2005belle

Oct 1

   Friday night was the last night of racing for the 2005 season at Belle Clair Speedway. There were cars in the pits and fans in the stands. The night was the championship night races for the UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds. Also, it was the night to crowd champions in three divisions.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 14 cars on hand, In the first heat race, Ed Dixon took the win over Bob Geaschel, Mike Schulte, Mike Hammerle, Scott Geaschel and Rick Standridge. The second heat saw the checkered flag fall for Don Klein with Rick Slater, Dan Dondero, Frankie Martin, Ray Emling and Vince Grondzki in tow. The dash was started with the top six in points starting in inverted order. The win went to Dixon over Klein, Hammerle, Salter, Martin and Schulte.

   The feature was started in point order with Dixon and Martin on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Martin jumped to the lead and went to the top and never looked back. Dixon jumped into second and tried the whole track to overtake Martin, but could never accomplish the task.

   The front two cars put on a good show for the fans. The first caution came on lap nine when Grondzki spun in turn one. The running order was Martin, Dixon, Standridge, Salter and Hammerle in the top five.

   The race restarted with Martin continuing to have command of the race and Dixon trying to find a way around him.

   On lap 11, the race was slowed again as debris was on the track. The running was now Martin, Dixon, Standridge, Salter and Klein in the top five.

   As the race restarted, Martin continued to run the top was good mastery to continue the lead. Dixon still was trying everything to get by Martin, but nothing was working.

   The final caution came out as third running Standridge had something break coming out of turn two and slowed causing a pileup with Salter, Klein and Hammerle getting involved. All but Standridge were able to continue. Standridge was done for the night as his night was a long working night after getting into big wreck in the first heat race and had to rebuild the right front corner of the car to make the feature. The running order was now Martin, Dixon, Salter, Klein and Hammerle in the top five.

   The race went green for the remaining laps and it was a good show up front between the front running cars of Martin and Dixon.

   The last feature of the season and the season championship race went to Martin with Dixon, Salter, Klein and Hammerle rounding out the top first.

   Ed Dixon won the track championship with Martin in second  Dixon had only two feature win, but race in the top five more often that Martin to gain the track championship. Martin won four features in 2005. Standridge and Mark Voigt won the most features with five a piece.

   In the UMP Modifieds, there were 16 cars available to race. In the first heat race, Chad Fraunenfelder took the win over Brett Korves, Matt Koesterer, Wayne Downing, Tom Ratajczyk, Chris Gray, Lenny Bryant and Chad Reum. The second heat went to Dave Thornton followed by Steve Ellison, Marty Smith Jr., Marty Smith Sr., Chris Smith, Brian Bielong, Paul Reinneck and Bobby Bittle. The dash run in the same fashion as the Late Models. Smith Sr. took the checkered flag over Bittle, Gray, Ratajczyk, Korves and Smith Jr.

  The season championship race started with Smith Jr. and Ratajczyk on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Ratajczyk took the lead from the outside front row. Smith Jr. chased Ratajczyk for the lead.

   The race lasted all of one lap as Bittle putted up with a broken car after one lap and was out for the night. The running order was Ratajczyk, Smith Jr., Gray, Korves and Smith Sr. in the top five.

   With the green back out, Ratajczyk took to the top of the track and continued to lead the race. Smith Jr. was also running the top and tried to get by Ratajczyk, but could not get past the faster Ratajczyk. During the green light period, Gray was challenging the top running pair on the bottom of the track. The three top running cars were putting on a good show for the fans.

   As the race was getting interesting with Gray looking like he might be close to taking the lead, the final caution came out on lap 13. Bryant spun in turn two to bring out the yellow flag. The running order was Ratajczyk, Smith Jr., Gray, Smith Sr. and Downing in the top five.  

   With the green flag back out and seven laps to go, Ratajczyk went to the bottom of the track to try and protect his lead. Smith Jr. continued to run the top and use that lane to his advantage.

   About lap 16, Smith overtook Ratajczyk down the front straight for the lead and went on to record his seventh feature win of the season which was the tops in the class. Ratajczyk held on for second followed by Gray, Smith Sr. and Reum to complete the top five. Notable finishes  were Reum starting eighth, Downing starting 10^th and finishing sixth and Bielong starting eleventh and finishing seventh.

   Smith Jr. won his first ever track championship.  Ratajczyk finished second in track points with Bittle, Gray and Smith Sr. rounding out the top five in track points.

   The Allied Sportsmen class had 15 cars on hand for their last night of racing. In the first heat, Shawn Seymour took the checkered flag with Troy Neager, Chris Smith, Mike Kurtz, Brian Shubirg, Rich Tettaton, Tom Smallwood and Lonnie Casey trailing. In the second heat, Joe Volluz got the win over Mike Jones, Mike Harris, Mike Seymour, Bob Casey and  Brian Eaves in pursuit. The dash went to Volluz with S. Seymour, Neager, Jones, Harris and Smith trailing.

   The 15 lap feature started with S. Seymour and Neager on the front row. With the green flag out, Seymour jumped to the lead and he never looked back. This race went green for 15 laps.

  Seymour were on to win his second feature of the year. Neager, Smith, Harris, and Volluz completed the top in a good race that was enjoyed by the crowd.

   Paul Bauman had already won the track championship and did not race. Shawn Seymour finished second with Chris Smith in third.

   The banquet will be held Saturday, January 7 at the Belle Clair Fair grounds. At this time the trophies and checks will be handed out to the top 10 in all classes.

  The 2005 racing season at Belle Clair Speedway is winding down as this week the season championship races were held for the Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stock. 

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 16 cars on hand for the night of racing with Mark Voigt having engine problem during hot laps and not racing. In the first heat, Frankie Martin took the checkered flag over Rick Slater, Rick Standridge, Don Klein, Dan Dondero, Ray Emling, Vince Grondzki and Scott Geaschel. The second heat belonged to Kevin Cole with Mike Schulte, Mike Hammerle, Dan Jacober, Bob Brown, Jim Gibson and Bob Geaschel in tow. The dash were to Cole over Martin, Schulte, Salter, Standridge and Hammerle.

   The feature started with Standridge and Salter on the front row. Standridge jumped into the lead on the dropping of the green flag with Cole and Martin in pursuit.

   The first caution came out with debris on the track. The running order was Standridge, Cole, Martin, Salter and Hammerle in the top five.

  The racing was all over the track as the top was the faster lane, but several cars were on the bottom and making progress. Cole took over the lead running on the top on lap eight. Cole was fast on the top while Standridge was on the bottom trying to regain the lead.

   The caution came out on lap 12 as Martin got into Cole in turn two and came to a stop. Cole had left front end damage, but continued and was still fast on the top. The running order was Cole, Standridge, Hammerle, Salter and Klein in the top five.

   On the restart Cole again continued to lead the race with Standridge and Hammerle in pursuit. The next caution occurred when S. Geaschel spun in turn three. This is were the whole race changed. The track officials determined that the damage to Cole’s car was not safety and retired the car for the night. This gave the lead to Standridge with Hammerle, Salter, Klein and Gibson in the top five.

   With the green back out, it did not stay on as Grondzki quit on the back straight with problems.

   The green reappeared and the racing continued with Standridge continuing to have command of the race. Hammerle was taking to get his second win of the year, but was having little success in getting close enough to take over the lead.

   On lap 20, the final caution of the night occurred as Martin stopped in turn four up against the wall and was done for the night. The race order was now Standridge, Hammerle, Klein, Emling and Salter in the top five. Emling started in the eleventh starting spot and move forward on the top of the track.

   With the green flag out for the final time, Standridge continued to hold the lead with Hammerle trying to get close to Standridge to take the lead, but could not get there. Standridge went on to take the checkered flag for his fifth feature of the year trying him with Voigt for the most feature wins at five. Rounding out the top five were Hammerle, Emling, Klein and Salter. Emling past Klein for third at the line as he out drag raced Klein out of turn four.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 17 cars on hand for the activities. In the first heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the win over Chris Gray, David Seger, Dave McDougal, Paul Reinneck, Joe Puricelli, Wayne Downing, Chad Reum and Steve Ellison. The second heat went to Dave Thornton followed by Marty Smith Jr., Chris Smith, Bobby Bittle, Ryan Driemeyer, Marty Smith Sr., Brett Korves and Matt Koesterer. The dash went to Thornton followed by Smith Jr., Gray, Ratajczyk, C. Smith and Seger.

   The feature started with Gray and Ratajczyk on the front row. Ratajczyk jumped to the lead at the start of the race and never looked back. Gray tucked into second and tried all he could to get by Ratajczyk.

  The first caution came out early as McDougal and Smith Sr. tangled in turn one. At the point in the race, the running order was Ratajczyk, Gray, Thornton, C. Smith and Smith Jr.

  When the race restarted, Ratajczyk continued his lead and used the top of the track to make his run for the win. Gray was on the bottom. Smith Jr. passed his brother Chris for third during this next green flag period.

   The final caution came on lap 11 as Puricelli stopped on the track and was done for the night. The running order was Ratajczyk, Gray. Thornton, Smith Jr. and C. Smith.

   With the final nine laps run under the green, Ratajczyk continued to command the race. Gray was still trying to catch Ratajczyk, but could not gat the job done. Thornton in the mean time was on the top trying to overtake Gray, but could not.

   When the checkered flag fell, Ratajczyk took his third feature of the year. Gray, Thornton, Smith Jr. and C. Smith completed the top five. 13^th starting Downing made the most of the race to finish seventh.

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 18 cars available to participate in the season championship event. In the first heat, Wade Sutton took the win over Mike Kurtz, Mike Seymour, Mike Harris, Shawn Seymour, Lonnie Casey, Bob Casey and Jim Clark. The second heat went to Troy Naeger followed by Brian Eaves, Brian Shubirg, Jim Abshier, Mike Jones, Joe Volluz, Chris Smith, Denny Tribout and Paul Bauman. The dash, lined up in inverted points order , saw Joe Volluz take the checkered flag with Harris, Smallwood, S. Seymour, Smith and Bauman in pursuit.

   The feature was lined up in point order with Bauman and S. Seymour on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag for the championship race, Bauman jumped to the lead and never looked back. Seymour and Smith tried to catch Bauman, but that was not to be on this night.

   Bauman went on to win his 11^th feature of the year and clinched his second track championship. Following Bauman were Smith, S. Seymour, Harris and Shubirg to complete the top five.

   Next week is the last night of racing at Belle Clair Speedway for the 2005 season. It will be the season championship races for the UMP Late Models and Modifieds. It has been a fun year of racing at Belle Clair Speedway with many new drivers at the track and some very good races.

Sept 16

  Well, what a night Friday turned out to be as Mother Nature played a big part in what happened. First, Mother Nature dumped over three inches of moisture in the area and forced cancellation of the events at other tracks in the area. With the decision to race at Belle Clair Speedway mended that this was the only track racing in the area. So as the night progressed to the start of the program, more and more cars showed up to add to the growing car count. There were new drivers on hand in the Late Model and Modified divisions and the early track conditions were questionable.

   In the UMP Late Model division, there were 28 cars in the pits. This was the highest car count since the St. Clair County Fair night. In the first heat race, Michael Kloos took the checkered flag over Kevin Cole, Mark Voigt, Ray Emling, Ryan Little, Bob Brown and Frankie Martin. The second heat saw the win go to Randy Korte with Steve Sheppard, Mike Schulte, Chris Winters, Mike Bryant, Dick Taylor and Ron Jarrell in tow. The third heat race went to Ed Dixon followed by Brian Collins, Rick Standridge, Rick Salter, Vince Grondzki and Rodney Melvin. The fourth heat saw Billy James with the win while Brent Kreke, Don Klein, Dan Dondero, Dan Jacober, Jimmy Burwell and Mike Hammerle trailed. The dash went to Kloos followed by Dixon, James, Sheppard, Cole, Collinz, Kreke and Korte. The semi sent Martin and Little to the feature. The top six drivers in UMP National points were in the pits.

   The 25 lap feature started with Korte and Cole on the front row. At the start of the race, Korte took the lead with Cole, Collins and James in tow.

  The first caution came after lap one when Standridge spun in turn four. The running order for the top five were Korte, Cole, Collins, James and Kreke.

   With the track in much better condition than during the heat race, the racing was fast and all over the track. As the race continued, Korte continued to lead with Cole, leading rookie of the year contender, and Collins trying to overtake Korte.

   The next caution came out for a stopped Dixon, who was the first car out for the night, on lap three. The top five cars remained the same with Korte leading.

   With the green light on, Korte continued to overcome the field. The second spot was contested with Collins taking a higher line in turns one and two and overtaking Cole for the second spot. Eighth starting Kloos also jumped into the top five during this period.

    The next caution came on lap eight when Standridge pulled up and was out for the night after three consecutive feature wins. The running order was Korte, Collins, Cole, James and Kloos in the top five.

    As the race resumed, the top five raced for the win with a blanket covering the top five cars. The race went two laps before the next caution occurred when Voigt and Salter tangled in turn three and were hooked together.  Voigt retired for the night. The running order was Korte, Collins, Cole, Kloos and James.

    With the slowdowns out of the way and the green light back on, the racing got serious. Korte took command and never looked back. Collins and Cole tried to get close to Korte but could not get close.

    Korte went on to win his second feature in his second outing at the track. Collins finished second in his first race at the track even. Cole, Kloos and James round out the top five.

    In the UMP Modified class, there were 22 car available to race. In the first heat race, Brett Korves took the win over Steve Ellison, Chad Sellers, Steve Meyers, Chris Smith, Lenny Bryant, Brad McKinnon and Shawn Bohn. In the second heat, Tom Ratajczyk got the checkered flag with Wayne Downing, Kyle Logue, J.D. Rottler, Dave Sheppard, Marty Smith Sr. and Bobby Bittle trailing.  In the third heat, Chris Gray won followed by Paul Reinneck, Marty Smith Jr., Rusty Griffaw, Bobby Martintoni, Ryan Driemeyer, and Dave Thornton. The dash went to Ratajczyk followed by Ellison, Gray, Korves, Reinneck and Downing.

