Post by Dirt Master on Jun 13, 2007 8:35:29 GMT -5
Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 . kkovac@dirtmotorsports.com
Flat-Out Racing Will Thrill Fans During Sunday's First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At The Belleville High Banks
BELLEVILLE, KS - June 11, 2007 - If flat-out dirt Late Model racing excites you, then the Belleville High Banks is the place to be this Sunday night (June 17).
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series, after all, will be making its first-ever visit to the aptly-titled 'World's Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track.'
With its circular shape and imposing banks, the Belleville oval is like no other short track in the country.
Just ask Muscatine, Iowa, star Brian Birkhofer, whose past success at Belleville stamps him as a favorite in Sunday night's $10,000-to-win 'High Banks 50.' He won an Xtreme DirtCar/UDTRA event there on Aug. 28, 2004.
"You can't really compare it to anything else," said Birkhofer, who owns four career WoO LMS victories. "It's an actual circle, man. I've never been to another dirt track like it."
And as the driver known as 'Birky' will tell you, Belleville's shape creates the kind of high speeds that he personally loves.
"The first time I was there," said Birkhofer, "I ran 10 laps in the heat and never lifted (the throttle) and probably ran half or three-quarters of the feature without lifting. It was intense.
"With the World of Outlaws sanction bringing in all the best guys, you're gonna have some guys go around there pretty darn fast."
Belleville's one-lap dirt Late Model track record - 16.842 seconds, established by Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., on July 25, 2005 - will likely be in jeopardy if the right conditions present themselves on Sunday night.
Several Outlaws are candidates to threaten that track record, none more so than current second-place points man Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., whose four fast times to date in 2007 are the most of any driver on the tour.
Other WoO LMS travelers ready for competition at Belleville include points leader Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who will have some big smoke under the hood of his No. 44 to tackle the big track; Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; 19-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.
Three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., also plans to be in Sunday night's field.
Some top-notch Midwest drivers will face off with the Outlaws, including Birkhofer; 2006 Knoxville Late Model Nationals champ Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.; Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colo., who won five straight dirt Late Model specials at Belleville spanning the 2005 and 2006 seasons; and Jason Bodenhamer of Centerview, Mo.
The event is also co-sanctioned by the MARS DIRTcar Series, a regional trail under the same DIRTcar Racing sanctioning umbrella as the WoO LMS. The WoO/MARS Challenge will bring the top MARS drivers to Lakeside, including defending MARS champion Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark.; Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo.; current points leader Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., who won four dirt Late Model events at Belleville from 2002-2004; Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo.; and Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark.
Gates are scheduled to open for Sunday's program, which also features the Jayhusker 600 Mini-Sprints racing on the inner quarter-mile oval, at 5 p.m. Racing is set to begin at 7 p.m.
General admission is $25 for adults and $10 for children 7-15. Pit passes will cost $35.
Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling Jensik Insurance during the day at 785-527-2713 or Marty Boyer at night at 785-527-2372.
The speedway is located at the North Central Kansas Fairgrounds.
For further information on events at the Belleville High Banks, visit www.highbanks.org.
The Belleville event will close a busy week of racing for the WoO LMS, which will also visit River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.Dak., on Tues., June 12; Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Thurs., June 14; Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on Fri., June 15; and Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on Sat., June 16.
Additional information on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
_______________________________________________
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 . kkovac@dirtmotorsports.com
Flat-Out Racing Will Thrill Fans During Sunday's First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At The Belleville High Banks
BELLEVILLE, KS - June 11, 2007 - If flat-out dirt Late Model racing excites you, then the Belleville High Banks is the place to be this Sunday night (June 17).
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series, after all, will be making its first-ever visit to the aptly-titled 'World's Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track.'
With its circular shape and imposing banks, the Belleville oval is like no other short track in the country.
Just ask Muscatine, Iowa, star Brian Birkhofer, whose past success at Belleville stamps him as a favorite in Sunday night's $10,000-to-win 'High Banks 50.' He won an Xtreme DirtCar/UDTRA event there on Aug. 28, 2004.
"You can't really compare it to anything else," said Birkhofer, who owns four career WoO LMS victories. "It's an actual circle, man. I've never been to another dirt track like it."
And as the driver known as 'Birky' will tell you, Belleville's shape creates the kind of high speeds that he personally loves.
"The first time I was there," said Birkhofer, "I ran 10 laps in the heat and never lifted (the throttle) and probably ran half or three-quarters of the feature without lifting. It was intense.
"With the World of Outlaws sanction bringing in all the best guys, you're gonna have some guys go around there pretty darn fast."
Belleville's one-lap dirt Late Model track record - 16.842 seconds, established by Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., on July 25, 2005 - will likely be in jeopardy if the right conditions present themselves on Sunday night.
Several Outlaws are candidates to threaten that track record, none more so than current second-place points man Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., whose four fast times to date in 2007 are the most of any driver on the tour.
Other WoO LMS travelers ready for competition at Belleville include points leader Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who will have some big smoke under the hood of his No. 44 to tackle the big track; Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; 19-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.
Three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., also plans to be in Sunday night's field.
Some top-notch Midwest drivers will face off with the Outlaws, including Birkhofer; 2006 Knoxville Late Model Nationals champ Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.; Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colo., who won five straight dirt Late Model specials at Belleville spanning the 2005 and 2006 seasons; and Jason Bodenhamer of Centerview, Mo.
The event is also co-sanctioned by the MARS DIRTcar Series, a regional trail under the same DIRTcar Racing sanctioning umbrella as the WoO LMS. The WoO/MARS Challenge will bring the top MARS drivers to Lakeside, including defending MARS champion Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark.; Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo.; current points leader Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., who won four dirt Late Model events at Belleville from 2002-2004; Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo.; and Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark.
Gates are scheduled to open for Sunday's program, which also features the Jayhusker 600 Mini-Sprints racing on the inner quarter-mile oval, at 5 p.m. Racing is set to begin at 7 p.m.
General admission is $25 for adults and $10 for children 7-15. Pit passes will cost $35.
Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling Jensik Insurance during the day at 785-527-2713 or Marty Boyer at night at 785-527-2372.
The speedway is located at the North Central Kansas Fairgrounds.
For further information on events at the Belleville High Banks, visit www.highbanks.org.
The Belleville event will close a busy week of racing for the WoO LMS, which will also visit River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.Dak., on Tues., June 12; Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Thurs., June 14; Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on Fri., June 15; and Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on Sat., June 16.
Additional information on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
_______________________________________________