ABREU FROM 8TH TO WIN NIGHT 1 OF BELLEVILLE

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Belleville, Kansas…….Defending “Belleville Midget Nationals” champion Rico Abreu picked up right where he left off around the famed Belleville High Banks as he stormed from eighth to win Thursday’s 25-lap preliminary feature. The defending Honda Midget National Champion made it three wins on the year and eleven for his career aboard the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Toyota TRD #97 Bullet/Speedway Toyota.

 

“This is one of my favorite tracks and I’ve had some success here. Saturday night is what counts, so we’ll have to be ready to do this again. I was able to search around some running behind them and find something that worked. They do a great job preparing these cars, and that’s the key to come to a place like this,” Abreu said.

 

Belleville rookie Kevin Thomas, Jr. jumped to the lead from outside the front row and led his teammates, who started on the outside of the first four rows as they completed the first lap running 1-4. On lap two, polesitter Steve Buckwalter got up into the turn-three guardrail, spinning sideways as cars scattered to miss him. Both Tyler Nelson and Chett Gehrke flipped, while Chad Frewaldt was also collected. All drivers were unhurt.

 

After another quick yellow two laps later, Abreu used the restart to get a run on Thorson for third, and the caution reappeared a few laps later as Dave Darland caught the cushion in turn-one and jumped sideways before slowing to a stop. Under the yellow, Zach Daum visited the work area for a packed right-front wheel, but he returned to the action.

 

On this restart, Abreu went after Bell for second and slid him into turn-three for the runner-up spot and began to carve away at Thomas, Jr.’s lead. It fell into Abreu’s hands, however, on lap 12 as Thomas went up in smoke at the start finish line and brought out another yellow as he stopped.

 

From there, Abreu was in command, although Bell began to reel him back in on the longer green-flag run. He could never get within striking distance, though, and had to settle for second in the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Toyota TRD #71 Bullet/Speedway Toyota. Bell also set the night’s Pro Source “Fast Time Award.”

 

“He did a great job on the restarts, and tonight it was important to get positions as quickly as you could after those. Rico did a great job on those, and after we ran that first lap or two, we kinda had what we had. I packed a wheel with mud fairly early, and that made it pretty tough to see,” Bell said.

 

Thorson rounded out the podium in the Toyota TRD – Abreu Vineyards #67 Bullet/Speedway Toyota.

 

“I was feeling around and thought maybe some rubber would come, and I knew my only chance at them would be if it came in and I could find it first. Hats off to those guys, and this team is so strong right now. All the laps you can get around this place are great and will help even more heading to Saturday,” Thorson said.

 

Tracy Hines came home fourth in the Parker Machinery – Turbines, Inc. #24 Spike/Stanton Toyota and took the point lead by one over Thomas, Jr. heading intoSaturday’s Belleville finale. Daum recovered to drive back up to fifth aboard the Daum Crop Insurance – Weld Wheels #5D Eagle/Stanton Toyota.

 

——————

 

USAC HONDA MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 30, 2015 – Belleville, Kansas – Belleville High Banks -“Belleville Midget Nationals”

 

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Christopher Bell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.603; 2. Tracy Hines, 24, Parker-17.628; 3. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.652; 4. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-17.652; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 67k, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.679; 6. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-17.747; 7. Cody Brewer, 96, Central Motorsports-17.765; 8. Rico Abreu, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.772; 9. C.J. Johnson, 45x, Martin-17.939; 10. Dave Darland, 63, RKR/Curb-Agajanian-17.956; 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 27, Heffner-17.956; 12. Spencer Bayston, 39, Clauson-18.165; 13. Matt Johnson, 85, Central Motorsports-18.189; 14. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-18.190; 15. Isaac Chapple, 52, Chapple-18.251; 16. Michelle Decker, 4M, Meents-18.284; 17. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-18.439; 18. Chad Frewaldt, 75, Frewaldt-18.474; 19. Kyle Jones, 69x, Hefler-18.508; 20. Chett Gehrke, 11c, Matteson-18.548; 21. Jeff Stasa, 91, SBR-18.583; 22. Patrick Stasa, 19s, SBR-18.769; 23. Hunter Fischer, 24F, Fischer-18.839; 24. Warren Johnson, 313, Frewaldt-19.293; 25. Aaron Schuck, 53, SET-19.299; 26. Johnny Murdock, 0, Zero-20.328; 27. Patrick Lawson, 0B, Zero-20.557; 28. Robert Bell, 71B, Bell-20.771; 29. Blake McMillan, 727, McMillan-21.191; 30. Tyler Dunkle, 0D, Zero-NT; 31. Morgan Frewaldt, 926, Frewaldt-NT.

