BELLEVILLE, ILL. (May 7, 2019) – The 2019 season for the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League and the POWRi Engler Machine & Tool Outlaw Micro League rolls on this weekend with the Midwest Season Opener at Belle-Clair Speedway and Macon Speedway.
The Illinois doubleheader begins on Friday, May 10 at the Belleville, Illinois 1/5th-mile of Belle-Clair Speedway. On Saturday, May 11, the POWRi Midgets and Micros move on to the “Mighty” Macon Speedway located in Macon, Illinois.
After an April visit to Belle-Clair was rained out, this Friday’s show assumes the role as the 28th annual Knepper Memorial. Celebrating the life of legendary St. Louis racer, Arnie Knepper, the Knepper Memorial has been a staple in midget racing since 1992. The best of the best have etched their name into the record books with Knepper Memorial wins, such as Bryan Clauson (2013, 2014), Rico Abreu (2012), Brad Loyet (2010), Tanner Thorson (2016), Spencer Bayston (2015, 2017), and Arnie’s cousin, Steve Knepper, who owns six Knepper Memorial victories.
Tucker Klaasmeyer of Paola, Kansas enters the Knepper Memorial as the defending champion. The reigning POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League champion won his first-career race at Belle-Clair Speedway last April and it catapulted him to his first-career championship by seasons end.
Heading to Macon on Saturday, Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey serves as the defending race winner. On a hot streak at that, the 2017 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League champion is the current points leader by way of a phenomenal three-win stretch in the opening five races of 2019.
On both Friday and Saturday, the pits are set to open at 1:00 PM with driver registration from 3:00 PM to 5:15 PM, the driver’s meeting is scheduled for 5:30 PM with hot laps on track at 6:00 PM and racing underway at 7:00 PM.
For fans unable to attend in person, Speed Shift TV has you covered with a LIVE pay-per-view broadcast of both nights. Head to www.speedshifttv.com to order your viewing passes now.
For more information, you can visit www.powri.com online, follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter, or like POWRi on Facebook.