   The 20 lap feature started with Gray and Reinneck on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Gray jumped into the lead and never looked back.  He was chased by third starting Korves and fourth starting Downing.

   The first caution came on lap two as Driemeyer stopped on the track. The running order was Gray, Korves, Downing, Ratajczyk and Ellison.

   With the green light back on, Gray continued to lead with Korves running a very nice race in second. Ratajczyk was on the move as well and moved into third during the next green light racing period.

    The next slowdown came on lap nine for Ellison’s spin in turn four while running in the top five. The running order now was Gray, Korves, Ratajczyk, Downing and Logue.

   With the green flag waving again, Gray continued to try to win his first race of the year. Korves and Ratajczyk were trying to catch Gray, but Gray was running a good line on the bottom of the track and holding off the competition.

   The final caution came on lap 12 for a spinning Sellers in turn four. The running order was Gray, Korves, Ratajczyk, Downing and Logue.

    The green reappeared and Gray continued to lead and looking for his first win of the season. Ratajczyk took over the second spot moving Korves back to third.

    Gray took the checkered flag for his first win of the year. Ratajczyk took second with Korves, Downing and Logue rounding out the top five. There were only 10 cars still on the track at the end.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 15 cars available to race. In the first heat, Joe Volluz took the win over Mike Kurtz, Shawn Seymour, Chris Smith, 29, Tom Smallwood, Brian Shubirg and Mark Scheafer. In the second heat, Paul Bauman got the victory with Mike Jone, Mike Seymour, Mike Harris, Randy Ridge, Denny Tribout Jr. and Lonnie Casey in tow. The dash went to Bauman followed by Jones, Volluz, Kurtz, M. Seymour and S. Seymour.

   The feature started with Volluz and M. Seymour on the front row. With the green flag dropping to start the race, Volluz bolted to the lead and never looked back. Bauman followed Volluz into second place and tried to take the lead, but could never over take Volluz.

   Volluz used the middle to bottom of the take to take his first win of the season with Bauman in second. Rounding out the top five were Kurtz, Harris and Tribout Jr. Tribout Jr started 12^th to move though the field to get a top five finish.

  Next week will be season championship night for the Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stock cars. The feature will be lined up by the top twelve car in points starting in the feature. The remaining spots will be filled from a consolation race with the cars not yet qualified.

Sept 9
  As the season is coming to a close in a few weeks, the weather was hot still and the racing continued with more new cars in the pits and fans in the stands.

  In the UMP Late Model pits, there were 14 cars on hand for the races. In the first heat race, Kevin Cole took his first win ever at the track. Cole was followed by Rick Slater, Rick Standridge, Mike Schulte, Jim Gibson, Ron Jarrell, Dan Jacober and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Frankie Martin got the checkered  flag with Dan Dondero, Micheal Kloos, Ed Dixon, Don Klein and Mike Hammerle in tow. The dash went to Martin with Cole, Salter, Standridge, Kloos and Dondero trailing.

  The 25 lap feature started with Kloos and Salter on the front row. The first few laps were close out front, but Salter had the advantage over Kloos. The first caution came out early as Dondero had something go wrong with his car and he slowed. As Dondero stopped in turn three, Dixon could not see him and crashed into the stopped car. Dixon was able to continue, but Dondero was out. At this point in the race, the top five were Salter, Kloos, Cole, Standridge, and Martin.

  With the green light back on, the race for the lead was fired up again. Salter and Kloos had a good fight going on with Kloos taking the lead around lap four. The race was being held on the bottom to middle of the track as no one tried the top.

   The green light stayed on for a long time, but the driving for the lead was being contested among the top five cars. As the race continued and the laps clicked off the front five were approaching the back of the field. With cars starting to go a lap down, the leader looked like he would be added to the feature win list.

   As it got closer to the end, Kloos started to drive a little more aggressively and passing cars on the inside. With the signal for two laps to go coming out, Kloos tried to pass Jarrell on the inside, but he climbed over Jarrell’s left side and spun out ending his night without the win. Standridge inherited the lead and a chance to win three features in a row.

   With Kloos out, Standridge went on to win his third consecutive feature. Salter held on for second while Martin, Klein and Cole completed the top five.

   Cole is the top Rookie of the Year driver for 2005. Klein was having his 50^th year in racing night. The night for Late Models had a lot going for it and it produced some of the best results.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 22 cars available to race. In the first heat race, Rust Griffaw took the checkers with Marty Smith Jr., Bobby Bittle, J.D. Rottler, Chris Gray, Kyle Logue, Paul Reinneck and Brett Korves in tow. In the second heat, Steve Ellison took the win followed by Brian Bielong, Matt Mevert, Wayne Downing, Stu Springer, David Seger and Paul Belken. In the third heat, Marty Smith Sr. got the win with Chad Reum, Dean Hoffman, Dave Thornton, Tom Ratajczyk, Chris Smith and Lenny Bryant trailing. The dash was won by Ellison followed by Griffaw, Smith Sr., Reum, Bielong and Bittle. The semi sent Logue, Reinneck Bryant and Smith Jr. to the feature.

   The 20 lap feature started with Smith Sr. and Reum on the front row. Third starting Bittle jumped to the lead quickly and never looked back. Ellison followed Bittle from his fifth starting spot to run second early. Unlike the Late Model feature, the Modifieds used the whole track as cars ran top and bottom.

  The first caution came out on lap 2 as Gray had a flat tire and slowed on the track. The running order was Bittle, Ellison, Smith Sr., Reum and Hoffman.

   With the green light back on, Bittle and Ellison continued to battle for the lead on the bottom of the track. The next caution came out when Smith Jr. quit on the track. The top five did not change, but the racing was close.

   When the green light reappeared, some serious racing began. The bottom runners continued to lead while the top runners were hitting the cushion in turns one and two. As Bittle continued to lead, Ellison was right there on his rear bumper waiting for a mistake to take over the lead.

   With green flag racing continuing, the racing up front got intense as eighth starting Mevert moved into the top five.  Fourth starting Griffaw got moved out of the top five as Bittle and Ellison continued to battle for the win.

   The final caution came out on lap 15 as Reum spun out in turn four and was done for the night. The running order of the top five was Bittle, Ellison, Mevert, Hoffman and Downing.

   With the green flag back out, Bittle continued to lead with Ellison waiting for the right move to make. Mevert and Hoffman were competing for the third spot.   Griffaw and Downing were battling for the fifth position.

  When the checkered flag fell, it was Bittle taking his second feature of the year over Ellison with Mevert, Hoffman and Griffaw completing the top five.

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 16 cars ready to race. In the first heat, Mike Harris took the victory over Mike Jones, Paul Bauman, Brian Eaves, Denny Tribout Jr., Tom Smallwood, Shawn Seymour and Joe Volluz. The second heat went to Troy Neager followed by Mike Seymour, Chris Smith, Brian Shubirg, Mark Scheafer, Mike Kurtz, Lonnie Casey and Jim Abshier. The dash saw Harris with his second win of the night over Jones, Neager, Bauman, M. Seymour and Smith.

    The 15 lap feature started with Jones and Bauman on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Bauman jumped to the front and never looked back.

    Despite a few well place cautions, Bauman went on to win his 10^th feature of the year, leading all classes. Seventh starting Tribout Jr. ran a good race to finish second with 10th place starting Schaefer taking third, Smith  and 11^th starting Volluz completing the top five.

   Next Friday will continue the regular racing at Belle Clair Speedway.   

Sept 2

  Despite all the problems in the USA this past week with the hurricane and the gas prices rising, racing at Belle Clair Speedway continued with good car counts and lots of people in the stands. There were good races on the track that had everyone excited. Also, there were new drivers in the pits again.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 20 cars available to race. In the first heat race, Rick Standridge took the win over Vince Grondzki, Don Klein, Dave Eaves, Ron Jarrell, Dan Jacober and Bob Brown. In the second heat, Ed Dixon took the victory followed by Frankie Martin, Rick Salter, Aaron Kleine, Mike Hammerle, Kevin Lee and Andy Pryor. The third heat saw Brent Kreke with the win over Mike Mataragas, Mark Voigt, Mike Schulte, Jim Gibson and Bob Johnson. The dash  went to Dixon with Standridge, Grondzki, Kreke, Martin, Mataragas in tow. There was no semi as several cars developed problems and could not continued.

   The 25 lap race started with Standridge and Dixon on the front row.  This seemed to be the setup for one of those classic races. It did not disappoint the crowd on hand. At the dropping of the green flag, Dixon went to the front, but it would not last. The race did not take long for the first caution to come out. After lap one, Jacober spun in turn four. The top five were Dixon, Standridge, Grondzki, Martin and Mataragas.

   With the racing going back to green the action picked up.  Standridge took the lead from Dixon, but that did not last as Dixon would take it back a few laps later. Most of the driving was taking place on the bottom of the track with the exception of Dixon, who was on the top most of the race.

   As the pair up front were changing the lead back and forth lap after lap, it was hard to take your eyes off that battle. Sixth starting Kreke was on the move and moved to the top five. Also, Kleine started 11^th and was on the move.

  The biggest thrill was when the lead pair came upon some cars that were going to be lapped. The four cars went into turn four four wide. Would there be the BIG one or would they all survive?  The answer is they all survived and the race continued with no one having any problems. This is one situation that rarely happens on this 1/5 mile oval between the Late Model cars.

   As the laps clicked off, the race was ongoing as the lead pair continued to give the crowd it’s money’s worth. Kreke, Martin and Kleine battled for position behind the lead pair.

  The last caution came out on lap 21 when Eaves quit on the track. The lead top five were Standridge, Dixon, Kreke, Martin and Kleine.

  Standridge went on to win his third feature of the year. Dixon finished second with Kreke, Martin and Kleine completing the top five.

   There were 27 UMP Modifieds in the pits with several new drivers and one of them was a female. In the first heat, Matt Mevert took the win over Steve Ellison, Brett Korves, Paul Reinneck, Chad Fraunenfelder, Travis Koehler, Lenny Bryant and Brad McKinnon.  The second heat went to Tom Ratajczyk with Chad Reum, Dave Thornton, Marty Smith Jr., Kent Schoeck, Chris Gray, David Seger, J.T. Rottler and Wayne Downing trailing. In the third heat, Dean Hoffman won followed by Chris Smith, Brian Bielong, Chad Sellers, Marty Smith Sr., J.D. Campbell, Jennifer Seger, Blade Cook and Roger Fohne. The dash went to Mevert followed by Hoffman, Ratajczyk, Reum, Ellison and C. Smith. The semi sent Gray, Bittle and Bryant to the feature.

   The 20 lap feature started with Ellison and Hoffman on the front row. Ellison took the early lead on the start of the race with Hoffman on his bumper.

   The race went green for 13 laps before the first caution occurred. There was plenty of action in those early laps as positions changed on every lap.  Much of the racing took place on the top of the track. Ratajczyk moved passed Ellison for second. Gray came from sixteenth starting spot to the top five.

  On lap 13, a big mess happened in turn one at the pit gate. Chris Smith spun, but collected Mevert, Thornton, Smith Jr. and Sellers with a big pile of race cars sitting on the bank of turn one.  Three of these cars were done for the night - C. Smith, Mevert and Sellers. The running order was Hoffman, Ratajczyk, Ellison, Reum and Gray.

  On the restart, Hoffman continued to lead with Ratajczyk trying to catch him. Ninth starting Bielong was on the forward movement as he would get into the top five during the next five green flag laps. Smith Jr. also recovered from going to the back after the lap 13 incident.

  The final caution came out on lap 18 when Reum spun out on the back straight, but he had help. The official determined that Gray had help Reum and black flagged Gray. Gray, however,  had other ideas and tried to stay on the track after several officials pointed to the infield for Gray to go. Finally after several minutes of trying to get Gray off the track, he went pitside and the race was able to continue. The running order was now Hoffman, Ratajczyk, Bielong, Ellison and Smith Jr. in the top five.

  With two laps to go, Hoffman continued his lead on the restart. Ratajczyk continued to chase him with Bielong in pursuit of both drivers. At the checkered flag it was Hoffman for his fourth feature win of the year. Following Hoffman were Ratajczyk, Bielong, Ellison and Smith Jr. to complete the top five.

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 18 cars available to race. In the first heat, Paul Bauman took the win over Mike Harris, Mike Kurtz Jr., Mike Jones, Denny Tribout Jr., Jim Stevens, Lonnie Casey and Lawrence Schaefer. The second heat was won by Shawn Seymour followed by Mike Seymour, Troy Neager, Chris Smith, Joe Volluz, Brian Shubirg, Bob Casey, Louie Taylor and Brian Eaves. The dash went to S. Seymour over Bauman, M. Seymour, Neager, Kurtz and Harris.

    The 15 lap feature started with Bauman and S. Seymour on the front row. These are the two top drivers in points and should provide some good racing action. Bauman jumped to the lead on the dropping of the green flag with S. Seymour jumping on his bumper.

   As the race went on Bauman held his leading position with S. Seymour trying to win his second feature of the year.

   Bauman went on to win his ninth feature of the year with S. Seymour finishing second. Volluz, Neager and Kuntz rounded out the top five.

August 26

Mother Nature took the checkered flag again after dumping about 2 inches of moisture in the area.

August 19

   As the 2005 racing season continues and the heat of the summer seems to get hotter, the regular racing continues. There were plenty of cars in the pits and new drivers ready to race.

   In the UMP Late Model division, there were 18 cars in the pits ready to race. In the first heat race,  Rick Standridge took the victory over  Rick Salter, Mark Gansmann, Vince Grondzki, Jim Gibson, Dan Jacober, Brent Kreke, Kyle Monroe, and Bob Brown. In the second heat race, Aaron Kleine took the checkers with Ed Dixon, Don Klein, Mike Schulte, Mike Hammerel, John Paule, Ron Jarrell, Frankie Martin and Mike Jacober in tow. The dash went to Kleine with Dixon, Standridge, Gansmann, Klein and Salter trailing.

    The 25 lap feature started with Dixon and Standridge on the front row.  At the dropping of the green flag, it was Standridge that took the lead and he would never look back. Dixon dropped into second and tried to apply the pressure on Standridge.

