By Jon Mooney
BELLEVILLE, IL (Wednesday, August 6, 2003):
Steve Knepper thrilled the large fair night crowd and passed Donnie Lehmann on lap 23 to win the Midwest Auto Racing Association (MARA) Arnie Knepper Memorial midget car race at the Belle-Clair Speedway Wednesday night. Mike Hess, Dave Camfield, Jr. and Jeff Flesher rounded out the top five.
Knepper's win was nearly overshadowed by the spectacular run of Mike Hess. Before the night's finale, a $5,000 "Run from the Rear" bonus was offered to the heat race winner who could win the feature from last place. Hess, winner of the third heat, took the challenge before the main event began and opted to start the 30 lap race from dead last.
With all eyes in the house watching and wondering if it could be done, Hess' spectacular drive came up just two spots short of a huge payday. The race was slowed only twice for cautions, on lap 1 and lap 13, which made Hess' passing performance all the more remarkable.
The feature race began with fourth place starter Tim Siner jumping out to the lead.
Siner used the outside cushion to put some distance on the field over the first half of the race until Donnie Lehmann began making the bottom groove work and battled Siner for the top spot.
After some wheel to wheel racing, Lehmann took command of the race lead from Siner on lap 16.
While most were watching Hess' run to the front, Knepper was quietly working his way up from ninth starting spot and moved into second on lap 17.
With Lehman running low and Knepper running high, both drivers put on a spirited side-by-side duel for the lead over the next five laps.
Knepper finally wrestled the top spot away from Lehmann on lap 23 and pulled away for the win. It was Knepper's second MARA midget win of the year at the Belleville, Illinois speedplant.
Hess, who clearly had the fastest car in the field, was nipping at the heels of Lehmann for second when the checkered flag flew, "It's tough to come into Steve's hometown and beat him", said Hess, the defending champion of the Arnie Knepper Memorial. Hess will now head to National Midget Championship Race held at the Belleville (KS) High-Banks which begin tomorrow (Thursday) night.
Knepper dedicated his win to Charlene Meents, the former MARA president who passed away earlier in the day after a long illness.
"We lost a good friend today. I want to dedicate this win to Charlene. She kept MARA going for a long time", said a tearful Knepper in victory lane.
Meents was one of MARA's original officers when the midget organization was formed in 1977. She served as the group's president for nine years before stepping down after the 2001 season.
Condolences go out to the Meents family from the entire MARA organization.
The Arnie Knepper Memorial Race is the highlight of the MARA midget auto racing calendar. The race is held each year during the St. Clair County Fair.
M.A.R.A. Midget Feature: Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, IL Wednesday, August 6, 2003
Arnie Knepper Memorial Race (30 laps) "Run From The Rear" Bonus
OFFICIAL FINISH/starting positions in ( ):
1. #55 Steve Knepper (9), 2. #31 Donnie Lehmann (2), 3. #51 Mike Hess (20*), 4. #86 Dave Camfield, Jr. (1), 5. #72 Jeff Flesher (5), 6. #85 Shane Hollingsworth (3), 7. #15 Tim Siner (4), 8. #87 Rich Camfield (6), 9. #44 Chad Branson (8), 10. #4d Bruce Donaldson (11), 11. #7 Critter Malone (17), 12. #24 Kevin Olson (18), 13. #85a Justin Allgaier (7), 14. #21a Aaron Andruskevitch (16), 15. #3h Mike Hudson (13), 16. #17 Kenny Brown (14), 17. #78 Dave Camfield, Sr. (19), 18. #00 Mike Heiss (12), 19. #94 Kevin Crowder (15), 20. #99 Korey Weyant (10).
LAP LEADERS:
1-15 Tim Siner, 16-22 Donnie Lehmann, 23-30 Steve Knepper
*Prior to the feature, the four heat race winners (Flesher, Hollingsworth, Hess and Rich Camfield) were brought to the front stretch to draw a numbered pill to determine the order in which they would be asked the question of starting the race from the tail and making a "Run From The Rear". If that driver won the race, he would get a $5,000 bonus in addition to the standard MARA winner's share of $1,000.
Mike Hess drew the #1 pill and when asked the question "would he start from the tail" his answer was yes and Hess elected to start the race in 20th spot to be eligible for the bonus. Hess started 20th and worked his way through the field, but fell just two spots shy of winning $6,000, finally coming home in third place.
HEAT RACE RESULTS - 28 cars
OFFICIAL FINISH/starting positions in ( ), starting positions determined by pill draw
Top four finishers transferred to the feature:
HEAT ONE (8 laps)
1. #72 Flesher (2), 2. #85a Allgaier (1), 3. #44 Branson (3), 4. #00 Heiss (6), 5. #78 Camfield, Sr. (5), 6. #7w Howard Worrell (7), 7. #21a Andruskevitch (4).
