by England, Ellison and Bittle to complete the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 20 cars on hand. In the first heat, Chris Sale took the win over Chris Smith, David Gryzwacz, Lonie Casey, Jeremy Dietzel and Larry Schaefer. In the second heat, Brian Eaves was the winner followed by Bob Casey, Rich Tettaton, Shawn Seymour, Brian Shubirg, and Frauenfelder. The third heat went to Paul Bauman followed by Tom Smallwood, Jim Mittelle, Denny Tribout Sr., Denny Harris, Mike Jones and Randy Tyson. The dash went to Sale over Bauman, Smith, Smallwood, Eaves and B. Casey. The semi sent Jones, Kurtz and Tyson to the feature.

  In the 15-lap feature, the front row was comprised of Bauman and B. Casey. Bauman jumped to the front and never looked back to collect his second feature of the year. This race was rare for this class as it went green for the second time this year. Following Bauman were Sale, Smith, Eaves and Grzywacz to round out the top five.
**********************************
May 14, 2004
Rain
**********************************
May 10, 2004
 

   Compared to Sunday night’s program, Friday’s was a nice change. The weather was warm and the racing again was very good with nice amounts of cars and new faces in the pits. It was a night of firsts in all the classes.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars on hand for the night of racing. In the first heat, Frankie Martin started off his with a win and was followed by John Lansford, Jim Gibson, Rick Salter, Don Klein, Ken Rumble, Billy Laycock and Dan Dondero. In the second heat, Aaron Kleine took the win with Mike Schulte, Vince Grondzki, Mitch Landrum, John Crouch, Andy Pryor, Bob Brown, and John Pitts in tow. In the third heat, Rich Whaley was the winner trailed by Ron Jarrell, Rick Standridge, Mark Oller, Kenny Helmick, and Mike Hammerle. In the dash, Martin got his second of the night followed by Kleine, Lansford, Whaley, Schulte, and Jarrell. The semi sent Rumble, Hammerle and Laycock to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature lined up with Jarrell and Lansford on the front row. After a false start on the first time try to get the race started, Lansford took the early lead from the outside and thought the rookie had a chance for his first victory. The race went green and on about the lap eight, the point leader took the lead after using the entire track to take command of the race.

  Martin pulled away from the field and left the other drivers to fight for position. Lansford was in second and making a good showing for his first season in a Late Model. Kleine moved from sixth starting into the top five early. A smoking ninth starting, Standridge also was making a move forward. Seventh starting Gondzki also was on the move.

  The racing continued on the green light and it appeared that this race may go green from start to finish. But on lap 22 the wind was removed from Lansford sails as he jumped the cushion in turn two and hit the outside wall and coming to a stop while in second place. The running order was Martin, Kleine. Grondzki, Standridge, and Jarrell with three laps to go.

  When the race resumed, Martin pulled away and took the checkered flag and a sweep for the night and a bigger point lead. Martin became the sixth different winner of a feature race at Belle Clair in as many night of racing. This is the only class that has not had a repeat feature winner yet. Following Martin were Kleine, Grondzki, Standridge, and Jarrell to round out the top five.

  I the UMP Modified class, there were 22 cars on hand. In the first heat, Dave Sandage got the win followed by Bobby Bittle, Tom Ratajczyk, Mark Clary, Paul Reinneck, David Seger, Mark Schaefer and Jason Brown. In the second heat,  Steve Ellison won with Dave Thornton, Stu Springer, Dean Hoffman, Brian Heizer, Gary Haynes, Matt and Verbeck trailing. In the third heat, Chris Gray won followed by Wayne Downing, Marty Smith Jr., Chris England, Denny Tribout, Bobby Johnson and Darrell Hoffman. In the dash, Ellison got the win followed by Bittle, Thornton, Sandage, Gray and Downing. The semi sent Haynes, Johnson and Schaefer to the feature.

 The 20-lap feature started with Downing and Ellison on the front row. Downing took the early lead in his first night at the track this year. The race was a battle between the top six starters in the early going. The only caution came out early for a spinning England on the back straight. The running order of the race was Downing, Ellison, Bittle, Thornton, and Gray.

  The lead remained with Downing for several more laps before Bittle managed to take it away. There was some pass within the pack as 11^th starting Dean Hoffman moved up to the top five as did seventh starting Ratajczyk.

  Bittle went on to take his first checkered flag of the year followed by Downing, Gray, Hoffman, and Ratajczyk.