  The race was slowed on lap 3 as Kleine climbed the outside wall in turn one and was the first car out of the race. The running order was Standridge, Dixon, Salter, Gansmann and Klein in the top five.

   With the race restarting, Standridge continued the lead with Dixon again trying to press Standridge. Dixon overtook Standridge on lap 6, but that was short lived as Standridge came back and retook the lead in lapped traffic.

   Salter would over take Dixon for second as Dixon used the top of the race track and stumbled in turn one to let Salter over take him.

   The car on the move was Paule as the 12^th place starter used the outside of the track to move by car after car to move into the top five.

  The next caution came on lap 15 when Grondzki quit on the track. The running order was Standridge, Salter, Dixon, Klein and Paule.

   With the race continuing, Standridge started to  stretch his lead a little over Salter. Klein was on the bottom and moving forward. With the laps winding down, Klein over took Salter for second getting a good run on the low side of the track.

   At the checkered flag, it was Standridge with his second feature of the year. Klein finished second with Salter, Paule and Dixon completing the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 20 cars on hand. In the first heat race, Matt Mevert took the checkered flag with Dean Hoffman, Chad Fraunenfelder, Chris Gray, Steve Ellison, Matt Koesterer and Chris Smith in tow. The second heat produced a winner in Bobby Bittle over Brian Bielong, Ricky Horton, Wayne Downing, Paul Reinneck, Brett Korves and Gary Haynes. The third heat saw Tom Ratajczyk with the victory followed by Dave Thornton, Marty Smith Jr., Marty Smith Sr., Chad Reum and J.D. Rottler. The dash went to Bittle followed by Mevert, Ratajczyk, Hoffman, Thornton and Bielong. The semi sent Korves, Rottler and Smith to the feature.

    The 20 lap feature started with Mevert and Bielong on the front row. This lineup looked like a race that was going to be a classic and it was. Bielong jumped to the lead on the dropping of the green flag and went to the top of the track. Mevert gave chase and the front two put on a show.

    The first caution came on lap four with Fraunenfelder spinning in turn four. Smith Jr., Korves and Gray also got collected in the incident. Smith Jr. retired for the night. The running order was Bielong, Mevert, Hoffman, Thornton and Bittle in the top five.

    With the green coming out again, Bielong continued his lead and still running on the top. Mevert was trying to overtake Bielong, but he could not and stayed on his bumper. The front running pair was putting on a show for the lead running the top of the track.

    The next slowdown came out on lap 10 when Horton stopped on the track and was out for the night.

The running order was still the same.

   On the restart, Bielong continued to front run with Mevert again tacking on to his rear bumper. The next stoppage came on lap 12 when third running Hoffman putted up with problems  and was done for the night. Now the top five was Bielong, Mevert, Thornton, Bittle and Ratajczyk.

   Bielong continued his lead on the restart with Mevert close behind. The next caution was for fourth running Bittle as he lost another engine on lap 15, but not in the same smoking way that he did a few weeks ago. Now the top five was Bielong, Mevert, Thornton, Ratajczyk and Smith Sr.

    The final caution came on lap 18 as Reinneck, Rottler and Korves tangled in turn three. The running order for the drag race to the end was Bielong, Mevert, Thornton, Ratajczyk and Gray as Smith Sr. had retired earlier.

   When the checkered flag fell, it was Bielong for his second feature win of the year. Mevert finished a close second followed by Thornton, Ratajczyk, and Gray to complete the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsman class, there were 17 cars in the pits for the race. In the first heat, Tom Smallwood took the win followed by Mike Kurtz, Brian Shubirg, Jason Keller, Mike Seymour, Chris Sale, Lonnie Casey, Jim Clark and Lonnie Taylor. In the second heat, Mike Jones took the checkers with Chris Smith, Mark Benedick, Paul Bauman, Shawn Seymour, Mike Harris, Denny Tribout Jr. and Randy Ridge trailing. The dash went to Jones over Smallwood, Smith, Kurtz, Benedick and Shubirg.

   The 15 lap feature started with Kurtz and Smallwood on the front row. The start was not good as the cars of Smith, Shubirg, Keller, M. Seymour, and Casey tangled in turn two. The cars of Casey, Shubirg and Smith were done for the night without ever completing a lap. On the next attempt to start the race, things went differently and for the better. Smallwood jumped to the lead that he never gave up.

   As a matter of fact, once the race started it went green for 15 laps. The Sportsman class has run at least three features caution free which is two more than the other classes.

   Smallwood went on to win his second feature of the year. He was followed by Benedick, Bauman, S. Seymour and Kurtz to complete the top five.       

August 12

  That time of the year again and it was the St. Clair County Fair week. There were fans in the stands and cars in the pits and Mother Nature was around to help with the night of racing. Plenty of cars for Fair night with an increase in the purse for all classes. But the big draw was the 100 lap race for Late Model with a possible $2,500 to win.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 28 cars on hand for the Fair night races. Heat race were used to qualify for the feature with the first four cars making the feature. In the first heat race, Rick Standridge won over Danny Haynes, Jayme Zadar, Brent Kerke, John Paule, Bob Brown and Keith Pratt. In the second heat, Randy Korte took the victory with Don Klein, Dick Taylor, Jim Gibson, John Crouch, and Keith Lee in tow. In the third heat, Ed Dixon won floowed by Mark Gansmann, Dean Hoffman, Mike Hammerle, Mark Voigt, Ron Jarrell, and Bob Johnson. The fourth heat went to Kenny Rumble followed by Rick Salter, Mike Schulte, Chris Winters, Vince Grondzki, Dave Eaves and Lenny Garson. The dash went to Korte with Dixon, Haynes, Rumble, Standridge, Klein Gansmann and Salter in tow. The semi sent Voigt and Paule to the feature. Added to the rear of the feature were Frankie Martin and Grondzki.

  The feature started with Korte and Dixon on the front row. This looked like the classic battle for the win with these two drivers on the front row.

  With the dropping of the green flag, it was Korte to the front. Dixon, Standridge and Gansmann were in the battle for second, but Korte putted away for a good lead.

    The race only got four laps into the race before the first stoppage occurred for a tangle in turn two between Voigt, Martin and Grondzki. The running order was Korte, Dixon, Standridge, Gansmann and Haynes in the top five.

  The race restarted with Korte again pulling away. The race for second was the battle to watch as Dixon, Standridge and Gansmann ran close together.

   The next caution came out for a stopped Hoffman in turn two. Hoffman was done for the night. The first four cars ran the same with Salter getting into fifth past Haynes.

  With the race continuing, Mother Nature decided that to put a slow down to the activities as a light and brief shower hit the track on lap 25. The cars continued to circle the track to not let the moisture ruin to race. As more cars were added to hold the track in a raceable condition. The cars won the moisture fight after a lot of laps were put on the track.

  Once the track was back in a raceable condition, the race went green again. Korte continued to lead with the battle taking place behind him. Only three laps could be added to the completed total before Winters broke and left oil on the track. At the lap 28 break in the action, Hoffman, Voigt, Zadar, Grondzki and Winters were out for the night. The running order in the top five was Korte, Dixon, Standridge, Gansmann and Salter.

  With the race resuming, Korte again jumped to a comfortable lead.  The same fight continued for second with Dixon holding his own with Standridge hold third and Gansmann in fourth. Again only a few laps could be run before a tangle in turn four happened with Schulte and Kreke. The running order remained the same.

   Only a single lap could be recorded before Paule spun in turn four to slow the race on lap 31. Paule pulled off and was done for the night.

  Back to racing and Korte continued to dominate with Dixon, Standridge and Gansmann following and fighting for position.

   On lap 40, the race was slowed when Schulte spun in turn four.  The front four cars remained the same but Klein had now moved into the fifth spot.

   Back to racing and Korte continued to lead until the race slow on lap 45 when Gibson and Martin got together on the front straight.  Both cars continued. At this time it was determined to stop for fuel after 45 laps of racing and a long delete for Mother Nature.

  With the cars refueled, the green flag came out again. Korte jumped to the lead with Dixon, Standridge and Gansmann back in a battle for second.

  On lap 48, the race slowed again for a tangle in turn two when a chain reaction accident occurred between Schulte, Hammerle and Rumble.

  Back to green flag racing with Korte continuing to rule the front of the field. At the halfway point, it was Korte, Dixon, Standridge, Gansmann and Klein in the top five.

  The next change in the running order came on lap 59 when third running Standridge pulled up with problems that put him in the pits and out of the race. Now the top five was Korte, Dixon, Gansmann, Klein and Haynes.

  With the green flag back out, a long session of green flag laps were run. Korte pulled away from the field and had a comfortable lead. The race was for second as Gansmann stayed close to Dixon and was pressing for the position.

  The next stoppage came on lap 70 when Taylor and Schulte tangled n turn four that sent Taylor to the pits. That cut the field in half, but several of the cars left were a lap or more down to the leader.

   At the 75 lap mark, it was Korte, Dixon, Gansmann, Klein and Haynes in the top five.

   On lap 77, Gansmann got by Dixon for the second position. But the battle continued and Dixon was not content on running third. Four laps later, Dixon took the position back.

    At the checkered flag it was Korte for the win and a check for $2500. Following Korte was Dixon, Gansmann, Klein and Haynes to complete the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 23 cars available to race. In the first heat race, Brian Bielong took the win followed by Chad Reum, Dean Hoffman, Wayne Downing, Marty Smith Jr., Marty Smith Sr., Brent Mullins and J.D. Rottler. In the second heat, Chris Gray took the win with Scott Weber, Tom Ratajczyk, Brad McKinnon, Lenny Bryant, Chris England, Matt Koesterer and J.D. Campbell trailing. The third heat went to Bobby Bittle over Chris Smith, Kent Schoeck, Brett Korves, Dave Thornton, Paul Reinneck and Mark Lund. The dash went to Bielong with Bittle, Weber, Gray, Reum and C. Smith following. The semi sent Mullins, Reinneck, Rottler and Smith Sr. to the feature.

  The 20 lap feature started with Weber and Reum on the front row. Weber took the early lead with Gray, Hoffman and Bielong in pursuit.

   The first caution came out when Bittle spun in turn four. The top five was Weber, Gray, Hoffman, Bielong and Ratajczyk.

   When the green flag reappeared, Weber continued his lead, but Hoffman had moved around Gray and was using the bottom of the track to move forward.

   Hoffman took command of the race by passing Weber on the low side coming out of turn four.

   The racing continued with good action on the track. 11^th starting Smith Jr. was the car on the move as he went to the top of the track move forward. Mullins, for his first time at the track, also moved forward from his 16^th starting spot.

  The last caution came out on lap 18 when England spun in turn three. The running order was Hoffman, Weber, Gray, Smith Jr. and Ratajczyk.

  With just two laps remaining, Hoffman went on to record his second feature win of the season in the England Modified. Weber held on for second followed by Smith Jr., Gray and Ratajczyk to complete the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 19 cars in the pits. In the first heat race, Paul Bauman took the win followed by Mike Jones, Brian Shubirg, Lonnie Casey, Tom Smallwood, Jim Abshier and Louie Taylor. The second heat race saw Joe Volluz with a win over Mark Benedick, Chris Sale, Mike Harris, Mike Seymour and Kent Nations. The third heat race produced a win for Shawn Seymour with Chris Smith, Troy Neager, Brian Eaves, Bobby Dees and Mike Kurtz trailing. The dash went to Bauman over S. Seymour, Volluz, Smith, Benedick and Jones.

   The 15 lap feature started with Smith and Jones on the front row.

August 5

  The racing continued on Friday with a nice night for racing and a pit full of cars for the night of racing. Again there were new events that took place, repeat winners and another green flag race.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 19 cars on hand for the races. In the first heat race, Jim Gibson took the win over Vince Grondzki, Rick Standridge, Dave Eaves, Brent Kreke, Dean Hoffman and Dave Thornton. In the second heat, Mark Voigt got the victory with Chris Winters, Ron Jarrell, Mike Schulte and  John Crouch in tow. Bob Geaschel did not start. The third heat saw the checkered flag fall for Ed Dixon over Rick Salter, Frankie Martin, Mike Hammerle, Don Klein and Bob Johnson. The dash went to Voigt followed by Grondzki, Winters, Salter, Dixon and Gibson.

   The 25 lap feature started with Winters and Grondzki on the front row. With the green flag falling to start the race, Grondzki jumped to the lead. The race only lasted on lap as Kreke stopped in turn two at the beginning of lap two. The running order was Grondzki, Voigt, Salter, Dixon and Winters.

  When the green flag came back out the racing also got going. Grondzki continued his lead but Voigt was challenging Grondzki on the top.  Grondzki held onto the lead until the next and final caution came out on lap 5 for a spin by Johnson in turn two.

   With the cautions over with, the battle for the lead heated up. Grondzki try to hold the lead, but on lap 8 Voigt got by Grondzki for the lead and he never looked back.

   Sixth starting Dixon was on the top and was on the move. Dixon worked his way to second and was on the hunt for the front spot.

   Voigt used the whole track to maintain the lead as he was heavily being pressed by Dixon for the lead. As the race continued, lapped traffic started to become and issue, but both drivers maneuvered though the lapped cars with little problems.

    Salter tried to stay within striking distance, but could only hang on to third place. The man on the move was Hammerle as he started 12^th and rode the bottom to move into the top five.

   As the laps worn on, the front duo continued to battle for the win. The fans continued to watch this race as they put on a good show while battling each other as well as the traffic in front of them.

   Voigt went on to win his fifth feature and second in a row. Dixon finished a close second with Salter, Hammerle and 14^th starting Klein rounding out the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 18 car in the pits. In the first heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the win followed by Stu Springer, Dean Hoffman, Bobby Bittle, Tom Ratajczyk, Mark Clary, Brett Korves, Chris Gray and Paul Reinneck. The second heat saw Wayne Downing get the win with Matt Mevert, Chris Smith, Kent Schoeck, Chad Reum, Lenny Bryant, Matt Koesterer, and Brian Hiezer trailing. The dash went to Mevert over Downing, Smith Jr., Hoffman, Springer and C. Smith.