HEAT TWO (8 laps)
1. #85 Hollingsworth (1), 2. #86 Camfield, Jr. (3), 3. #55 Knepper (6), 4. #3h Hudson (2), 5. #24 Olson (4), 6. #21 Steve Stroud (5), 7. #80 John Tosti (7)
HEAT THREE (8 laps)
1. #51 Hess (1), 2. #15 Siner (5), 3. #99 Weyant (6), 4. #17 Brown (3), 5. #10k Ron Kuhn (7), 6. #21x Paul Farrell (4), 7. #2h Todd Houser
*Houser flipped in turn three
HEAT FOUR (8 laps)
1. #87 Rich Camfield (5), 2. #31 Lehmann (4), 3. #4d Donaldson (2), 4. #94 Crowder (6), 5. #7 Malone (7), 6. #5 J.C. Bland (3), 7. #33 Wally McDuffey (1).
SEMI (12 laps)-Top four transferred to the feature:
1. #21a Andruskevitch (9), 2. #7 Malone (4), 3. #24 Olson (2), 4. #78 Camfield, Sr. (1), 5. #33 McDuffey (12), 6. #10k Kuhn (3), 7. #21x Farrell (7), 8. #5 Bland (8), 9. #7w Worrell (5), 10. #2h Houser (11), 11. #80 Tosti (10), 12. #21 Stroud (6).
Winged 600 c.c. Micro Sprint Feature, Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, IL Wednesday, August 6, 2003.
Arnie Knepper Memorial Race (20 laps)
1. #122 Rick King, 2. #22 Travis Senter, 3. #37 Cameron Dodson, 4. #171 J.B. Gilbert, 5. #61 Jeremy Boyer, 6. #321 Dereck King, 7. #69 Tyler Richardson, 8. #32 Zach Barr, 9. #66 Mike Phillips, 10. #24 Daniel Robinson, 11. #25 Brett Anderson, 12. #67 Gary Altig, 13. #151 Lance McKinney, 14. #71 Tony Roney, 15. #5 Rob Simpson, 16. #96 Mark Gass, 17. #93 Matt Supan, 18. #7 Tom Ritter, 19. #63 Mike Russell, 20. #18 Robby Larson.
LAP LEADERS:
1-20 Rick King
HEAT RACE WINNERS-32 cars:
Rick King, Brett Anderson, Travis Senter, Cameron Dodson.
SEMI WINNERS:
Zach Barr, Dereck King
BELLEVILLE, IL (Wednesday, August 6, 2003):
Steve Knepper thrilled the large fair night crowd and passed Donnie Lehmann on lap 23 to win the Midwest Auto Racing Association (MARA) Arnie Knepper Memorial midget car race at the Belle-Clair Speedway Wednesday night. Mike Hess, Dave Camfield, Jr. and Jeff Flesher rounded out the top five.
Knepper's win was nearly overshadowed by the spectacular run of Mike Hess. Before the night's finale, a $5,000 "Run from the Rear" bonus was offered to the heat race winner who could win the feature from last place. Hess, winner of the third heat, took the challenge before the main event began and opted to start the 30 lap race from dead last.
With all eyes in the house watching and wondering if it could be done, Hess' spectacular drive came up just two spots short of a huge payday. The race was slowed only twice for cautions, on lap 1 and lap 13, which made Hess' passing performance all the more remarkable.
The feature race began with fourth place starter Tim Siner jumping out to the lead.
Siner used the outside cushion to put some distance on the field over the first half of the race until Donnie Lehmann began making the bottom groove work and battled Siner for the top spot.
After some wheel to wheel racing, Lehmann took command of the race lead from Siner on lap 16.
While most were watching Hess' run to the front, Knepper was quietly working his way up from ninth starting spot and moved into second on lap 17.
With Lehman running low and Knepper running high, both drivers put on a spirited side-by-side duel for the lead over the next five laps.
Knepper finally wrestled the top spot away from Lehmann on lap 23 and pulled away for the win. It was Knepper's second MARA midget win of the year at the Belleville, Illinois speedplant.
Hess, who clearly had the fastest car in the field, was nipping at the heels of Lehmann for second when the checkered flag flew, "It's tough to come into Steve's hometown and beat him", said Hess, the defending champion of the Arnie Knepper Memorial. Hess will now head to National Midget Championship Race held at the Belleville (KS) High-Banks which begin tomorrow (Thursday) night.
Knepper dedicated his win to Charlene Meents, the former MARA president who passed away earlier in the day after a long illness.
"We lost a good friend today. I want to dedicate this win to Charlene. She kept MARA going for a long time", said a tearful Knepper in victory lane.
Meents was one of MARA's original officers when the midget organization was formed in 1977. She served as the group's president for nine years before stepping down after the 2001 season.
Condolences go out to the Meents family from the entire MARA organization.
