The Belleville High Banks is a half mile (0.8 km) dirt racing oval near
Belleville, Kansas
Belleville is a city in and the county seat of Republic County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,007.
History
Belleville was founded in 1869, and incorporated as a city in 1878. It was named for A ...
at the North Central Kansas Fairgrounds. The first recorded race happened at the track in 1910. It has held races on
American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...
(AAA),
United States Auto Club (USAC),
World of Outlaws Late Model Series and
World of Outlaws Sprint cars circuits. The Belleville Midget Nationals and 305 Sprint Nationals races have been held at the track.
History
A horse racing circuit was built at the
Republic County, Kansas fairgrounds.
The first recorded automobile race at the track was a three car battle on July 4, 1910.
Somewhere between 7000 and 10000 people watched the cars race 10 laps over 7 minutes and 10 seconds.
The initial track was a flat half mile track and it was reconfigured to a high banked half mile track in 1932.
The
International Motor Contest Association (IMCA} held their first national race at the track in 1951; the Big Cars (now
Sprint cars) was won by
Frank Luptow
Frank Luptow (born Frank Lueptow) (1914-1952) was an American racing driver. He competed in International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) big cars (now sprint cars) and NASCAR stock cars. He won the 1949, 1950, and 1951 IMCA big car championships ...
.
IMCA held a race at Belleville each year until 1960.
Ernie Derr
Ernest Vigil Derr (October 29, 1921 – January 8, 2014) was an American stock car racing driver. He won 12 International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Stock Car championships, made one start in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Grand National Seri ...
won the 1960 IMCA race.
The final IMCA race was held at Belleville in 1968 and it was won by
Ramo Stott.
The Big Car Racing Association (BCRA) began sanctioning the track in 1965 and lasted until 1976.
The first lap time under 20 seconds happened at a BCRA race on August 23, 1968.
The O’Reilly National Championship Racing Association (NCRA) has sanctioned the track for over 20 years.
The track began hosting the annual Belleville Midget Nationals in 1978.
Winners of the Belleville Nationals include
Christopher Bell,
Bryan Clauson,
Jerry Coons Jr.
Jerry Coons Jr. (born April 21, 1972) is an American racecar driver. He currently competes in the United States Auto Club United States Auto Club#USAC National Sprint Car Championship, sprint car, United States Auto Club#USAC National Midget Champ ...
,
Dave Darland
David Lee Darland (born September 4, 1966) is an American auto racing driver from Kokomo, Indiana. He was the 1997 USAC Silver Crown Champion, 1999 USAC National Sprint Car Champion, and 2001 and 2002 USAC National Midget Champion, making him ...
,
Kasey Kahne,
Kyle Larson, and
Brad Sweet
Bradley Sweet (born December 31, 1985) is an American professional race car driver and a veteran of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, driving the No. 49 for Kasey Kahne Racing, where he has earned the nickname 'The Big Cat'. Sweet was former ...
.
After 40 years, the final Belleville Nationals was held in 2017.
It was replaced by the 305 Nationals in 2018.
In 2020, it was the only event held at the track.
In October 2021, the track announced their first
Super Late Model race since 2008.
The 7-day "Belleville Dirt Nationals" event will be held in June 2022 with $25000 to win Friday night and $50000 to win the Saturday night feature.
was attempting to race 200 races in 2016. He died the day after a crash in a
midget car
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...
at the track on August 6.
Facilities
The track's grandstands were a
Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s.
The track is more circular than most ovals.
It is known for its high banking.
The High Banks Hall of Fame and
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Museum are located nearby.
See also
*''The High Banks!'' by Beryl Ward, L.A. Ward and Bob Mays
References
External links
Official website
{{World of Outlaws Late Model Series race venues
1910 establishments
Motorsport venues in Kansas
Tourist attractions in Republic County, Kansas
Buildings and structures in Republic County, Kansas
Transportation in Republic County, Kansas