 

FIRST HEAT : (8 laps) 1. C.J. Johnson, 2. Bell, 3. K.Thomas, 4. J.Stasa, 5. Nelson, 6. M.Johnson, 7. Schuck, 8. McMillan. 2:22.13

 

SECOND HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Hines, 2. T.Thomas, 3. Buckwalter, 4. Darland, 5. C.Frewaldt, 6. Dunkle, 7. P.Stasa, 8. Murdock. 2:22.68

 

THIRD HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Thorson, 2. Coons, 3. Brewer, 4. Chapple, 5. Jones, 6. Fischer, 7. Lawson,. 2:24.42

 

FOURTH HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Abreu, 2. Daum, 3. Bayston, 4. Gehrke, 5. Decker, 6. W.Johnson, 7. Bell. 2:21.95

 

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Jones, 2. C.Frewaldt, 3. Decker, 4. M.Johnson, 5. Nelson, 6. W.Johnson, 7. Schuck, 8. Murdock, 9. Bell, 10. Lawson, 11. McMillan, 12. Fischer. 3:47.04

 

FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Tyler Thomas, 8. Spencer Bayston, 9. Isaac Chapple, 10. Matt Johnson, 11. Aaron Schuck, 12. Cody Brewer, 13. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14. Dave Darland, 15. Kyle Jones, 16. Warren Johnson, 17. C.J. Johnson, 18. Jeff Stasa, 19. Steve Buckwalter, 20. Michelle Decker, 21. Chett Gehrke, 22. Tyler Nelson, 23. Chad Frewaldt, 24. Johnny Murdock. NT
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**Gehrke and Nelson flipped on lap 2 of the feature.

 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 K.Thomas, Laps 12-25 Abreu.

UPCOMING EVENT INFO

DATE:
Saturday, August 1, 2015

SERIES:

Honda USAC National Midget Championship

TRACK:

Belleville High Banks (Belleville, Kansas)

 

EVENT:

38th Annual “Belleville Nationals”

STARTING TIMES:

Ticket window opens at 3pm

Gates open at 5pm

Hot laps at 6:30pm

Racing at 7:30pm

 

TICKET PRICES:

Adult General Admission: $25
Kids (Age 6-12) General Admission: $10
Adult General admission (Bottom 4 Rows): $20
Pit Pass: $30

 

TRACK ADDRESS:

O St, Belleville, KS 66935

 

TRACK PHONE:

(785) 335-2857

 

TRACK WEBSITE:

BELLEVILLE NATIONALS WINNERS

1978 – 49 Eddie Jackson, Denver, Colo., Harry Conklin/Volkswagen/Edmunds
1979 – 97 Stan Fox, Janesville, Wis., Sherman Pickrell/Volkswagen/Edmunds
1980 – 1 Stan Fox, Janesville, Wis., Steve Lewis/Volkswagen/Edmunds
1981 – 1 Mike Gregg, Ft. Collins, Colo., Hank Hersch/Volkswagen/Edmunds
1982 – 81 Dave Manes, Tucson, Ariz., Dave Manes/Dino/Stewart
1983 – 71 Johnny Parsons Jr., Van Nuys, Calif., Ron Weeks/Cosworth/Challenger
1984 – 48 Mark Passerrelli, Phoenix, Ariz., Tony Passerrelli/Arias/Rich
1985 – 67 Sleepy Tripp, Costa Mesa, Cal., George Zarounian/VW/Edmunds
1986 – 84 Tommy White, Anaheim, Cal., Bobby White/Volkswagen/Edmunds
1987 – 67 Sleepy Tripp, Costa Mesa, Cal., George Zarounian/Cosworth/Edmunds
1988 – 55 Steve Knepper, Belleville, Ill
1989 – 71 Chuck Gurney, Livermore, Calif., Larry Howard/Arias/Ellis