       In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 21 cars on hand. In the first heat, Mike harris took the win followed y Brian Eaves, Lonnie Casey, Chris Smith, Mike Kurtz, Scott Leverich, and Jeremy Dietzel, In the second heat, Paul Bauman took the checkers with Denny Tribout Sr., Brian Shubirg, Shawn Seymour, Chad Reum, Joe Delozier, and Dave Grzywacz in pursuit. In the third heat, Jim Mittelle won with Chris Sale, Mike Jones, Randy Tyson, Bobby Totrane, Bob Casey, and Tom Smallwood trailing. In the dash, Bauman got his second win of the night followed by Harris, Mettille, Sale, Eaves and Tribout. The semi was not needed as only three cars were able to make it to the track.

  The 15-lap feature saw the front row of Sale and Mettille take the green flag. Sale would eventually take the lead that he never gave up despite strong challenges from second place finisher Bauman. Sale used the low side of the track and would pull Bauman down the straight aways. Bauman maintained a little more momentum in the corners as he used the middle of the track for his line. It was Sale’s first feature win of the 2004 season. Sale was followed to the finish line by Bauman, Mettille, Eaves and Harris to complete the top five.
**********************************
May 2, 2004.....from April 30 rain....
 

  The races at Belle Clair Speedway were held on Sunday due to Mother Nature’s untimely events on Friday. The weather came late on Friday and forced the new policy of racing on Sunday to take effect. The weather was chilly and windy on Sunday, but the races went on and there a good car count as no other track was running within 100 miles.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars on hand with six new cars on hand for the first time this year. The Taylor’s, Dick and Matt, were down from Springfield, Mark Faust, Eric Smith, Danny Haynes and Dallas Bennett tried their hand at the 1/5 mile track. In the first heat, Frankie Martin took the win over Dick Taylor, Mark Faust, Mike Hammerle, Danny Haynes, Ron McQuerry, Jim Gibson and Kerry Gaultney. In the second heat, Ed Dixon got the victory followed by Rick Salter, Mike Schulte, Kenny Rumble, Dan Dondero, Andy Pryor, Dallas Bennett, and Vince Grondzki. In the third heat, it was Matt Taylor with the checkered flag with Kenny Helmick, Mark Oller, Jim Morrison, Eric Smith, Rick Standridge and Billy Laycock in pursuit. The dash went to Martin with Dixon, D. Taylor, M. Taylor, Salter, and Helmick in tow. The semi sent Standridge, Pryor and Gibson to the back of the feature.

   The 25-lap feature started with Salter and D. Taylor on the front row. Salter took the early lead and looked like a possible winner. On lap 2, the first caution came out for a five-car pile up in turn two with Oller, Rumble, Haynes, Gibson and Pryor involved. All cars were able to continue.

  The restart had Salter, D. Taylor, Dixon, M. Taylor, and Helmick in the top five. During the next green flag laps, Salter continued to lead as Dixon was trying to move up and was using all of the available track to find a better groove. Dixon would take second from D. Taylor before the next caution.

  The next caution came out on lap nine for debris on the track. The running order was Salter, Dixon, D. Taylor, M. Taylor and Helmick.

  The restart had Salter still in command using the low side of the track with Dixon now running the higher line. Dixon was side-by-side in the corners several times but could not overtake Salter for the lead. M. Taylor was also moving forward as he moved into third place during this run.

  The third caution appeared on lap 13 as Oller and Pryor got tangled in turn two and almost blocked the track. Oller would retire at this point and be the first car out. Martin also pulled up with a broken car and he was out as well. The running order was now Salter, Dixon, M. Taylor, Helmick and D. Taylor.

  On the restart, Salter continued to use the bottom on the track to maintain his lead, which became short lived. Dixon continued his use of the higher line and took over the lead on lap 15 coming out of turn two. Dixon went on to become the fifth different winner in as many races and he first of the 2004 season. Salter held on to take second for his best finish of the season. Following Salter were M. Taylor, Helmick and Faust to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 27 cars ready to make the feature. In the first heat, Stu Springer took the win followed by Brian Heizer, Bobby Martintoni, Steve Ellison, Chris England, Dean Hoffman, Tony Frazer, Paul Reinneck and Brad White. In the second heat, Marty Smith Jr. won with Dave Thornton, Todd McGraw, Donnie Wren, Dave Rogers, Matt Verbeck, Rick Freeman, Todd Ferber, and Ray Walsh in tow. In the thirs heat, Chris Gray took the victory over Mark Clary, Bobby Bittle, Denny Tribout Jr., Mark Schaefer, Ricky Huebner, Boob Johnson, Jason Brown and Roger Fohne. The dash saw Smith get his second win of the night followed by Springer, Gray, Thornton, Heizer and Clary. The semi sent Hoffman, Verbeck, and Reinneck to the feature.