The Arnie Knepper Memorial Race is the highlight of the MARA midget auto racing calendar. The race is held each year during the St. Clair County Fair.
M.A.R.A. Midget Feature: Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, IL Wednesday, August 6, 2003
Arnie Knepper Memorial Race (30 laps) "Run From The Rear" Bonus
OFFICIAL FINISH/starting positions in ( ):
1. #55 Steve Knepper (9), 2. #31 Donnie Lehmann (2), 3. #51 Mike Hess (20*), 4. #86 Dave Camfield, Jr. (1), 5. #72 Jeff Flesher (5), 6. #85 Shane Hollingsworth (3), 7. #15 Tim Siner (4), 8. #87 Rich Camfield (6), 9. #44 Chad Branson (8), 10. #4d Bruce Donaldson (11), 11. #7 Critter Malone (17), 12. #24 Kevin Olson (18), 13. #85a Justin Allgaier (7), 14. #21a Aaron Andruskevitch (16), 15. #3h Mike Hudson (13), 16. #17 Kenny Brown (14), 17. #78 Dave Camfield, Sr. (19), 18. #00 Mike Heiss (12), 19. #94 Kevin Crowder (15), 20. #99 Korey Weyant (10).
LAP LEADERS:
1-15 Tim Siner, 16-22 Donnie Lehmann, 23-30 Steve Knepper
*Prior to the feature, the four heat race winners (Flesher, Hollingsworth, Hess and Rich Camfield) were brought to the front stretch to draw a numbered pill to determine the order in which they would be asked the question of starting the race from the tail and making a "Run From The Rear". If that driver won the race, he would get a $5,000 bonus in addition to the standard MARA winner's share of $1,000.
Mike Hess drew the #1 pill and when asked the question "would he start from the tail" his answer was yes and Hess elected to start the race in 20th spot to be eligible for the bonus. Hess started 20th and worked his way through the field, but fell just two spots shy of winning $6,000, finally coming home in third place.
HEAT RACE RESULTS - 28 cars
OFFICIAL FINISH/starting positions in ( ), starting positions determined by pill draw
Top four finishers transferred to the feature:
HEAT ONE (8 laps)
1. #72 Flesher (2), 2. #85a Allgaier (1), 3. #44 Branson (3), 4. #00 Heiss (6), 5. #78 Camfield, Sr. (5), 6. #7w Howard Worrell (7), 7. #21a Andruskevitch (4).
HEAT TWO (8 laps)
1. #85 Hollingsworth (1), 2. #86 Camfield, Jr. (3), 3. #55 Knepper (6), 4. #3h Hudson (2), 5. #24 Olson (4), 6. #21 Steve Stroud (5), 7. #80 John Tosti (7)
HEAT THREE (8 laps)
1. #51 Hess (1), 2. #15 Siner (5), 3. #99 Weyant (6), 4. #17 Brown (3), 5. #10k Ron Kuhn (7), 6. #21x Paul Farrell (4), 7. #2h Todd Houser
*Houser flipped in turn three
HEAT FOUR (8 laps)
1. #87 Rich Camfield (5), 2. #31 Lehmann (4), 3. #4d Donaldson (2), 4. #94 Crowder (6), 5. #7 Malone (7), 6. #5 J.C. Bland (3), 7. #33 Wally McDuffey (1).
SEMI (12 laps)-Top four transferred to the feature:
1. #21a Andruskevitch (9), 2. #7 Malone (4), 3. #24 Olson (2), 4. #78 Camfield, Sr. (1), 5. #33 McDuffey (12), 6. #10k Kuhn (3), 7. #21x Farrell (7), 8. #5 Bland (8), 9. #7w Worrell (5), 10. #2h Houser (11), 11. #80 Tosti (10), 12. #21 Stroud (6).
Winged 600 c.c. Micro Sprint Feature, Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, IL Wednesday, August 6, 2003.
Arnie Knepper Memorial Race (20 laps)
1. #122 Rick King, 2. #22 Travis Senter, 3. #37 Cameron Dodson, 4. #171 J.B. Gilbert, 5. #61 Jeremy Boyer, 6. #321 Dereck King, 7. #69 Tyler Richardson, 8. #32 Zach Barr, 9. #66 Mike Phillips, 10. #24 Daniel Robinson, 11. #25 Brett Anderson, 12. #67 Gary Altig, 13. #151 Lance McKinney, 14. #71 Tony Roney, 15. #5 Rob Simpson, 16. #96 Mark Gass, 17. #93 Matt Supan, 18. #7 Tom Ritter, 19. #63 Mike Russell, 20. #18 Robby Larson.
LAP LEADERS:
1-20 Rick King
HEAT RACE WINNERS-32 cars:
Rick King, Brett Anderson, Travis Senter, Cameron Dodson.
SEMI WINNERS:
Zach Barr, Dereck King