1990 – 4 Jeff Gordon, Pittsboro, Ind., Rollie Helmling/Pontiac/Beast
1991 – 67 Jack Hewitt, Troy, Ohio, George & Gary Zarounian/Arias/Beast
1992 – 47 Lealand McSpadden, Tempe, Ariz., Andy Bondio/Barnes/Bondio
1993 – 1 Page Jones, Rolling Hills, Calif., Keith & Rusty Kunz/Fontana/Stealth
1994 – 1 Kevin Doty, Milan, Ill., Keith & Rusty Kunz/Fontana/Stealth
1995 – 15 Billy Boat, Phoenix, Ariz., John Lawson/Gaerte/Stealth
1996 – 24 Robby Flock, Murietta, Calif., Carol Hart/Gaerte/Stealth
1997 – 71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, Calif., Pete Willoughby/Gaerte/Stealth
1998 – 15 Steve Knepper, Belleville, Ill., John Lawson/Gaerte/Stealth
1999 – 9 Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind., Steve Lewis/Ford/Beast
2000 – 9 Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash., Steve Lewis/Ford/Beast
2001 – 19 Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash., Steve Lewis/Ford/Beast
2002 – 9 Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind., Steve Lewis/Ford/Beast
2003 – 29 Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif., Dino Tomassi/Mopar/Beast
2004 – 9 Bobby East, Brownsburg, Ind., Steve Lewis/Ford/Beast
2005 – 25 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz., Bob Trafford/Esslinger/Spike
2006 – 20 Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif., Tony Stewart/Mopar/Spike
2007 – 11 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz., Wilke-Pak/Mopar/Spike
2008 – 49 Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, Calif., Kasey Kahne Racing/Mopar/Spike
2009 – 39 Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Ind., Corey Tucker/Esslinger/Spike
2010 – 39 Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Ind., Corey Tucker/Esslinger/Spike
2011 – 67 Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, Calif., Keith Kunz/Toyota/Bullet
2012 – 63 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Arizona, Joe Dooling/Ford Esslinger/Spike

2013 – 71 Christopher Bell, Norman Okla., Kunz/Curb-Aqajanian/Toyota/Bullet

2014 – 97 Rico Abreu, Rutherford, Calif., Kunz/Curb-Aqajanian/Toyota/Bullet

2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
DATE
LOCATION
TRACK
WINNER
April 10
Kokomo, IN
Kokomo Speedway
Rained Out
April 11
Kokomo, IN
Kokomo Speedway
Darren Hagen
May 29
Plymouth, IN
Plymouth Speedway
Kevin Thomas, Jr.
May 30
Plymouth, IN
Plymouth Speedway
Rained Out
June 10
@ Gas City, IN
Gas City I-69 Speedway
Tanner Thorson
June 11
@ Putnamville, IN
Lincoln Park Speedway
Bryan Clauson
June 12
@ Bloomington, IN
Bloomington Speedway
Christopher Bell
June 13
@ Lawrenceburg, IN
Lawrenceburg Speedway
Rico Abreu
June 21
@ Kokomo, IN
Kokomo Speedway
Rained Out
July 5
%%% Sun Prairie, WI
Angell Park Speedway
Rico Abreu
July 28
Beloit, KS
Solomon Valley Raceway
Kevin Thomas, Jr.
July 30
Belleville, KS
Belleville High Banks
Rico Abreu
Aug. 1
Belleville, KS
Belleville High Banks
Aug. 18
*** Spring Run, PA
Path Valley Speedway Park
Aug. 19
*** New Oxford, PA
Lincoln Speedway
Aug. 20
*** Newberrytown, PA
Susquehanna Speedway Park
Sept. 4
Granite City, IL
Tri-City Speedway
Sept. 5
Granite City, IL
Tri-City Speedway
Sept. 26
Rossburg, OH
Eldora Speedway
Oct. 23
%%% Wayne City, IL
Wayne County Speedway
Nov. 26
### Perris, CA
Perris Auto Speedway
@=Indiana Midget Week
***=Co-Sanctioned by ARDC
%%%=Co-Sanctioned by POWRi
###=Co-Sanctioned by Honda USAC Western Midget Series
2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET
POINT STANDINGS
RANK
DRIVER
POINTS
1
Tracy Hines
(New Castle, IN)
462
2
Kevin Thomas, Jr.
(Cullman, AL)
461
3
Tyler Thomas
(Collinsville, OK)
411
4
Tanner Thorson
(Minden, NV)
410
5
Spencer Bayston
(Lebanon, IN)
406
6
Rico Abreu
(Rutherford, CA)
394
7
Jerry Coons, Jr.
(Tucson, AZ)
365
8
Darren Hagen
(Riverside, CA)
321
9
Christopher Bell
(Norman, OK)
259
10
Dave Darland
(Lincoln, IN)
189

2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET

FEATURE WINNERS

 

Rico Abreu – 3 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on June 13, Angell Park Speedway on July 5 & Belleville High Banks on July 30)

Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 2 (Plymouth Speedway on May 29 & Solomon Valley Raceway on July 28)

Christopher Bell – 1 (Bloomington Speedway on June 12)

Bryan Clauson – 1 (Lincoln Park Speedway on June 11)

Darren Hagen – 1 (Kokomo Speedway on April 11)

Tanner Thorson – 1 (Gas City I-69 Speedway on June 10)