  The 20-lap feature started with Thornton and Springer on the front row. The early lead went to Thornton. On the second lap the first caution came out for England and Schaefer getting tangled in turn four. The running order was Thornton, Smith, Gray, Springer and Clary in the top five.

  Thornton continued his lead, but the next slow down came out on the next lap as Verbeck met the tire in turn four. The running order remained the same, but things were about to change.

  On the restart, Smith began to use the higher side of the track and on lap 5, he power by Thornton for the lead coming out of turn two.

  The final caution that occurred on lap 8 as Reinneck stopped in turn three. The running order was now Smith, Thornton, Gray, Springer, and Clary.

  Smith went on to use his broom as he swept the night and recorded his first feature win of the season to become the third driver to win a feature. Follow Smith across the finish line were Thornton, Springer, Gray and Clary.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 26 car ready to race. In the first heat, Chris Smith took the win followed by Paul Bauman, Randy Tyson, Brian Tyson, Scott Leverich, Denny Tribout Sr., Jim Mettille, and Kyle Stolzer. In the second heat, David Grzywacz won with Chris Sale, Troy Neager, Tom Smallwood, Brian Eaves, Mike Kurtz, Pat Seymour, Bob Casey and Chad Reum in tow. In the third heat, Lonnie Casey won followed by Shawn Seymour, Mike Jones, Brian Slover, Rich Tettaton. Larry Schaefer, Jeremy Dietzel and Mike Harris. The dash went to Smith over Grzywacz, Bauman, Casey, Sale and Seymour. The semi sent Tribout Sr., Mettille, and Dietzel to the feature.

  The 15-lap feature start with Seymour and Casey on the front row.  Seymour took the early lead, but third starting Grzywacz would take the lead on about lap four. Grzywacz went on to win his third feature of the year with Sale, Seymour, Neager, and Bauman rounding out the top five.

  Next week is nickel race night for the the kids 12 years old and under. It also looks like the weather will be on the race fan’s side as it is going to be warming up.
**********************************
April 30, 2004....Rain
**********************************
 

**********************************
April 26, 2004
On Friday night, despite the threat of Mother Nature, another good night of racing was seen at Belle Clair Speedway. There were several good features and there were new drivers at the track. The fans enjoyed another night of good action at the track that appears to be the place to be on Friday night.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 19 cars on hand for the action. In the first heat, Kenny Rumbel took the win followed by Mike Hammerle, Rick Standridge, Don Klein, Kyle Monroe, and Aaron Kleine. In the second heat, Kenny Helmick took the victory followed by Billy Laycock, Dan Dondero, Mark Oller, Andy Pryor and Ron Jarrell. In the third heat, Frankie Martin was the winner over Rick Salter, Mike Schulte, Jim Gibson, Vince Grondzki, and Mark Steinwagner. The dash went to Helmick followed by Martin, Rumble, Hammerle, Salter and Laycock.

  The 25-lap feature started with Helmick and Laycock on the front row. Helmick jumped to the early lead that he would not give up for the rest of the race. Laycock, Rumble, Martin and Salter trailed Helmick in the early laps.

  The first of two cautions during the race occurred on lap five on the front straight away when Schulte and Monroe tangled. The running order was Helmick, Laycock, Rumble, Martin and Salter in the top five. Monroe pulled out from the race at this point.

  When the race resumed, Helmick continued his lead and began to pull away from the rest of the field as he had the better setup for the track. Laycock, Rumble and Martin were fighting for their spots, but no one was able to get around one another.

   Martin got Rumble for third place before the next caution came out on lap 18. The caution was again on the front straight away and it involved four cars. Hammerle, Oller, Dondero and Pryor came together blocking the track. All cars except Oller were able to continue. The running order for the restart was Helmick, Laycock, Martin, Rumble, and Salter.

