One-Fifth-Mile Fairgrounds Oval Will Provide Unique Challenge For Touring Stars, Lead Off Doubleheader In St. Louis Area
BELLEVILLE, IL – Sept. 3, 2013 –
A $10,000 top prize and $1200 to start one of the richest purses in Belle-Clair’s history will be on the line in the 2nd annual ‘PhotoBilly 50,’ a race that will be run in honor of late photographer Charles Haffer Jr. A well-known figure in St. Louis racing circles, Haffer – aka ‘Photobilly’ – lost his life on Aug. 7.2012 at the age of 44 in a tragic Iowa highway accident while traveling to a race.
The Belle-Clair event will combine with the I-55 Nationals on Sat., Sept. 14, at Federated Auto Parts Speedway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo., to form a powerhouse WoO LMS weekend in the Midwest. The two tracks are separated by less than an hour’s drive.
“We’re very excited to return to Belle-Clair for the ‘PhotoBilly 50’ said WoO LMS director Tim Christman. “Not only does the event create a real attractive weekend of racing near St. Louis for fans and teams, it is also one of the most unique shows in the history of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. It’s real interesting to see so many of the country’s best dirt Late Model drivers testing their skills on a one-fifth-mile oval that is the smallest bullring the series has ever visited.”
Belle-Clair promoter Donnie Hoener is equally enthused about his fairgrounds track’s World of Outlaws invasion – and honoring the memory of Haffer, who served as the speedway’s official photographer for five years, in such a grand manner.
“He was such a great all-around guy,” Hoener said of ‘PhotoBilly.’ “He always had a smile on his face and was ready to talk to anybody. And he had such a great rapport with all the racers, especially everybody in the Late Models and (UMP) Modifieds. We definitely miss him a lot.
Brandon Sheppard set a New Track record in qualifying and won the inaugural event which featured over 50 of the best Super Late Model Drivers in the country. It was a classic action packed event with 3 wide racing all over the track. Rick Eckert was the Hard Charger of the race going from his 25th starting position to finish 5th.
The Fans raved about the Awesome racing and the old Bullring proved all the skeptics wrong. It was the Spectacular race we all knew it would be. Join us for another Great race on the 13th.
Reserved tickets are available at www.woolms.com for$35 General admission for the Sept. 13 WoO LMS event at Belle-Clair will be $30, with children 12-and-under admitted free of charge. Pit passes will cost $35 for DIRTcar members and $40 for non-members. Kids 6-12 $20
Pit gates are scheduled to open at 12 p.m. CT and will call opens at 3p.m. the grandstands will be unlocked at 4 p.m. Qualifying is set to begin at 7 p.m., followed by racing at 7:30 p.m.
Action for the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds ($1000 to win) and the Midwest Kidz Modz will also be on the evening’s agenda.