COMMENTARY-All Star Circuit of Champions, Belleville

For the first time in over a decade, 410 racing returned to the Belleville High Banks. In front of a full house, Tim Shaffer held off Danny Lasoski to capture the thirty lap feature on Thursday night.

My Take...

-I looks as though the Tursday sprint car program before the start of the Midget Nationals has really taken off. With so many race fans already in the area, there's a ready-made crowd eager for some racing. The fairgrounds track was near capacity Thursday.

-Dale Blaney set a new track record, running the half-mile 14.520 seconds, at nearly 130 miles per hours!

-There were 19 sprinters in the pits. After watching 12 cars at Cameron earlier this month, I'll gladly take 19!

-Shaffer was the class of the field, weaving through traffic and holding off Lasoski for the entire thirty laps. Pennsylvania Posse member Lance Dewease was third, defending All Star champ Greg Wilson fourth, and Don Droud Jr. rounded out the top five.

-Very nice run for Jr. He quietly passed several cars on his way to a fifth place finish. The Ochs Brothers black 1x looked plenty fast. Droud will run at Knoxville tonight in attempt to qualify for the 360 Nationals.

-Fortunately, very little equipment was damaged Thursday. Brandon Martin smacked the wall on the backstretch, and nearly lost it, but was able to steady the car and eventually finished 13th. Chad Blonde lost his motor in qualifying. The rest of the cars made it though with no damage.

-It is amazing how fast 410 sprint cars run at Belleville. With the grandstands so close to the race surface, the cars are almost blurry as they run past. The only other place I have had that same sense of speed is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

-I'd pay good money to see an Outlaw show on the High Banks.

-The All Star series travels to Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas tonight, but I'll return to the High Banks to watch the first night of the Midget Nationals.

-You know you're crazy when you'll drive four hours round trip to watch three hours of racing.

Next Up...
Tonight-Belleville Midget Nationals
8/2-Belleville Midget Nationals
8/3-Brodix 360 Tournament of Champions, Knoxville Raceway