  With the track cleared, the race resumed with seven laps to go. Helmick continued to lead and would go on to complete the sweep for the night and become the fourth different driver to win a Late Model feature at Belle Clair Speedway in 2004. Following Helmick was Laycock, his best finish so far, Rumble, Martin, the point leader, and Salter to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 22 cars filling the pits. In the first heat, Dean Hoffman took the win followed by Mark Schaefer, Dave Thornton, Bobby Bittle, Marty Smith Jr., Ricky Heubner, Stu Springer, and Matt Verbeck. In the second heat, Brian Hiezer got the win over Denny Tribout Jr., Paul Reinneck, Chris England, Ryan Driemeyer, and Leo Kiefer. The third heat went to Matt Mevert with Chris Gray, Mark Clary, Gary Haynes, David Seger, Jason Brown and Sam Lannon in pursuit. The dash saw Hoffman win his second race of the night followed by Mevert, Heizer, Tribout Jr., Gray, and Schaefer.

The semi saw Springer, Heubner and Kiefer move on to the back of the feature.

  The front row for the 20-lap feature consisted of Schaefer and Tribout Jr. After a false start and two or three laps, fourth starting Mevert jumped to the front to take the lead. Schaefer, Hoffman, Tribout and Gray followed him in the early laps.

  On lap six, the first and only caution came out. In turn one, Springer, Kiefer and Driemeyer got together. This sent Springer and Driemeyer to the pits and done for the night. The running order for the restart was Mevert, Hoffman, Scheafer, Bittle and Gray.

  Now the race was on. This was one of the better Modified features that the fans have seen in a while. The two cars of Mevert and Hoffman put on a show. With Hoffman on the inside and Mevert using the outside, these two drivers put on a driving show for the fans. These two ran side-by-side lap after lap without touching one another. The fans really enjoyed watching the laps go by with these two drivers going for the lead and running side-by-side. Hoffman would get the lead about lap 14, but it was not much of a lead as Mevert gave Hoffman a very good run for the victory. Hoffman went on to get his third feature of the year and a sweep for the night. Mevert finished second with Bittle watching the up front show from his third place finish. Schaefer and Gray rounded out the top five.

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there continues to be a good car count as there was 22 cars available. In the first heat, Chris Sale took the win followed by Paul Bauman, Mike Jones, Scott Leverich, David Grzywacz, Chris Smith, Jim Mettille and Chad Reum. The second heat went to Randy Tyson Jr. with Denny Tribout Sr., Lonnie Casey, Mike Kurtz, Mike Harris, Pat Seymour, and Bob Casey trailing. In the third heat race, it was Tom Smallwood with the win followed by Brian Shubirg, Shawn Seymour, Brian Eaves, Jeremy Dietzel, Rich Tettaton, and Steve Malone in tow. The dash went to Sale followed by Smallwood, Bauman, Tribout Sr., Shubirg and Tyson. The semi moved Smith, Mettille and Reum to the feature.

   The 15-lap feature saw the race start with Tribout Sr. and Bauman on the front row. Tribout took the early lead and do a good job of holding off the field. This was one of those features you don’t see from this class as it went green for the entire 15 laps. No spinouts or hard bumping, but rather good clean racing.

  Bauman would pass Tribout for the lead late in the race to take his first feature win of the young season. Tribout Sr. held on for second place followed by Tyson, Smallwood and Sale to round out the top five.    

    In the Pure Stock class, Dennis Pounder won another feature over Aaron Melton, Jason Davinroy, Luke Hewitt and Bill Qualls.

  The second night of racing at Belle Clair Speedway turned out to be one of the best nights of racing ever. The features were great and the action was the best seen in a long, long time. The UMP Late Model race was one of the top five races ever held at the 56-year-old track and had the fans talking for hours and had the Internet buzzing.

  In the UMP Late Models class, there were 19 cars on hand. In the first heat, Rick Standridge took the win over Dan Dondero, Rick Salter, Ron Jarrell, Jim Gibson, Andy Pyror and Lenny Garson. The second heat went to Frankie Martin, followed by Kenny Rumble, Mark Oller, Billy Laycock, Kerry Gaultney, and Joe Garson. The third heat saw the win go to Aaron Kleine followed by Kenny Helmick, Don Klein, Mike Hammerle, Jim Morrison, and Vince Grondzki. The dash went to Standridge followed by Martin, Kleine, Rumble, Helmick and Dondero.

  The feature lined up with Standridge and Kleine on the front row. Standridge took the early lead with Kleine, and Martin in a tight pack up front. It didn’t take eighth starting Oller long to get into the front running pack. As this foursome circled the track, it was anybody’s race.

  Kleine would take the front spot on lap 3, but was challenged by Standridge, Oller and Martin lap after lap. The only caution came out on lap 9 for a stopped Grondzki in turn four. The running order for the restart was Kleine, Martin, Standridge, Dondero and Oller in the top five.