2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET STATISTICS

 

FEATURE WINS:
1. Rico Abreu – 3
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 2
3. Christopher Bell – 1
Bryan Clauson – 1
Darren Hagen – 1
Tanner Thorson – 1

FEATURE LAP LEADERS:
1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 92
2. Tanner Thorson – 59
3. Rico Abreu – 44
4. Darren Hagen – 24
5. Tyler Courtney – 11
6. Christopher Bell – 9
Bryan Clauson – 9
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 9
9. Davey Ray – 6
10. Tyler Thomas – 2

TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
1.   Rico Abreu – 6
Tanner Thorson – 6
3.   Bryan Clauson – 5
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 5
5.   Tracy Hines – 5
6.   Christopher Bell – 3
Darren Hagen – 3
8.   Spencer Bayston – 2
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 2
10. Steve Buckwalter – 1
Dave Darland – 1
Zach Daum – 1
Justin Grant – 1
Tucker Klaasmeyer – 1
Davey Ray – 1
Chase Stockon – 1
Tyler Thomas – 1

TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
1.   Tyler Thomas – 8
2.   Spencer Bayston – 7
Tracy Hines – 7
4.   Rico Abreu – 6
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 6
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 6
Tanner Thorson – 6
8.   Bryan Clauson – 5
Darren Hagen – 5
10. Chase Stockon – 4
11. Christopher Bell – 3
Andrew Felker – 3
13. Tyler Courtney – 2
Dave Darland – 2
Brad Mosen – 2
16. Ryan Bernal – 1
Cody Brewer – 1
Steve Buckwalter – 1
Isaac Chapple – 1
Shane Cottle – 1
Zach Daum – 1
Justin Grant – 1
Mark Hamilton – 1
Bob Harr – 1
Matt Johnson – 1
Tucker Klaasmeyer – 1
Keith Rauch – 1
Davey Ray – 1
Ryan Robinson – 1
Kyle Schuett – 1
Nathan Smee – 1
David Wheeler – 1
Hayden Williams – 1

PROSOURCE FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:

1. Rico Abreu – 2
Tracy Hines – 2
3. Christopher Bell – 1
Bryan Clauson – 1
Zach Daum – 1
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 1
Tanner Thorson – 1

HEAT RACE WINS:
1. Christopher Bell – 3
Tyler Thomas – 3
3. Rico Abreu – 2
Steve Buckwalter – 2
Darren Hagen – 2
Nathan Smee – 2
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 2
Tanner Thorson – 2
9. Garrett Aitken – 1
Spencer Bayston – 1
Ryan Bernal – 1
Alex Bright – 1
Bryan Clauson – 1
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 1
Colten Cottle – 1
Shane Cottle – 1
Andrew Felker – 1
Tracy Hines – 1
C.J. Johnson – 1
Jimi Quin – 1
Chase Stockon – 1
Gage Walker – 1

C-MAIN WINS:
1. Shane Cottle – 1
Ronnie Gardner – 1
Nathan Smee – 1

SEMI WINS:
1. Bryan Clauson – 1
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 1
Tracy Hines – 1
Kyle Jones – 1
Justin Peck – 1

2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET

“HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE”

 

April 11: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (8 positions)
May 29: Plymouth Speedway – Darren Hagen (10 positions)
June 10: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tyler Thomas (9 positions)
June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Christopher Bell (14 positions)
June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Tyler Thomas (10 positions)
June 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tyler Thomas (13 positions)
July 5: Angell Park Speedway – Isaac Chapple (9 positions)
July 28: Solomon Valley Raceway – Tucker Klaasmeyer (12 positions)
July 30: Belleville High Banks – Aaron Schuck (12 positions)

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET

DRIVER FEATURE WINS

 

1. [111 wins] Mel Kenyon

2. [95 wins] Rich Vogler

3. [78 wins] Bob Wente

4. [63 wins] Bob Tattersall

5. [59 wins] Sleepy Tripp

6. [48 wins] Jimmy Davies

7. [35 wins] Tracy Hines

8. [34 wins] Bryan Clauson

9. [31 wins] Gene Hartley & Chuck Rodee

11. [30 wins] Dave Darland, Mike McGreevy & Johnny Parsons

14. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Tony Stewart

16. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland

19. [24 wins] Bill Engelhart

20. [23 wins] Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich

25. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman

 

27. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader

31. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt

32. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Stan Fox & Jason Leffler

35. [18 wins] Dave Steele

36. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley                         

38. [16 wins] George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens

43. [15 wins] Christopher Bell, Don Branson & Larry Rice

 

46. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner

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