   The 20 lap feature started with Downing and Smith Jr. on the front row. Smith Jr. jumped to the lead at the start of the race and never looked back. Downing ran second in the early going with Mevert in third.

   Smith Jr. took to the top of the track and proceeded to hold command of the race. The racing behind Smith Jr. was were the action was. Downing and Mevert fought for second while Hoffman and Springer raced for fourth.

  The first caution came out on lap 3 as Korves spun in turn two.  The running order was Smith Jr., Downing, Mevert, Hoffman and Springer in the top five.

   With the race restarting, Smith Jr. continued to lead running on the top of the track. Mevert and Downing were also running on the top, but Mevert was also searching the track for a faster way around. Mevert found a faster way on the bottom and soon passed Downing for second.

   The next caution came out on lap 14 when Korves and Reinneck tangled in turn two with the leaders approaching. The running order was Smith Jr., Mevert, Downing, Hoffman and Smith Sr. in the top five.

   With the race continuing, Smith Jr. held Mevert’s challenges off, but the race for third was heating up. Hoffman would move past Downing for third. Smith Sr. was then pressing Downing for fourth.

   On the last lap more action took place. Smith Jr. went on to collect his sixth feature with Mevert following in second place. Hoffman took third and Smith Sr. took fourth coming off of turn four to pass Downing.

    In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 14 cars ready to race. In the first heat, Joe Volluz took the win over Mike Seymour, Brian Eaves, Shawn Seymour, Lonnie Casey, Mark Benedick and Chris Sale. The second heat was won by Paul Bauman, followed by Tom Smallwood, Mike Harris, Chris Smith, Brian Shubirg and Mike Kurtz. Mike Jones did not start the race. The dash went to Bauman with Volluz, Smallwood, Harris, Eaves and M. Seymour in tow.

   The 15-lap race started with Eaves and Volluz on the front row. Eaves took command at the start of the race. Volluz was challenging, but fifth starting Bauman was moving forward.

July 29
  The racing continued on Friday night at Belle Clair Speedway with better weather and again some new cars. The season is getting shorter and the points battles are getting good.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 20 cars ready to do battle. In the first heat, Mark Voigt got the victory over Ron Jarrell, Brent Kreke, Scott Geaschel, Dave Thornton, Frankie Martin, and James Burrell. In the second heat, Mike Schulte took the win followed by Ed Dixon, Chris Winters, Jim Gibson, Bob Brown, and Vince Grondzki. The third heat had Rick Standridge with the win over Dave Eaves, Mike Hammerle, Dan Dondero, Billy Laycock, Don Klein and Rick Salter. The dash saw the win go to Schulte over Voigt, Standridge, Jarrell, Dixon, and Eaves.

     The 25 lap feature started with Eaves and Schulte on the front row. At the dropping of the green flag for the start of the race, Schulte jumped to the lead and ran the top of the track. The first caution came out on lap three for debris on the track. The running order was Schulte, Voigt, Dixon, Eaves and Standrige in the top five.

   With the green out again, Schulte continued to lead with Voigt giving a strong challenge. The race only last two lap when Grondzki and Salter tangled in turn three to slow the pace. The top five were Schulte, Voigt, Dixon, Eaves and Standridge.

    Again the race restarted with Schulte still in command, but Voigt was still trying for the lead and was pressing Schulte. On lap seven, Voigt got the opportunity to take command as Schulte had trouble in turns one and two.

 Once again only a few laps got on the board as Martin slowed on the track with problems on lap eight. Now the running order was Voigt, Schulte, Dixon, Standridge and Kreke.

  With most of the racing being done on the top of the track, Kreke was the only driver to make the bottom work as he moved from seventh starting into the top five. Voigt had the command of the race using the top to middle of the track for his racing as Schulte was the trying to catch Voigt.

  The last caution came on lap 11 as Winters hit the outside wall in turn two. Winters was able to continue. The top five now were Voigt, Schulte, Dixon, Standridge and Kreke.

   The green flag came out again and Voigt jumped to a lead that he never looked back from. Dixon moved into second as Schulte faded as the race wore on.

   Voigt went on to claim his fourth victory of the year. Dixon finished second over Standridge, Kreke and Hammerle to complete the top five.

   The man on the move in this race was Don Klein as he started 18^th and moved to seventh.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 16 cars on had to race. In the first heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the win over Wayne Downing, Tom Ratajczyk, Dean Hoffman, Chad Reum, Marty Smith Sr., Steve Ellison, and Chris Gray. In the second heat, Roger Fohne got a win with Stu Springer, Bobby Bittle, Paul Reinneck, Brett Korves, Gary Haynes, Lenny Bryant and David Seger in tow. The dash went to Smith Jr. over Fohne, Springer, Bittle, Ratajczyk and Downing.

   The 20 lap feature started with Downing and Springer on the front row. Downing took the early lead at the start of the race. With just one lap in the books, Korves spun on the back straight to slow the action. The running order was Downing, Springer, Bittle, Fohne and Ratajczyk before the restart. Springer dropped out before the restart. That moved Hoffman into the top five.

  On the restart, Downing continued to lead, but Bittle took control on lap two. This race was beginning to e run by the lap as on lap three, Seger spun on the front coming out of turn four. The running order now was Bittle, Downing, Fohne, Ratajczyk, and Smith Jr.

  With the race restarting, Bittle took command again, but it slow again on lap four as Haynes stopped on the track. There was no change in the top five.

  Again the race restarted, but this time several laps would be run before the next stoppage. The car on the move was Smith Jr. running on the top with a broken right shock. Smith Jr. was now beginning to put the pressure on Bittle.

   As the laps were clicking away, Bittle began to show smoke coming from his engine and on lap 10 the engine let go in a big way as the track was covered in smoke. That gave the lead to Smith Jr. with Fohne, Ratajczyk, Downing and Hoffman in the top five.

   With the racing going green again, Smith Jr. opened up a good lead as his used the top of the track as he usually does for his racing. Ratajczyk moved into second place with Hoffman also advancing a position. The race was slow for the final time on lap 16 for debris on the track. The running order was Smith Jr. Ratajczyk, Hoffman, Reum and Fohne.

   With just four laps to go, Smith Jr. continued his quest for another feature win. Smith Sr. with moving forward now and moved into the top five from 11^th starting spot. Smith Jr. took the checkered flag for his fifth feature win at Belle Clair Speedway. Finishing behind Smith Jr. were Ratajczyk, Hoffman, Reum and Smith Sr. 

July 22
   It was a hot, humid night and the race program at Belle Clair Speedway were on as usual. There were cars in the pits with new drivers and the race went fast with few incidents. Also, there were drivers doing some strange things.

  In the UMP Late Model pits, there were 18 cars on hand to race. In the first heat race, Ed Dixon won with Mike Schulte, Mark Voigt, Bob Geaschel, Frankie martin, Ron Jarrell, Billy Laycock, Don Klein, and Vince Grondzki trailing. In the second heat, Rick Salter took the win over Rick Standridge, Dan Dondero, Mike Hammerle, John Couch, Bob Johnson, Dan Jacober, Jim Gibson and Bob Brown. The dash went to Dixon followed by Salter, Schulte, Voigt, Dandero and Standridge.

  The 25 lap feature event started with Salter and Schulte on the front row. Shulte jumped into the lead at the dropping of the green flag.  The racing was done on the bottom to middle of the race track for most of the race.

  Shulte looked strong in the early going Salter, Dixon and Voigt gave chase, but to little avail in the early going. The race went green for the first 16 laps.  During this racing, Dixon had moved up into second place and began challenging Schulte for the lead.

   On lap 16, Salter and Voigt got together between turns three and four and Salter came to a stop in turn four. It was determined the both Salter and Voigt would go to the rear for causing the stoppage. Voigt did not think he was involved and left the race. Both cars were running in the top five at the time of the incident. The running order was Schulte, Dixon, Standridge, Hammerle and Martin in the top five.

  With nine laps to go, the race restarted , but never restarted as Gibson and Geaschel tangled on the back stretch  with both drivers upset over the situation. A few words were exchanged with Gibson being eliminated and Geaschel able to restart in the rear.

  The race finally restart with Schulte taking the lead, but Dixon was glued to his rear bumper. As the laps clicked off, Dixon moved to the middle of the track and move past Schulte for the lead on lap 20.

   Dixon went on to collect his second feature of the year and a sweep for the night. Following Dixon to the checked red flag were Schulte, Standridge, Hammerle and Martin to complete the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 18 cars available to race. In the first heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the win over Brian Bielong, Marty Smith jr., Paul Reinneck, Marty Smith Sr., Wayne Downing, Dean Hoffman, Steve Ellison, and Brett Korves. In the second heat, Matt Mevert got the win followed by Bobby Bittle, Chad Reum, Stu Springer, Chad Fraunenfelder, Chris Soutiea, Matt Koesterer, Chris Gray and Mark Clary.

The dash went to Mevert followed by Ratajczyk, Bittle, Bielong, Smith Jr. and Reum.

  The 20 lap feature started with Bielong and Smith Jr. on the front row. This seemed like a good setup for a good race by drivers that liked to run the top of the track. The green flag fell, but the race did not start as Smith Sr. had a flat tire in turn two. Smith Sr. Got his tire changed quickly and rejoined to field before the next restart.

  When the race was restarted, Smith Jr. took to the top of the track and took the early lead. Mevert starting third jumped into second early while running on the bottom of the track. Smith Jr. and Bielong put on a show running to top of the track.

   The first caution came on lap 2 as Fraunenfelder slowed on the track and was done for the night. The running order was Smith Jr. Mevert, Bielong, Bittle and Reum.

   With the race restarting Smith Jr. continued to lead and running on the top. Mevert was on the bottom and moving closer to moving past Smith. As the laps were put in the books, Mevert took the lead on lap 8 and never looked back. The race went green for many laps as Mevert had the lead and Smith Jr. and Bielong battled on the top side of the track lap after lap.

  The next and final caution slowed the race on lap 15 as Ellison slowed on the track and put off. The running order was Mevert, Smith jr., Bielong, Reum and Bittle in the top five.

  With five laps to go, Mevert continued his lead with Smith Jr. and Bielong fighting go position on the top. Mevert would go on to win his third feature and taking a sweep for the night. Smith Jr. held on for second with Bielong, Ruem and Bittle completing the top five.

   In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 16 cars ready to race. In the first heat, Tom Smallwood got the victory with Chris Sale, Shawn Seymour, Brian Shubirg, Joe Volluz, Denny Tribout Jr., Mike Jones, Mike Kurtz, and Ron Weidler in tow. In the second heat, Paul Bauman took the checkered flag ahead of Mark Benedick, Mike Harris, Brian Eaves, Chris Smith, Lonnie Casey, Mike Seymour and Chuck Adams. The dash went to Bauman followed by Smallwood, S. Seymour, Harris, Benedick and Sale.

   The 15 lap feature stared with Harris and Seymour on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag to start the race, Harris took the early lead with Bauman, Seymour and Smallwood in tow.

   The first caution came out on lap 3 with Tribout Jr. spinning in turn four. The running order was Harris, Bauman, Seymour, Smallwood and Benedick in the top five.

  It did not take Bauman long to take the lead as he assumed command on lap six. Bauman went on to win his sixth feature of the year and also completed the sweep for the night. Harris would remain close and finish second followed by Smallwood, S. Seymour and Benedick to complete the top five.

  The brooms went wild and this was a first for the year to have three different classes have drivers with sweeps on the same night.

  Racing will resume next week with a regular night of race. The St. Clair County Fair will be coming up in a few weeks and the 100 lap race for UMP Late Models will be run with and added bonus for this class. There will be additional money available for drivers that have raced in 2004 and 2005.  

July 15
Mother Nature again took the races to the checkered flag. Right at 5:00 P.M. when the gates were to open, Mother Nature struck and cancelled the racing program.

July 8

  The mid-season races are behind us and back to regular racing at Belle Clair Speedway this pass Friday. There were new cars in the pits and the racing was good as the weather was heating up.

   In the UMP Late Model pits there were 18 cars ready to race. In the first heat, John Paule took the win over Frankie Martin, Mike Hammerle, Danny Haynes, Bob Geaschel, Ed Dixon, Billy Laycock, Dan Dondero, and Kevin Lee. In the second heat, Rick Standridge won followed by Don Klein, Brent Kreke, Mike Schulte, Rick Salter, Vince Grondzki, Jim Gibson, Bob Brown, and Richard Hines. The dash went to Standridge with Paule, Martin, Klein, Hammerle and Kreke in tow.

    The feature started with Standridge and Paule on the front row. Paule took the early lead at the start of the 25 lap race. Kreke followed Paule into second.

   The race just got started when the first caution appeared on lap one when Standridge, Laycock, Klein, Schulte, Dondero and Hines all tangled in turns one and two. Standridge and Laycock went to the back as the cause for the incident. The running order was Paule, Kreke, Klein, Hammerle and Martin in the top five.

  With the restart, Paule was still in the lead, but Kreke was on the move. On lap four, Kreke took over the front of the pack and never looked back.

   The race continued until the next caution when Lee quit on the track and was out. The running order was Kreke, Paule, Klein, Hammerle and Martin.

  With the race going green again, it looked like it could go green for the rest of the race. Hammerle was moving forward as he moved to second place, but Kreke was building a lead over him and was holding steady over the field as he was moving though traffic. Tenth starting Salter moved into the top five during this run.

  The final caution came out on lap 12 as Standridge slowed on the track with rearend problems. The running order was Kreke, Hammerle, Salter, Martin and Klein in the top five for the run to the checkered flag.

  With the green flag back out the final seven laps went green. Kreke’s lead was not as good during the closing laps as Hemmerle steadied glued to his rear bumper. At the checkered flag it was Kreke for his second feature win of the year and second in the last three weeks. Hammerle was second followed by Salter, Martin and Klein in the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 17 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the win followed by Bobby Bittle, Scott Weber, Stu Springer, Brett Korves, Wayne Downing, Marty Smith Sr., Paul Reinneck and Matt Koesterer. In the second heat, Brent Thompson got the victory over Tom Ratajczyk, Chris Gray, Paul Belken, David Seger, Chad Fraunenfelder, John Reando and Lenny Bryant. The dash went to Thompson followed by Smith Jr., Bittle, Cray, Weber and Ratajczyk.