  As the race restarted, it was clear that this was going to be one of the best races seen in sometime at the facility. Oller moved pass Dondero to get into the top four and the action was about to thrill the crowd. Over the next 16 laps three wide racing took place between Kleine, Martin and Oller with Standridge right there to contend for the win. There was a gap between these four cars and the next pack of cars, but all eyes were on the front four cars.

  As the laps worn down, the racing got better and better and the three cars of Kleine, Martin and Oller exchanged places with each lap run. The cars would come out of the turns and race down the straightaways three wide for several laps. There was Kleine on the top, Oller in the middle and Martin on the low side. Then the cars would change positions on the track, but the fans were enjoying each lap with the anticipation of what the outcome would be.

  As the laps counted down, the white flag came out and Kleine was leading with Oller in second, Martin a very close third and Standridge right there under a blanket. The final turn saw Kleine take his first win of the year. Oller finished second followed by Martin, Standridge and Hammerle to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified division, there were 19 car in the pits. In the first heat, Matt Mevert took home the victory over Denny Tribout Jr., Mark Clary, Dave Thornton, Chris Gray, Doug Wood, and Dave Sandage. In the second heat, Tom Ratajczyj got another heat win followed by Stu Springer, Scott Weber, Mark Schaefer, Dean Hoffman, and Bobby Bittle. The third heat saw the win go to Paul Reinneck with Roger Fohne, Marty Smith Jr., David Seger, Chris England and Gary Haynes in tow. The dash went to Mevert over Ratajczyk, Reinneck, Tribout Jr., Springer, and Fohne.

  The 20-lap feature saw the front row consisting of Springer and Fohne. This race was not quite as exciting as the Late Model feature, but it also only had one caution.

  Springer took the lead on the dropping of the green flag with Fohne and Reinneck in tow. The move was coming from the eighth start spot as Weber was using the middle of the rubbering up track to charge to the front.

  As the laps clicked off so did the cars in front of Weber. By lap six, Weber took command of the race and he never looked back. Fourth starting, Mevert and ninth starting Smith Jr. were the cars in the pursuit of Weber. Smith used the high line to get his car in the hunt.

 The only caution came out on lap nine for a spinning Reinneck in turn two. The running order was Weber, Springer, Mevert, Fohne and Ratajczyk in the top five.

  When the green flag came out for the final 11 laps, Weber pulled to a comfortable lead with Mevert taking over second place from a fading Springer. Smith continued his use of the high line to move into third.

  On the dropping of the checkered flag it was Weber for his first win at Belle Clair of the young season. He was followed by Mevert, Smith Jr., Fohne and Ratajczyk to complete the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 22 cars on hand for the 18 feature staring spots. In the first heat, Mike Kurtz took the win followed by David Grzywacz, Lonnie Casey, Chris Smith, Denny Tribout Sr., Brian Shubirg, Bob Casey, and Aaron Paule. In the second heat, Chad Reum took the win followed by Mike Harris, Paul Bauman, Brian Eaves, Shawn Seymour, and Larry Scheafer. In the third heat, it was Scoot Leverage over Mike Jones, Randy Tyson Jr., Rich Tettaton, Tom Smallwood, Jermey Dietzel and Jim Mettille. In the dash, Reum got another win followed by Grzywacz, Harris, Jones, Kurtz and Leverage. The semi went to Smallwood and sent Sale and Shubirg to the feature.

2004 BELLE CLAIR SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE

200 S. BELT EAST

 BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS 62220

(618) 235-0666/0025 

April 2     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

April 9     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

April 16    UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

April 23    UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

April 30    UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock 

May 7       UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

May 14      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock 

May 21      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

May 28      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock 

June 4      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

June 11     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

June 18     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

                  Mid-Season Championship for Sportsmen and Pure Stock

June 25     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

                  Mid-Season Championship for UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds 

July 2      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

July 9      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

July 16     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

July 23     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

July 30     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock 

Aug 6       UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

Aug 5

Aug 6       MARA Midgets – 13th Annual Arnie Knepper Memorial

Aug 7       Motorcycle Flat Track Races

Aug 13      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

                (100 Laps for Late Models)

Aug 9       Demolition Derby

Aug 20      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

Aug 27      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock 

Sept 3      UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock                 

Sept 10     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsman and Pure Stock

                Season Championship for Sportsman and Pure Stock

Sept 17     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stock

                Season Championship for Late Models and Modifieds

Sept 24     UMP Late Models, Modifieds and Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stock 

This the 56^th year of racing at Belle Clair Speedway.