A DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE: DEEP THOUGHTS ON THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Belleville, Kansas (May 16, 2023)………High banked, super-fast, no straightaways, round, historic and small town Americana.

These are the characteristics that a handful of drivers in this weekend’s USAC Silver Crown field described regarding their experiences at the legendary Belleville (Kan.) High Banks.

The half-mile dirt oval will serve as the host of the champ cars this weekend, Friday-Saturday, May 19-20, with practice on Friday and the full program on Saturday, culminating in a 50-lap main event.

Three of USAC Silver Crown racing’s top competitors stopped by to share their thoughts on racing at the Belleville High Banks.

KODY SWANSON

Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) is one of the few who can proudly say that he’s won in a USAC Silver Crown car at the Belleville High Banks, doing so in 2014, after going to a backup engine prior to the race, then falling back to seventh in the event before charging late to win with just six laps to go.

What the seven-time champ expects is that the one you’ll find in victory lane is pretty much the one who runs the highest and the fastest.  Swanson can vividly recall his introduction to the place and instantly recognized the command and respect even veteran drivers and champions gave to the place.

“It’s a place that commands your attention,” Swanson stated.  “I remember a midget drivers meeting years before and hearing that you almost have to treat this place like a mile.  It is that fast and things can happen fast.  I remember the kind of respect (USAC career Triple Crown champion) Tracy Hines had for Belleville, especially running the Silver Crown cars, and how much heavier they were and the momentum you have to have going around a place that fast.  That’s something that has stuck with me ever since, and with how long Tracy had been driving at the point and how much success he had, that the track still commanded that much attention is something you don’t carry lightly.  To win at Belleville is special however it works out.”

JUSTIN GRANT

When hearing the words “Belleville High Banks,” the first word that came to Justin Grant’s vocabulary was “history.”

And when speaking of the place, Grant commented on the track’s super-fast and circular nature, which makes it hard to keep track of what corner you’re in at the time, as wild as it sounds.

Grant has competed at the track twice in his career, once in a Silver Crown car (finishing 3rd) and twice in a midget (finishing 5th & 7th).  While he’s been highly competitive at Belleville and is a two-time USAC National champion (2020 Silver Crown & 2022 AMSOIL National Sprint Car), a win at Belleville is another notch up on the totem pole in his book.

“A lot of the heroes of our sport had some of their biggest moments there; whether it was good or bad, every moment at Belleville is a big moment,” Grant said.  “There’s a group of drivers who can win races that are heroes, but then there’s another group who can win races at a place like Belleville.  Those who can do that are another step up the ladder.  There isn’t somebody who’s got there name on a USAC win at Belleville who isn’t somebody.”

SHANE COCKRUM

Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) has taken his talents to the Belleville High Banks just once before, finishing with a solid fifth place result in the Silver Crown round there in 2015, and when he thinks of the area surrounding the track, which possesses a total population just over 2,000, Cockrum thinks “small town Americana.”

“It’s cool to have a place in the middle of town that’s so supported by the local fanbase,” Cockrum praised.  “It’s got that Knoxville (Iowa) feel where the town comes to life.  After racing on it, it reminds me of the circus where you have the motorcycle riding inside the ball – once you get going, there’s no slowing down and you’re in that vortex.”

Funny enough, the Cockrum residence is within an hour of Little Belleville (in southern Illinois), but Big Belleville has always had that allure to the family.  Cockrum also holds a unique perspective with the fact that his father, Cliff Cockrum, also competed at Belleville.  Cliff regularly spoke of it and always said, “you never knew if you were in turn one or turn three once you get going.”

One particular moment from a Belleville run by Cliff in the late-1960s immediately comes to the top of Shane’s mind and has provided him with a piece of memorabilia with which he still holds onto today.

In 1968, Cliff’s nose was broken midway through a race at Belleville.  Shane has the goggles Cliff wore that day in his personal museum.  Today, those goggles are still filled with dried blood from that rough day, with Cliff mentioning that Belleville is tough enough as it is, let alone trying to race with your goggles full of blood.”

IN CONCLUSION:

As Cockrum related a story from his dad, he said that “once you got done racing there, there was no doubt you knew you were a racecar driver.  It takes a lot of skill and focus to run that place even when things are perfect.”

Truer words have never been spoken and the best of the best are the ones who regularly get the job done at Belleville.  From the days of W.W. “Cockeye” Brown more than a century ago to the likes of Sleepy Tripp, Stan Fox, Steve Knepper, Jerry Coons Jr. and Bryan Clauson during the last 40 or so years, these individuals were truly the best of the best at their craft on the Belleville High Banks.

As it has been since Belleville’s half-mile was introduced to the world in 1910, the same sentiment will be true once again this weekend and will be true until the end of time.

RACE DETAILS:

On Friday, it’s practice night for the USAC Silver Crown division at Belleville with three separate sessions throughout the night in conjunction with a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.  The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing.  General admission and reserved tickets are $25.  General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $15.  A one-day pit pass is $35 and two-day pit passes are $60.

On Saturday, it’s a full race day for both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship divisions.  The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing.  General admission and reserved tickets are $30.  General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $20.  A one-day pit pass is $40 and two-day pit passes are $60.

The entire events for both nights at Belleville, can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3Kdc2na.