   The 20 lap feature started with Thompson and Bittle on the front row. Bittle got the early jump on the field with the lead.  Bittle took the front spot on the dropping of the green flag.

   As the first few laps were being clicked off the racing up front was hot. Gray took command on lap 5 as he ran the lower groove to move in front.

   The race slowed for first time on lap five with Seger and Bryant tangling in turn two. The running order was Gray, Bittle, Weber, Smith Jr. and Thompson in the top five.

   When the green flag came out again, Gray continued with the lead, but high riding Weber was picking cars off and moved to the lead on lap eight.

   July 1
The racing continued on Friday night with the running of the midseason championship races for the UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds. The weather was hot, the fans were in the stands and the races were good.

   In the UMP Late Model pits, there were 15 cars available for the races. In the first heat race, Mike Shulte won over Dan Donero, Rick Salter, Ed Dixon, Dwayne Kiefer, Don Klein, and Jim Gibson. The second heat went to Mike Hammerle with Ron Jarrell, Billy Laycock, Brent Kreke, Frankie Martin and Bob Geaschel in tow. The dash was for the top six in points starting in inverted order. That went to Kreke over Salter, Dixon, Standridge, Hammerle, and Martin.

  The 25 lap feature started with Martin and Dixon on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Dixon jumped to the lead and never looked back. Following Dixon was Martin, Salter and Hammerle.

  As the laps continued to unwind, Dixon had a comfortable lead over the field. The race looked like it could go green as the racing continued lap after lap. Dixon was going for his first feature win of the year. At the lap ten mark it was Dixon in front with Martin, Salter, Hammerle and Kreke chasing him.

  The only caution came out on lap 19 as Salter was charged for spinning in turn two, but Laycock, Aaron Kleine, Standridge and Jarrell piled up in turn one on the outside wall. Standridge got the worst of the wreck and was out for the night. The rest of the cars were able to continue.

   With six laps remaining of the race, the top five were Dixon, Martin, Hammerle, Kreke and Laycock. Salter was running second, but was moved to the back.

  The green flag came out for the last time and Dixon continued his domination of the race and went on to collect his trophy and the first feature event of 2005. Following Dixon to the checkered flag were Hammerle, Martin, Kreke and Kleine.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 13 cars on hand for the race. In the first heat race, Chris Gray took the win over Tom Ratajczyk, Marty Smith Jr., Stu Springer, Chris Smith, Lenny Bryant and Bob Johnson. In the second heat, Marty Smith Sr. got the win followed by Chad Fraunenfelder, Bobby Bittle, Aaron Kleine, Brett Korves and Matt Koesterer. In the dash, the field was filled with the top five in points and started in inverted order. The race went to Gray with Korves, Smith Jr., Ratajczyk, Smith Sr. and Bittle in tow.

  The 20 lap feature started with Smith Jr. and Bittle on the front row. At the start of the race, Smith Jr. took the lead and he never looked back. Bittle, Ratajczyk and Korves gave chase, but could only battle for their position.

   The only slowdown was on lap 13 when Fraunenfelder spun in turn four. The running order was Smith Jr., Bittle, Ratajczyk, Korves and Gray.

   When the race resumed, Smith Jr. again jumped to a good lead over the rest of the field. With the track being slick, pass was a difficult thing to do.

  At the checkered flag it was Smith Jr. taking home the trophy for the midseason championship. Bittle settled for second with Ratajczyk, Korves and Gray rounding out the top five.

    In the Sportsmen class, there were 14 cars on hand for the races.   

June 24
 

  The racing is coming to the middle of the year as the Mid-season championships were run for the Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks on Friday night. The weather was hot as was the racing.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 18 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Aaron Kleine took the win followed by Frankie Martin, Dean Motsinger, Rick Standridge, Kevin Cole, Ron Jarrell, Vince Grondzki, Kevin Lee and Rick Salter. In the second heat,  Dan Donero took the victory over Mike Hammerle, Dan Klein, Ed Dixon, Brent Kreke, Jim Gibson, Mike Schulte and Billy Laycock. The dash went to Kleine over Dondero, Hammerle, Martin, Klein and Motsinger.

   The 25-lap feature started with Martin and Kleine on the front row. Kleine took the lead and was a rocket early on a slick track.

   The race went green until lap 10 when Standridge spun in turn one, The running order was Kleine, Martin, Klein, Kreke and Hammerle in the top five. Kreke came from the tenth starting spot to crack the top five.

  With the green reappearing, Kleine again jumped to the lead and pulled away from the field. Kleine looked like the car to beat, but on lap 17 he came to stop in turn three with rear end problems and was done for the night. The running order for the restart was Martin, Kreke, Hammerle, Klein and Dixon.

   The green flag fell again and the last eight laps were very exciting as Kreke took the lead on the low side and Dixon was on the move on the high side. As the laps clicked off the front battle between Kreke and Dixon had the crowd watching to see who would take the checkered flag.

   Kreke took the checkered flag for his first win of 2005 at Belle Clair Speedway. Dixon finished a close second with Martin, Hammerle and Klein completing the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were only 12 cars on hand. In the first heat, Chris Gary got the win over Bobby Bittle, Marty Smith Jr., Tom Ratajczyk, Stu Springer, and Brad White. In the second heat, Brett Korves won his first race in a Modified. Following Korves was Paul Belken, Chad Fraunenfelder, Bob Johnson, Marty Smith Sr., and Matt Koesterer. The dash went to Gray followed by Belken, Bittle, Smith Jr., Korves and Fraunenfelder.

   The 20-lap feature started with Bittle and Smith Jr. on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Smith jumped to the top of the track and checked out. Bittle was on the bottom, but had little for Smith.

  The only caution came on lap 5 as Johnson spun in turn two. The running order was Smith Jr., Bittle, Korves, Gray and Fraunenfelder.

   When the race resumed, Smith continued his lead with Bittle in pursuit. Korves ran a smooth and steady race in third place as these three cars pulled away from the rest of the field.

  The race was for five place as Gray held fourth. Belken made his first trip to Belle Clair this year made it a good trip. He would take over fifth place late in the race.

  At the checkered flag, it was Smith Jr. getting his third feature win of the year and holding on to the point lead. Follow Smth was Bittle, Korves, Gray and Belken to round out the top five.

  The Allied Sportsmen had their mid-season championship race. There were 19 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Joe Volluz took the win over Chris Smith, Troy Medley, Ron Weidler, Lonnie Casey, Zac Parks, and Louie Taylor. In the second heat, Mike Kurtz won followed by Bob Koch, Paul Bauman, Bob Casey, Mike Jones, and Chris Sale. The third heat went to Mike Harris with Denny Tribout Jr., Shawn Seymour, Brian Shubirg, Mike Seymour and Pat Aaron in tow. The dash was run with the top six in points starting in inverted order. Sale got the victory followed by Bauman, Volluz, Harris, Smith and Seymour.

  The 15-lap feature started with Bauman and Smith on the front row as the feature was lined up by points. Point leader Bauman jumped to the lead at the dropping of the green flag. Sale followed Bauman as he got to second.

   As the race went green, Bauman held the lead until the first caution on lap 8 as Kurtz spun in turn two. The running order was Bauman, Sale, Smith, Seymour and Volluz in the top five.

  The race continued with Bauman continuing his domination of the race. No one was able to move pass anyone in the top as Bauman went on to win the mid-season championship race and his fifth overall feature. Sale finished second with Smith, Seymour and Volluz completing the top five.

  Next week the UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds will have their mid-season championship race.

June 21

  The UMP Challenge of Champions race for UMP Late Models came to Belle Clair Speedway on Friday? night. There were plenty of cars, time trail of the Late Models, lots of fans in the stands and good weather.

  Time trailing is only held once a year at Belle Clair Speedway and that is for this race. The fast time was set by Frankie Martin. The other five drivers that would go to the dash based on their time were Rodney Melvin, Don Klein, Ed Dixon, Rick Salter and Dick Taylor.

  In the dash,  there were three additional cars added. Bruce Unterbrink was added for the CoC series points person, Mark Voigt from the track and Michael Kloos from the UMP points standings. The race was won by  Dixon over Martin, Melvin, Klein, Salter and Voigt sending these cars to the front of the feature. The other three cars went to front of the heat races.

  In the first heat, Kloos took the win followed by Mike Hammerle, Rick Standridge, Unterbrink, John Paule, John Lansford, Ron Jarrell and Bob Geaschel. The second  heat went to Brent Kreke with Taylor, Mike Schulte, Vince Grondzki, Jim Gibson, Billy Laycock, Dan Dondero, and Patrick Tretter in tow.

The semi sent Laycock, Lansford, Jarrell and Geaschel to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature for $2,000 to win started with Dixon and martin on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Martin jumped to the lead with Dixon in tow.

   The race went 26 laps of green flag racing on a slick track with plenty of action up front. Martin lead but Voigt and Dixon would apply the pressure. Dixon would try the low side while Voigt tried the middle as Martin ran on the low side.

  In the UMP Modifieds class, there were 21 cars on hand for the night of racing. In the first heat, Chris Gray took the win followed by Steve Ellison, Marty Smith Sr., Eric Goetter, Brett Korves, Lenny Byrant and Kent Schoeck. The second heat went to Marty Smith Jr. with Tom Ratajczyk, Matt Wiedner, Stu Springer, Brad McKinnon, Chad Fraunenfelder and David Seger in tow. The third heat saw Bobby Bittle get the victory with Matt Mevert, Paul Reinneck, Ryan Driemeyer, Chad Reum, Matt Koesterer and Mark Lund trailing. The dash went to Gray followed by Smith Jr., Bittle, Mevert, Ratajczyk and Ellison. The semi sent Fraunenfelder, Schoeck and Byrant to the feature.

  The 20-lap feature started with Bittle and Mevert on the front row. This lineup set up on of the classic races from the past between Bittle and Mevert. With the dropping of the green outside starter Mevert jumped to the lead with Bittle and Gray in hot pursuit.

   The only caution came out on lap 3 when Goetter hit the outside wall in turn one and knocked a hole in the wall causing a delay in the program for repairs. The top five were Mevert, Gray, Bittle, Smith Jr. and Ratajczyk.

June 17
  Racing continued at Belle Clair Speedway after Mother Nature took away the program last week. There were new drivers in the pits and the weather warmed up and the threat of Mother Nature stayed away.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Mark Voigt took the victory followed by Ron Jarrell, Shawn Rayfield, Frankie Martin, Kenny Rumble, Kevin Lee, Vince Grondzki and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Brent Kreke got the win with Mike Schulte, Rick Salter, Don Klein, Rick Standridge, Dan Dondero, Jim Gibson, and Bob Brown in tow. The third heat went to Mike Hammerle over John Lansford, Aaron Kleine, Billy Laycock, Dan Jacober, John Couch and Marc McClintock. The dash saw Voigt take the win with Kreke, Hammerle, Jarrell, Lansford and Schulte following. The semi sent Dondero, Grondzki and Geaschel to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Jarrell and Hammerle on the front row. Hammerle took the lead on the dropping of the green flag and never looked back. However, he did get pressure from Lansford and Kreke during the race.

  The race went green for the first 14 lap with the racing being done on the bottom of the track that went slick. The up front race was between Hammerle, Lansford and Kreke for the lead as Hammerle was able to hold off all challenges for the lead.

  The first stoppage was on lap 14 for a tangle in turn three between Jacober, Dandero, and Rayfield that sent Jacober and Rayfield to the pits with damage. The running order was Hammerle, Lansford, Kreke, Martin and Salter in the top five.

  On the restart, Hammerle continued to lead, but Lansford and Kreke took turns trying to get past Hammerle, but to no avail. Hammerle used his line to hold off all challenges. Lansford tried the very inside to get to the door of Hammerle but that was as far as he could get. Kreke tried on the outside, but he could get not get by.

  The next slowdown came on lap 20 as Standridge stopped on the front straightway and was done for the night. The running order was Hammerle, Lansford Kreke, Martin and Salter in the top five.

  On the restart, Hammerle again held on to the lead with Kreke getting by Lansford temporarily and giving Hammerle some heat for the lead.  Kreke tried the outside, but Hammerle held on sending Kreke back to third before the final caution.

  The last slowdown came on lap 23 when Laycock lose a tire off his car on the front straight away. The front five were still the same at this late stage of the race.

  With two laps to go the restart saw Hammerle continue to lead, but the move was being made for a top five finish by Kleine. Kleine got by Salter and then Martin to move into fourth place. When the checkered flag fell it was Hammerle getting his first win of the year and becoming the fourth different feature winner of the year. Following Hammerle were Lansford, Kreke, Kleine and Martin to complete the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 15 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the win followed by Mark Clary, Chris Gray, Marty Smith Sr., Brett Korves, Lenny Bryant and Matt Koesterer. In the second heat, Dean Hoffman got the win over David Seger, Tom Ratajczyk, Paul Reinneck, Bobby Bittle, Steve Stephenson and Mark Lund. The dash went to Hoffman followed by Smith Jr., Clary, Gray, Ratajczyk and Seger.

  The 20-lap feature started with Gray and Seger on the front row. The start saw a need for a complete restart as Gray spun in turn four. With the restart, Gray took the early lead.

  On the next lap, Smith Jr. would slow with a flat tire that he suffered in the first start of the race. Smith was able to pull into the inside pits and get the tire charged and rejoin the back of the pack.

   Gray continued to lead the race on the restart, but he had pressure being applied and would lose the lead on lap nine to Hoffman. Hoffman was using the middle of the track for his line and moved past Gray, who was on the bottom.

  On lap 10, the caution came out again as Koesterer spun in turn four. The running order was Hoffman, Gray, Clary, Smith Sr. and Seger. But the car most people were watch now was Smith Jr. as he went to the top and was moving past cars on his way to the front.

  Hoffman continued to run the middle of the track on the restart and look like a new winner as he held everyone else at bay. Gray stayed on the bottom, but could not do anything to get close to Hoffman.

