Don & wife Blanche Klein!
Caseyville, IL (March 14, 2004) Don Klein will kick off his 49th straight season of racing stock cars on the St. Louis area dirt tracks on Friday, April 2nd at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, IL. Although he has raced on the asphalt at places such as the old Lake Hill Speedway, dirt track racing is in his blood and what he loves.
Anytime a St. Louis area race fan gets into a discussion about racing legends, Don Klein's name is always near the top of that list. His name is right there along with the names of Ray Eby, Wib Spalding, Russ Wallace, Arnie Knepper and countless others.
Don Klein & Ray Eby in the mid 1960's at Belle-Clair Speedway!
Don Klein first climbed behind the wheel of a stock car in 1955 and since drove into victory lane some 557 times. He plans on collecting a few more feature wins this season as well, running his total even higher.
At age 66, he has no plans to slow down, as he plans to run two nights a week for the entire 2004 campaign. You can watch him every Friday night on the tight 1/5 mile oval at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, IL and every Saturday night on the fast high banks of I-55 Raceway in Pevely, MO.
Don will be piloting his 2004 Ford Mustang that sits on a Masterbuilt chassis and powered by some big Ford horsepower. That horsepower has been provided to Don by the same engine builder for over 40 years. His good friend Glen Berry at Berry Machine and Welding has been building those big motors for all those years.
Don Klein's 2004 Ford Mustang U.M.P. Late Model at the Full Moon Saloon Car Show on March 14, 2004!
Don has taught many young racers over the years a few tricks of the trade on how to make their cars faster. Veteran guys like Ed Dixon learned a lot over the years from Don. Young racers such as Paul Bauman continue to learn valuable information from him.
Don has many sponsors that keep him racing, they include Menard Dodge-Jeep, Jack Schmidt Ford, Napa Auto Parts, Valvoline, Otis Motorsports, Top Priority Roofing, Pop-A-Top Lounge, Auto Crafters, Glass Plus, Berry Machine & Welding and High Caliber Graphics.
Anytime you find yourself at Belle-Clair Speedway or I-55 Raceway, remember you are watching a true St. Louis Racing Legend when you see Don Klein. There just haven't been too many that are better than he is.
But how about a shot of his old T-bird modified by the new late model? And on the subject of old Klien cars, how about a poll asking folks what their all time favorite Klien car is--my vote would be for the early 70s model Mustang modifed he ran in the mid 80s.