  On lap 12 the next caution came out for Seger’s spin in turn two and collected Reinneck. Both cars went to the back. The running order up front was Hoffman, Gray, Clary, Smith Sr. and Bittle.

  The restart did not last long as Bryant spun in turn two on lap 13. There was no change in the front running order, but Smith Jr. was coming on the outside.

  The restart saw Hoffman continue to lead, but a challenge was coming on the outside. The final seven laps were run under green and it was Smith Jr., who put on the show. Smith continued to run the high line and started to take out on car after the other as he moved into second place and tried to overtake Hoffman.

  It was Hoffman and Smith Jr. for the win over the last three laps, but Hoffman held on for his first feature win of the year. Smith Jr.’s run from last place to second was the best race to watch of the year. Following Smith Jr. to complete the top five were Gray, Smith Sr. and Bittle.

  In the Allied Sportsman class, there were 16 cars in the pits. The first heat race went to Chris Smith followed by Chris Sale, Paul Bauman, Joe Volluz, Mike Kurtz, Tom Smallwood, Ron Weidler and Mike Harris. The second heat saw the win go to Mark Benedick, followed by Shawn Seymour, Dave Eaves, Lonnie Casey, Mike Jones, Brian Shubirg, Bob Koch and Mike Seymour. Smith with Benedick, Seymour, Sale, Eaves and Bauman trailing won the dash.

  The 15-lap feature started with S. Seymour and Eaves in the front row. Eaves took the early lead and heald that lead until lap 6 when point leader Bauman took command. Bauman went on to win his fourth feature of the year with fifth start Smith taking second. The remaining top five were Eaves, S. Seymour and Benedick.

  The races next week will include bike races for the kids. Parents remember to bring the bikes with you to the races next Friday night for your kids to race at intermission.

   In two weeks, Belle Clair Speedway will host the UMP Challenge of Champions race for Late Models. The race will pay $2,000 to win. Last year’s winner was Rodney Melvin for Logan, IL.

June 10
  As the weather heated up so did the racing at Belle Clair Speedway last Friday night. There were new feature winners and new cars. The fans were treated to good races.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 20 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Rick Salter took the win over Mike Hammerle, Mike Schulte, Aaron Kleine, Frankie Martin, Brent Kreke, and Dan Jacober. In the second heat, Bruce Unterbrink won followed by Rick Standridge, Don Klein, Billy Laycock, Ron Jarrell, Dan Dondero, and Dewayne Kiefer. The third heat saw Ed Dixon with the checkered flag with Vince Grondzki, John Lansford, Kenny Rumble, Jim Gibson and Bob Geaschel in tow. The dash went Unterbrink followed by Dixon, Salter, Hammerle, Standridge and Grondzki.

  The 25-lap feature started with Dixon and Grondzki on the front row. At the dropping of the green flag, Dixon took the lead and began building a lead over second place Grondzki. Dixon went to the top of the track and used the cushion in turns one and two to extend his lead.

  The first caution came out on lap 2 with Dondero spinning in turn three. The running order was Dixon, Grondzki, Hammerle, Standridge and Salter in the top five.

  With the green flag coming out again, racing continued with Dixon on top and Grondzki in the middle on the slick track. With the track in fast racing condition Slater made advances to third in this segment of the race moving past Hammerle and Standridge.

  The second slow down came on lap 7 as Kleine broke and slowed on the track. The top five were now Dixon, Grondzki, Salter, Standridge and Unterbrink.

  With the race continuing, Dixon once again moved out to a nice lead over the field. Grondzki continued to run second and holding off the rest of the field.

  The caution flown on lap 11 as Kreke was spun in turn four.  The top five was the same, but changes were in the works.

   When the green returned Salter started to move forward on the bottom and moved past Grondzki for second with Dixon still pounding the cushion in turns one and two. Salter took the lead on lap 13. As the lead was exchanged, Dixon started to have problems with his rear-end. The car began bouncing badly and he slowed to bring out the caution on lap 13. Dixon pitted and lost a few laps trying to repair the problem. The top five was now Salter, Grondzki, Standrige, Klein, and Unterbrink.

    The green came out for a few laps  with Schulte moving into the top five. The last caution came out when Klein spun in turn one on lap 15. The running order was Salter, Grondzki, Stadridge, Schulte and Martin in the top five.

  When the green flag reappeared, Salter continued to lead with Grondzki in pursuit. As the laps clicked off, Slater continue his quest for win at the 1/5 mile oval. He held off challenges from Grondzki and the rest of the field. Salter went on to win his first feature of the year at Belle Clair Speedway and began the fifth different feature winner. Grondzki finished second with Standridge, Schulte and Martin completing the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 14 cars available. In the first heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the victory over Chris Gray, Marty Smith Jr., Bobby Bittle, Brad McKinnon, Brian Bielong, Matt Weidner and Roger Fohne. In the second heat, Steve Ellison won followed by Marty Smith Sr., Stu Springer, Brett Korves, Paul Reinneck and David Seger. The dash went to Eillson with Ratajczyk, Gray, Smith Sr., Springer and Smith Jr. in tow.

    The 20-lap feature started with Gray and Ellison on the front row. At the dropping of the green flag to start the race, Gray took the early lead.  Ellison went to the top of the track and was running strong. On lap 3, Ellison overhauled Gray for the lead.

  As the race continued, Smith Jr. joined the battle as he went to the top and was on the rear bumper of Ellison to make a two car race of it. Gray was still a threat, but the action on the top between Ellison and Smith made the race fun to watch to see who would take the lead when. Ellison held on but the challenge by Smith Jr. was very tight.

  As the laps clicked off, the front two put on a show for the crowd. However, on lap 13, Ellison slowed with problem and dropped out. That gave the lead to Smith Jr. to do battle with Gray for the win. The running was Smith Jr., Gray, Ratajczyk, Smith Sr. and Bittle.

  The race only last two laps before the next and final caution occurred. The caution was for debris on the track. The front five stayed the same for the run to the checkered flag.

  As the final five laps clicked off, Smith Jr. held the lead, but Smith Sr. move forward on the outside moving past Ratajczyk and then Gray. Also, moving forward was Springer as he moved into the top five.

  At the checkered flag it was Smith Jr. for the win which was his second of the year. Following Smith Jr. was Smith Sr., Gray, Springer and Ratajczyk to complete the top five. A problem for Bielong at the end as he weighed light and was moved to last place position.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 19 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Lonnie Casey got the checkered flag over Mark Benedick, Shawn Seymour, Joe Volluz, Zac Parks and Louie Taylor. In the second heat, Chris Smith got the win over Ron Weidler, Brian Shubirg, Paul Bauman, Troy Naeger, Chris Sale and Mike Seymour. The third heat was won by Mike Jones with Dennis Wernle, Bob Casey, Mike Harris, Kyle Stolzer and Mike Kurtz in tow. The dash was won by Smith over L. Casey, Benedick, Wernle, Jones and Weidler.

  The 15-lap feature started with Jones and Weidler on the front row. Jones jumped to the early lead and ran on the bottom of the slick track. Benedick and L. Casey would apply the early pressure.

  Sixth starting Smith was the car to watch in this race as he drove in the middle of the track and moved past car after car to take the lead around lap 9. Once in the lead, Smith drove a steady race to win his first feature of the year. Trailing Smith were Benedick, Jones, L. Casey and Naeger to complete the top five.

   Next week is the UMP Challenge of Champion for Late Models. The race will pay $2,000 to win and a berth in the season ending $15,000 to win race at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, MO.

June 3
  Racing continued at Belle Clair Speedway after Mother Nature took away the program last week. There were new drivers in the pits and the weather warmed up and the threat of Mother Nature stayed away.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Mark Voigt took the victory followed by Ron Jarrell, Shawn Rayfield, Frankie Martin, Kenny Rumble, Kevin Lee, Vince Grondzki and Bob Geaschel. In the second heat, Brent Kreke got the win with Mike Schulte, Rick Salter, Don Klein, Rick Standridge, Dan Dondero, Jim Gibson, and Bob Brown in tow. The third heat went to Mike Hammerle over John Lansford, Aaron Kleine, Billy Laycock, Dan Jacober, John Couch and Marc McClintock. The dash saw Voigt take the win with Kreke, Hammerle, Jarrell, Lansford and Schulte following. The semi sent Dondero, Grondzki and Geaschel to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Jarrell and Hammerle on the front row. Hammerle took the lead on the dropping of the green flag and never looked back. However, he did get pressure from Lansford and Kreke during the race.

  The race went green for the first 14 lap with the racing being done on the bottom of the track that went slick. The up front race was between Hammerle, Lansford and Kreke for the lead as Hammerle was able to hold off all challenges for the lead.

  The first stoppage was on lap 14 for a tangle in turn three between Jacober, Dandero, and Rayfield that sent Jacober and Rayfield to the pits with damage. The running order was Hammerle, Lansford, Kreke, Martin and Salter in the top five.

  On the restart, Hammerle continued to lead, but Lansford and Kreke took turns trying to get past Hammerle, but to no avail. Hammerle used his line to hold off all challenges. Lansford tried the very inside to get to the door of Hammerle but that was as far as he could get. Kreke tried on the outside, but he could get not get by.

  The next slowdown came on lap 20 as Standridge stopped on the front straightway and was done for the night. The running order was Hammerle, Lansford Kreke, Martin and Salter in the top five.

  On the restart, Hammerle again held on to the lead with Kreke getting by Lansford temporarily and giving Hammerle some heat for the lead.  Kreke tried the outside, but Hammerle held on sending Kreke back to third before the final caution.

  The last slowdown came on lap 23 when Laycock lose a tire off his car on the front straight away. The front five were still the same at this late stage of the race.

  With two laps to go the restart saw Hammerle continue to lead, but the move was being made for a top five finish by Kleine. Kleine got by Salter and then Martin to move into fourth place. When the checkered flag fell it was Hammerle getting his first win of the year and becoming the fourth different feature winner of the year. Following Hammerle were Lansford, Kreke, Kleine and Martin to complete the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 15 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Marty Smith Jr. took the win followed by Mark Clary, Chris Gray, Marty Smith Sr., Brett Korves, Lenny Bryant and Matt Koesterer. In the second heat, Dean Hoffman got the win over David Seger, Tom Ratajczyk, Paul Reinneck, Bobby Bittle, Steve Stephenson and Mark Lund. The dash went to Hoffman followed by Smith Jr., Clary, Gray, Ratajczyk and Seger.

  The 20-lap feature started with Gray and Seger on the front row. The start saw a need for a complete restart as Gray spun in turn four. With the restart, Gray took the early lead.

  On the next lap, Smith Jr. would slow with a flat tire that he suffered in the first start of the race. Smith was able to pull into the inside pits and get the tire charged and rejoin the back of the pack.

   Gray continued to lead the race on the restart, but he had pressure being applied and would lose the lead on lap nine to Hoffman. Hoffman was using the middle of the track for his line and moved past Gray, who was on the bottom.

  On lap 10, the caution came out again as Koesterer spun in turn four. The running order was Hoffman, Gray, Clary, Smith Sr. and Seger. But the car most people were watch now was Smith Jr. as he went to the top and was moving past cars on his way to the front.

  Hoffman continued to run the middle of the track on the restart and look like a new winner as he held everyone else at bay. Gray stayed on the bottom, but could not do anything to get close to Hoffman.

  On lap 12 the next caution came out for Seger’s spin in turn two and collected Reinneck. Both cars went to the back. The running order up front was Hoffman, Gray, Clary, Smith Sr. and Bittle.

  The restart did not last long as Bryant spun in turn two on lap 13. There was no change in the front running order, but Smith Jr. was coming on the outside.

  The restart saw Hoffman continue to lead, but a challenge was coming on the outside. The final seven laps were run under green and it was Smith Jr., who put on the show. Smith continued to run the high line and started to take out on car after the other as he moved into second place and tried to overtake Hoffman.

  It was Hoffman and Smith Jr. for the win over the last three laps, but Hoffman held on for his first feature win of the year. Smith Jr.’s run from last place to second was the best race to watch of the year. Following Smith Jr. to complete the top five were Gray, Smith Sr. and Bittle.

  In the Allied Sportsman class, there were 16 cars in the pits. The first heat race went to Chris Smith followed by Chris Sale, Paul Bauman, Joe Volluz, Mike Kurtz, Tom Smallwood, Ron Weidler and Mike Harris. The second heat saw the win go to Mark Benedick, followed by Shawn Seymour, Dave Eaves, Lonnie Casey, Mike Jones, Brian Shubirg, Bob Koch and Mike Seymour. Smith with Benedick, Seymour, Sale, Eaves and Bauman trailing won the dash.

  The 15-lap feature started with S. Seymour and Eaves in the front row. Eaves took the early lead and heald that lead until lap 6 when point leader Bauman took command. Bauman went on to win his fourth feature of the year with fifth start Smith taking second. The remaining top five were Eaves, S. Seymour and Benedick.

  The races next week will include bike races for the kids. Parents remember to bring the bikes with you to the races next Friday night for your kids to race at intermission.

   In two weeks, Belle Clair Speedway will host the UMP Challenge of Champions race for Late Models. The race will pay $2,000 to win. Last year’s winner was Rodney Melvin for Logan, IL.

May 27....Rain

May 20
  The racing continued at Belle Clair Speedway with no threat of Mother Nature interfering with the racing program. There were new cars and plenty of action on the track.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 16 cars ready to race. In the first heat, Mike Schulte took the checkered flag followed by Billy Laycock, Vince Grondzki, Shawn Rayfield, Brent Kreke, Ed Dixon, Don Klein and Ron Jarrell. In the second heat, Danny Haynes took the victory over Rick Salter, Mark Voigt, Mike Hammerle, Rick Standridge, Jim Gibson and Dan Jacober. The dash went to Schulte with Haynes, Laycock, Voigt, Salter and Grondzki trailing.

  The 25-lap feature started with Laycock and Grondzki on the front row. Laycock took the early lead with Haynes and Voigt in pursuit.

  The only caution came when Dixon had a right rear go flat after hitting the outside wall and doing additional damage knocking him out of the race. The running order was Laycock, Haynes, Voigt, Grondzki and Schulte.

  When the green flag flown again, Laycock continued to lead, but was pressured heavily by Haynes, who was being pressured by Voigt. The race went green to the finish, but there was action to come.

  Around lap 14, Haynes took over the command of the race moving Laycock back to second, but Voigt was moving as well. On lap 16, Voigt took over the second spot.

  The closing laps got real intense as Haynes and Voigt battled for the lead with Voigt taking over the lead with two laps to go. Haynes tried to hold on to the lead, but Voigt had the car to win. Voigt won his third feature of the year and vaulted into the point’s lead. Following Voigt to the line was Haynes, in his second appearance o f the year, Grondzki, Laycock and Salter to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were two feature races to be run, the washed out race from last week and the new week’s race. In the makeup race, sixteen cars took the green flag with Tom Ratajczyk and Brett Korves on the front row. Ratajczyk took the lead at the start and never looked back.

  On lap one, Marty Smith Jr. hit outside wall on the front stretch and damaged his car to the point that he was out of the race. The running order was Ratajczyk, Korves, Hoffman, Mevert and McGraw in the top five.

  When the race continued, Ratajczyk continued to lead Korves, Hoffman and Mevert trying to stay with Ratajczyk. The race went green for the next 11 laps with pressure taking place behind Ratajczyk. Hoffman moved into second with Mevert moving into third.

  The race was slowed on lap 12 when Reum spun in turn four. The top five were Ratajczyk, Hoffman, Mevert, Korves and Gray.

  The race went green for two laps before McGraw, Smith Sr., Reinneck and Ellison got together in turn one. The running order now was Ratajczyk, Hoffman, Mevert, Gray and Korves.

  The race went green for the final six laps. Mevert got past Hoffman for the second spot while ninth starting Bittle jumped into the top five. Ratajczyk took the checkered flag and became the first multiple feature winner. Completing the top five were Mevert, Hoffman, Gray and Bittle.

  In the regular program, there were 22 cars on hand. In the first heat race, Dean Hoffman took the checkered flag followed by Brett Korves, Roger Fohne, Dave McDongal, Ricky Horton, Lenny Bryant, and Steve Ellison. In the second heat race, it was Brent Thompson over Tom Ratajczyk, Marty Smith Sr., Paul Reinneck, Steve Maisel, Todd McGraw, David Seger and Matt Koesterer. In the third heat, Brian Bielong won with Marty Smith Jr., Chris Gray, Matt Mevert, Stu Springer, Bobby Bittle, and Mark Lund trailing. The dash went to Thompson followed by Hoffman, Bielong, Ratajczyk, Smith Jr. and Korves. The semi sent Bittle, McGraw and Ellison to the feature.

  The feature started with Smith Jr. and Hoffman on the front row. Hoffman got the jump and early lead as the outside line was the fastest way around the track.

  On lap 2, Smith Jr., Ratajczyk, and Korves got spun around in turn four. Smith was determined the have caused the yellow and was sent to the back. The running order in front was Hoffman, Bielong, Korves, Ratajczyk and Thompson.

  When the green flag came out again, Hoffman went low and Bielong rode the top. However, Korves spun out in turn two to bring out the caution. The running order was now Hoffman, Bielong, Ratajczyk, Thompson and Smith Sr.

  When the racing continued, Bielong was faster on the top and took the lead around lap 4. Bielong used the top to continue his lead while Hoffman was on the bottom. The driver on the move was Thompson as he would move into third place.

  The next slow down came on lap 11 when Mevert spun in turn one. The running order was Bielong, Thompson, Hoffman, Ratajczyk and Smith Sr.

  When the green came out again, Bielong continued his line on the top and kept Thompson at bay. Smith Sr. got around Ratajczyk for fourth as the rest of the positions stayed the same. The final caution came on lap 15 when the big one came with McDongal, Springer and Ellison made a sandwich in turn one up against the outside wall. Only Ellison was able to continue.

  The final five laps were run under the green and Bielong became the fifth different driver to win a feature at Belle Clair Speedway. Following Bielong to the finish were Thompson, Hoffman, Smith Sr. and Ratajczyk to round out the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 20 cars available. In the first heat, Joe Volluz took the checkered flag followed by Ron Weldler, Mark Benedick, Denny Tribout Jr., Tom Smallwood, Brian Shubirg and Louis Taylor. In the second heat, Brian Eaves took the win over Shawn Seymour, Lonnie Casey, Mike Jones, Larry Schaefer, Chris Smith and Jim Clark. The third heat went to Paul Bauman trailed by Dennis Wernle, Chris Sale, Mike Kurtz, Mike Harris and Mike Seymour. The dash saw the win go to Volluz followed by Bauman, Eaves, Sale and Weidler.

  The feature started with Volluz and Weidler on the front row. Volluz took the lead at the dropping of the green flag. Volluz looked like he would be the fourth different driver to win a feature as he lead 14 of the laps run. The last lap saw Bauman over take Volluz for the win and his third win of the year. Following Bauman and Volluz were Eaves, Sale and Seymour to complete the top five.

April 13
  The race program at Belle Clair Speedway looked like it could get in, but Mother Nature had other ideas about that as the night worn on. The cars in the pits and fans in the stand, but there were clouds in the sky to boot.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 16 cars on hand. In the first heat, Mark Voigt took the victory over Vince Grondzki, Mike Schulte, Jim Morrison, Rick Standridge, and Jim Gibson. The second heat went to Mike Hammerle followed by Ed Dixon, Brent Kreke, Don Klein, Bob Geaschel, Frankie Martin, John Paule and Dan Jacober. The dash saw Voigt take another checkered flag with Hammerle, Dixon, Schulte, Grondzki and Kreke trailing.

  The 25-lap feature started with Voigt and Kreke on the front row. The feature was moved up in the program order in order to try to beat Mother Nature’s threat. On the dropping of the green flag, it was Voigt to the front with Kreke in close pursuit. The first caution came out on lap 2 with Paule spinning in turn three. The running order was Voigt, Kreke, Hammerle, Grondzki and Dixon in the top five.

  With the action returning, Voigt continued with the lead with Kreke glued to his rear bumper.  The front runners were using the bottom of the track for their racing. As racing continued, the front runners were racing in a tight pack.

  The next caution occurred on lap 8 with Paule spinning in turn two, which send him to the infield after the two spin rule was applied. The running order was Voigt, Kreke, Hammerle, Grondzki and Dixon in the top five.

  Racing resumed with the dropping of the green flag, the battle for the lead was intensifying with Kreke on Voigt’s rear bumper. During this green flag run, drops of moisture began falling. The final caution occurred on lap 15 as Kreke spun in turn four while running in second. The running order was Voigt, Hammerle, Dixon, Standridge and Grondzki.

   The falling moisture got heavier as the cars circled the track trying to save the track from the moisture, but that sooner ended as the rubber on the track and the wet conditions saw the checkered flag fall. That  gave the victory to Voigt as he concluded a sweep for the night. Following Voigt were Hammerle, Dixon, Standridge and Grondzki to complete the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 17 cars on hand. In the first heat, Tom Ratajczyk got the win over Dean Hoffman, Todd McGraw, Brian Bielong, Mark Clary, Brent Thompson, David Seger, and Mark Lund. In the second heat, Matt Mevert took the checkered flag followed by Chris Gray, Brett Korves, Marty Smith Jr, Steve Ellison, Marty Smith Sr., Paul Reinneck and Chad Reum. The dash went to Mevert over Gray, Hoffman, Ratajczyk, Korves and McGraw.

  The Modified feature was won by Mother Nature and will be run next Friday night.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 18 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Joe Volluz took the win with Brian Eaves, Brian Shubirg, Tom Smallwood, Shawn Seymour, Mark Benedick, Lonnie Casey, Chris Sale and Larry Schaefer trailing. In the second heat, the win went to Dennis Wernle followed by Paul Bauman, Chris Smith, Mike Harris, Mike Kurtz, Zac Parks and Mike Seymour. The dash saw Volluz with his second checkered flag of the followed by Wernle, Bauman, Smith, Eaves and Shubirg.

  Mother Nature, also, won the feature for the Sportsmen. There is no makeup for this race.

April 8
  The weather finally cooperated and Belle Clair Speedway returned to racing this passed Friday night with warm weather and good racing.

  In the UMP Late Model class, there were 19 cars on hand. In the first heat, Frankie Martin took the checkered flag followed by Mark Voigt, Billy Laycock, Dan Dondero, Mike Hammerle, Jamie Zidar, and Ron Jarrell. In the second heat, Ed Dixon took the win over John Paule, Vince Grondzki, Jim Gibson, Jim Morrison and Mike Schulte. In the third heat, it was Brent Kreke winning with Rick Standridge, Don Klein, Aaron Kleine, Rick Salter and Dan Jacober trailing. The dash went to Dixon over, Martin, Voight, Kreke, Standridge, and Paule.

   The 25-lap feature started with Dixon and Martin on the front row. Martin took the lead on the dropping of the green flag and never looked back. Dixon rode Martin’s rear bumper the whole 25 lap, but could never get around Martin for the lead.

  The lead pair continued to treat the fans to a good race up front as they ran nose to tail around the track until the first caution on lap 7. Hammerle and Salter tangled in turn three bring out the first caution of the night. The running order was Martin, Dixon, Paule, Kreke and Voigt in the top five.

  When the green reappeared, Martin continued the lead. Dixon continued to work Martin for the lead, but to no avail as Martin had the stronger car. Kreke and Paule were having a good night and were battling for position as well.

  The next slowdown came on lap 16 as Morrison lopped it in turn three. The running order was still the same as Martin held the lead over Dixon, Paule, Kreke and Voigt.

  With the race continuing, Martin held on to the lead with Dixon still in pursuit but not gaining much ground. The caution came out after the completion of the next lap as Jarrell slowed on the track with problems, no change in the running order up front.

  The race resumed again only to get one more lap in the books due to Dondero slowing and trying to get off the track. Still not change up front.

  As the race went green for the final time, Martin continued to hold the lead with Dixon still trying to get his first feature win of the year. As the laps wore on the only change came with Kreke getting by Paule for third.

  Martin went on to take the checkered flag for his second feature of the year and the first repeat winner in the UMP Late Model class. Dixon held on for second with Kreke taking third followed by Paule and Voigt to complete the top five.

  In the UMP Modified division, there were 19 cars on hand for the program. In the first heat, Bobby Bittle took the win over Mark Clary, Chad Reum, Marty Smith Jr., Paul Reinneck Brett Korves and Lenny Bryant. In the second heat, Matt Mevert made his first visit to Belle Clair Speedway a good one as he won with Tom Ratajczyk, Marty Smith Sr., Chris Gray, Steve Ellison, and Matt Koesterer trailing. In the third heat, Dean Hoffman won with Scott Weber, Stu Springer, Ricky Horton, Dave Seger, and Mark Lund in pursuit.  The dash went to Mevert over Bittle, Hoffman, Weber, Ratajczyk and Clary.

  The 20-lap feature started with Bittle and Ratajczyk on the front row. Bittle took the lead at the dropping of the green flag. Ratajczyk took second and around they went for a 20-lap green flag race. It looked like it was going to be Bittle’s second win of the year, but that was not going to happen. On the last lap of the race, coming off of turn four, Mevert had the power to take the checkered flag at the line. The Steeleville, IL driver brought his broom with him and took home the sweep on his first night at Belle Clair Speedway in 2005. Following Mevert to the checkered flag was Bittle, Hoffman, Weber and Ratajczyk to complete the top five.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 20 cars on hand. In the first heat race, Joe Volluz took the victory over Mike Harris, Paul Bauman, Dennis Wernle, Mike Jones, Brian Shubirg, and Matt Tettaton. In the second heat, Tom Smallwood would win followed by Brian Eaves, Mike Seymour, Bob Casey, Louis Taylor and Ron Weidler. The race never should started as there was a false start on the first start and then on the next start, Taylor went to the outside and climb the outside wall and tore down the outside wall with Weidler running into Taylor. The races were stopped for about forty minutes for the repair of the wall. In the third heat, Shawn Seymour took the victory followed by Chris Sale, Mike Kurtz, Mark Benedick, Chris Smith and Lonnie Casey. The dash went to Volluz over S. Seymour, Smallwood, Sale, Harris and Eaves.                                                

   The 15-lap feature started with Sale and Eaves on the front row.  Like the feature before it, this race went a rare green flag distance. Sale took the lead on the dropping of the green flag and he never looked back. Sale went on to take his first checkered flag of the year and become the third different feature winner. Following Sale to the line were Harris, Volluz, Smallwood and Bauman.

April 29....Rain

April 22....Rain

April 15 
The racing season continued at Belle Clair Speedway as the weather warmed up and the racing was hot. There were new drivers in the pits and good car counts as well.

  In the UMP Late Model pits, there were 24 cars. In the first heat, Rick Salter took the victory over Ed Dixon, Dan Jacober, Dan Dondero, Vince Grondzki, Mike Schulte, Jimmy Burwell and Jim Gibson. In the second heat, Aaron Kleine was the winner followed by Mark Voigt, Don Klein, Brent Kreke, Scott Ford, Mike Hammerle, John Paule, and Bob Brown. In the third heat, Rick Standridge won with Frankie Martin, Jim Morrison, Billy Laycock, Dwayne Kiefer and Ron Jarrell in tow. The dash went to Kleine followed by Dixon, Martin, Salter, Voigt and Standridge. The semi sent Schulte, Paule and Hammerle to the feature.

   The pill draw sent Voigt and Dixon to the front row for the start of the 25-lap race. Dixon took the early lead with Voigt and Martin in pursuit. This race was one of the best in some time as there was plenty of racing to follow due to only one caution during the race.

  Voigt took command of the race around the lap 4 mark in the race. The battle was then on as Dixon and Martin gave chase.

  Voigt used the bottom of the track for his line while Dixon and Martin were using the whole track to get a run on Voigt.

  The first and only caution came out on lap 13 for Kiefer’s stopping in turn one. The running order was Voigt, Dixon, Martin, Jacober, and Salter in the top five.

  When the race continued, Voigt resumed the command again with Dixon and Martin trying their best to take the lead. Dixon could get close, but never by Voigt. As the race saw the laps click away, the lead runner came on the back of the back. This caused a little concern for Voigt as Dixon was able to get a little closer than he had during the race.

  The lead three cars worked traffic well and Voigt never gave up the lead. With end in sight, Voigt maintained the lead and went on to become the third different feature winner in the first three weeks of the season. Dixon came in second followed closely by Martin, Jacober and Kleine to round out the top five. All but two cars completed the race.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 15 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Tom Ratajczyk took the win followed by Bobby Bittle, Marty Smith Sr., Mark Clary, Dave Thornton, Chad Reum, Steve Maisel, and Brett Korves.  The second heat went to Dean Hoffman over Todd McGraw, Marty Smith Jr., Steve Ellison, Stu Springer, Mark Lund and Mark Miner. The dash saw the checkered flag go to Hoffman with Ratajczyk, Smth Jr., Bittle, Smith Sr., and McGraw in tow.

  The 20-lap feature saw McGraw and Ratajczyk on the front row. After as faulting first start that saw Hoffman break and was out for the night, Ratajczyk took the lead and never looked back as the race went green for the 20-laps.

  As Ratajczyk ran on the bottom, the third row starters of Smith Jr. and Bittle tried to get near Ratajczyk to make a race of it but couldn’t get close. Smith went high and tried to use that line to move forward, but could only hold off Bittle

  Ratajczyk became the third different feature winner in as many weeks. Smith Jr came in second followed by Bittle, Clary and Ellison to complete the top five.

   In the Allied Sportsman class, there were 19 cars in the pits. In the first heat, Joe Vollus took the checkered flag over Mike Harris, Mike Kurtz, Paul Bauman, Dennis Wernle, Tom Smallwood and Chris Sale. In the second heat, Brian Shubirg got the win followed by Lonnie Casey, Brian Eaves, Shawn Seymour, Scott Jones and Ron Weidler. In the third heat, Mark Benedick won with Bob Casey, Chris Smith, Mike Jones, Matt Tetaton and Louis Taylor trailing. The dash went to Volluz with Harris, Benedick, L. Casey, B. Casey and Shubirg trailing.

  In the 15-lap Sportsmen feature, the front row consisted of Shubirg and L. Casey. On the dropping of the green flag, Casey took the early lead with Shubirg in pursuit. Like the other two features this race had very few cautions.

  On lap 7 seven, Shubirg to command of the lead never looked back. Tenth start and point lead, Bauman came though the field to try to challenge Shubirg, but could not catch the leader. Shubirg went on to win his first feature of his career.  Following Shubirg to the finish were Bauman, Harris, L. Casey and Kurtz to complete the top five.

April 8
   The second night of racing at Belle Clair Speedway was better than the first night as the weather was much better for all in attendance. Instead of being cold and windy, it was warmer and pleasant. There were new cars, a good crowd, and plenty of good racing.

  In the UMP Late Model division, there were 23 cars in the pits with several new drivers, but no drivers that drove for hours to get here. In the first heat race, Rick Standridge took the win followed by Billy Laycock, Jim Morrison, Aaron Kleine, Vince Grondzki, Mike Shulte, Bob Geaschel, and Bob Brown. In the second heat, Danny Haynes took the checked flag with Frankie Martin, Brent Kreke, Mike Hammerel, Mark Voigt, Dwayne Kiefer, Dan Dondero and Kenny Rumble in tow. The third heat saw Ed Dixon with the victory trailed by Rick Salter, Dan Jacober, Ron Jarrell, Don Klein, Dave Eaves, and Jim Gibson. The dash went to Standridge followed by Dixon, Martin, Haynes, Salter and Laycock. The semi sent Eaves, Dondero, and Shulte to the feature.

  The 25-lap feature started with Laycock and Salter on the front row. Salter took the early lead and look strong. Standridge, Laycock and Dixon took the challengers spot and tried to overcome Salter early. The first caution came out on lap 2 With Eaves and Dondero coming together in turn four. The running order was Salter, Standridge, Laycock, Dixon, and Haynes in the top five.

  When the racing resumed the battle between Salter and Standridge for the front spot was on. Salter maintained a strong hold on the lead on the rubbered up, but fast track. Most eyes were on the front runners as that was where the action was during the next segment of the race. The race for the lead was intense between the front three runner of Salter, Standridge and Dixon. The turns became the point of interest as the three drivers would to make a move on the other driver with little success, but they were tight not the less. As the laps continued to click off, the race got even more intense until the next stoppage. This happened on lap 14 as Eaves spun in turn four and was eliminated from the race on a two-spin rule. The running order was Salter, Standridge, Dixon, Haynes and Kreke in the top five. Laycock got moved back during this run.

  On the restart, the top three once again continued the battle for the lead. The leaders used the bottom of the track for their racing and they continued to battle for the front spot. Salter continued the hold the lead, but was pressured lap after lap by Standridge and Dixon. The next caution came on lap 21 as Martin spun out, which is a rare event. The running order was Salter, Standridge, Dixon, Haynes and Kleine.

  As the race continued, the leader would experience a big change on the next go around. Salter went high coming out of turn two and hit the other wall, a lapped car had nowhere to go and clipped Salter, which put the race long leader out of the race with three laps to go. The running order was now Standridge, Dixon, Haynes, Kleine and Kreke.

  The final three laps ran with no additional cautions, there was action still remaining. Kreke got around Kleine for fourth. The final action was between the lead two cars as Dixon hit Standridge coming out of turn two on the white flag lap, but caused no change in the lead as Standridge held on to become the second feature winner of the young season. Dixon followed Standridge across the line with Haynes, Kreke and Kleine completing the top five.

   In the UMP Modified class, there were 17 cars to start the night.  In the first heat, Marty Smith Jr., took the win followed by Scott Weber, Mike Shulte, Paul Reinneck, Tom Rajaczyk, Brett Korves, Marty Smith Sr., Stu Springer and Todd McGraw. In the second heat, Chad Reum won over Mark Miner, Bobby Bittle, Mark Clary, Steve Maisel, Matt Weidner, Steve Ellison and Dave Thorton. In the dash, Smith Jr. got another victory followed by Weber, Reum, Shulte, Miner and Bittle.

  The 20-lap feature started with Smith Jr. and Reum on the front row. On the dropping of the green flag, Smith Jr. took control of the race. The inside line of cars fell in behind Smith as Weber and Bittle began the pursuit.

  The first caution came on lap 4 as Korves spun in turn two. The running order was Smith Jr., Weber, Bittle and Miner.

  On the restart, Smith and Weber continued the battle for the lead that the crowd enjoyed. The two cars in the lead were the race as the leader tried to hold off the challenger and the challenger tried to over take the leader. This battle continued until lap 9 when Ellison’s drive train broke and left the driveshalf on the ground on the back straight. The running order was Smith, Weber, Bittle, Miner, and Reum in the top five.

   The next 11 laps were the best of the young season as Weber finally got the lead on lap 14. Smith then went to the top and the race was on.

  As the crowd continued to be entertained lap after lap to see who would lead that lap, the racing got intense. Weber held the lead for five laps. As the white flag came out, it was still a two-car race. Weber was on the inside and Smith on the outside.  Coming out of turn four, it was anybody’s race. Weber was inside and Smith on the outside, but Smith got a little better bite and crossed the line by about six inches a head to take the win. Bittle, Miner and Ratajczyk completed the top five. For Smith it was a sweep and it was the first sweep of the first sweep of the year in any class.

  In the Allied Sportsmen class, there were 19 cars on hand. In the first heat, Ron Weidner got the victory over Shawn Seymour, Brian Eaves, Chris Smith, Dennis Wernle, Chris Sale, Tom Smallwood, Scott Jones, Mike Harris and Bob Casey. In the second heat, Mike Jones took the checkered flag with Brian Shubirg, Mark Benedick, Paul Bauman, Joe Volluz, Lonnie Casey, Mike Kurtz, Steve Malone and Larry Schaefer in tow. The dash went to Seymour with Benedick, Shubirg, Weidner, Jones and Eaves.

  The 15-lap feature started with Seymour and Benedick on the front row. Seymour took the early leader and held it for several laps before Bauman overtook him for the lead and the victory for his second win in as many weeks. Seymour finished second with Benedick, Sale and Wernle topping the top five.

April 1
  The 2005 racing kicked off it’s 57^th year of racing at Belle Clair Speedway on Friday night with a good crowd sitting in a cold and windy night to get their first view of racing.  There were plenty of cars in the pits to entertain the crowd that shivered doing the night. There were new rivers in different cars and a few out of state cars.

  In the UMP Late Model pits, there were 23 cars trying to make the 18 starting spots for the feature. Don Klein was celebrating his 50^th year in racing with a new paint job for the occasion. There were drivers from Wisconsin and Michigan on hand for the first time. For the first night of racing, it was good to see so many and different drivers.

  In the first heat, Rusty Schlenk took the win over Frankie Martin, Jim Gibson, Mike Schulte, Jim Morrison, Mark Voigt, Bob Brown, and Louie Baker. In the second heat, Jamye Zidar got the victory followed by John Paule, Ed Dixon, Dan Dondero, Ron Jarrell, James Burrell, Dan Jacober, and Don Klein. The third heat saw Aaron Kleine get to the line first followed by Rick Salter, Rick Standridge, Mike Hammerle, Dwayne Kiefer and Billy Laycock. The dash went to Schlenk over Kleine, Martin, Salter, Paule and Zidar. The semi sent Voigt, Laycock and Burrell to the feature.

   The feature started with Kleine and Martin on the front row. At the dropping of the green flag for the start of the first feature for the year, Martin jumped to the lead from the outside of the front row. Kleine and Zidar chased Martin. The first of five cautions occurred on the start of the second lap as Laycock and Burrell got tangle in turn two. The running order was Martin, Kleine, Zidar, Salter and Schlenk.

  When the race resumed, Martin took command again and started to use the top of the track for his line. Kleine ran the bottom to try to gain ground on Martin. The race went green for eight laps before the next slowdown occurred for Burrell’s spin on the front straight. The running order was now Martin, Kleine, Schlenk, Salter, and Gibson in the top five.

  Martin continued to lead the race on the restart and ran the top of the track to maintain control of the race. Schlenk took over second place and tried to gain ground on martin for the lead. Schlenk. Was applying the pressure when the next caution happened on lap 12 as Burrell stopped. The top five were Martin, Schlenk, Kleine, Salter and Gibson.

  The race continued with Martin continuing to lead. Schlenk applied the pressure, but Martin would drive his smooth drive. Voigt was on the move coming from 16^th starting spot to move into the top 10 and become a contender.  On lap 16, a tangle between Zidar, Kiefer and Morrison slowed the action again. The top five remained the same.

  As the green waved again, Martin maintained his lead with Schlenk and Kleine trying to take the lead away form Martin. With three laps remaining, the final caution came out for Kleine and Paule in turn four. Both drivers retired for the night. The running order was Martin, Schlenk, Salter, Gibson and Dixon.

  With three laps remaining, the battle for the win was on with the dropping of the green flag. Martin continued his charge for the win with the battle for the remaining spots up for grabs. Salter managed to get by Schlenk for second and Voigt came from the back to take fifth from Dixon. Martin took the win for his first of the year and to start a quest for the UMP Late Model championship. Salter followed in second with Schlenk, Gibson, and Voigt rounding out the top five.

  In the UMP Modified class, there were 15 cars on hand to start the night. In the first heat, Paul Reinneck took the checkered flag followed by Marty Smith Sr., Dean Hoffman, Brad White, Chad Reum, and Gabe Regot, In the second heat, Stu Springer got the win over Bobby Bittle, Mark Clary, Marty Smith Jr., Brett Korvis, Steve Ellison and Tom Ratajczyk. The dash went to Reinneck over Smith Sr., Hoffman, Springer, Bittle and Clary.

  The 20-lap feature had Reinneck and Hoffman on the front row. With the dropping of the green flag, Reinneck took the lead followed by Clary and Springer. The race last four laps before the first caution for rookie Korvis’s spin in turn four. The running order was Reinneck, Clary, Springer, Hoffman and Bittle.

  Reinneck continued to lead with Bittle and Smith Jr. starting to move up the track and moving forward. The next slowdown came on lap eight when Korvis spun again in turn four and was out. The running order now was Reinneck, Clary, Springer, Bittle and Smith Jr.

  The race restarted with Reinneck looking like he may get the sweep going, but that did not last as Bittle to the lead on lap 12 running the top of the track. The track was moving on the top as Smith Jr. and Scott Weber moved up and went on the move forward. The next stoppage was on lap 13 when White stopped on the track and was done for the night. The new running order was Bittle, Reinneck, Clary, Smith Jr. and Weber.

2005 BELLE CLAIR SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE 

April 1     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

April 8     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

April 15    UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

April 22    UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

April 29    UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

May 6       UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

May 13      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

May 15      Midgets and 600cc Micro Sprints

May 20      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

May 27      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

June 3      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

June 10     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks Bike races

June 12     Midgets and 600cc Micro Sprints

June 17     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

            Challenge of Champions for Late Models - $2,000 to win

June 24     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

                  Mid-Season Championship for Sportsmen and Pure Stock

July 1      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

                  Mid-Season Championship for UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds

July 8      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

July 10     Midgets and 600cc Micro Sprints

July 15     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

July 22     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

July 29     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Aug 5       UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Aug 10      MARA Midgets – 14th Annual Arnie Knepper Memorial

Aug 11      Motorcycle Flat Track Races

Aug 12      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

                (100 Laps for Late Models)

Aug 13      Demolition Derby

Aug 19      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Aug 26      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Sept 2      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks                 

Sept 9      UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Sept 16     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Sept 23     UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

                        Season Championship for Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

Sept 30           UMP Late Models, Modifieds, Allied Sportsmen and Pure Stocks

             Season Championship for UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds

 
Oct 7       Weather date for season championships 

This the 57th year of racing at Belle Clair Speedway.   See us at www.belleclairspeedway.com