INNER THOUGHTS: USAC DRIVERS PONDER THEIR DEBUT ON THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Belleville, Kansas (May 18, 2023)………Remember your first ride on a roller coaster?
The sensation of speed is a kind unlike any other you’ve ever experienced. That’s what’s in store for several USAC Silver Crown competitors when they make their first rounds at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks this Friday-Saturday, May 19-20.
For drivers like Mitchel Moles, Chase Stockon and Jake Swanson, they’ve only seen the half-mile circle of dirt on video, never having seen a car run in anger, at full throttle, at the place.
Some places list themselves as the fastest half-mile, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find one like Belleville.
Three of the USAC Silver Crown racing’s relative newcomers relayed their thoughts on what it’ll be like racing at the Belleville High Banks this weekend.
MITCHEL MOLES
Mitchel Moles is highly regarded as a gasser, and the first and only piece of advice he’s received regarding Belleville is in his realm.
“Shane Golobic told me they’d boo you if you lifted in qualifying; that’s the only thing he told me,” Moles said of his brief conversation with the fellow talented west coast racer. “It’s super-fast and there’s really no straightaways to speak of; it’s definitely a different place and it’s got a weird shape to it.”
Not only will this weekend present Mitchel Moles with his first laps at Belleville, it’ll also be his first laps in a USAC Silver Crown car of any kind. However, he has made a visit to Belleville once before to take his first look-see.
“Justin Grant and I actually checked it out last year when we were racing in Kansas,” Moles recalled. “You could see the nostalgia of the racetrack and how cool it would be to race there. I’m excited to go there and see what we can do.”
To see what he can do for the first time in a USAC Silver Crown car will be interesting. In Moles’ first outing with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in May of 2022 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, he led 21 laps and finished second, providing him the confidence to do perform in the very same manner this weekend.
“I’m going to do it just like I did with the USAC Sprint Car,” Moles stated. “I’ve never done it before, so why not just show what you have on gameday?”
CHASE STOCKON
Chase Stockon has never been to these lands before. The highly accomplished driver of 14 career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion career feature wins has only seen Belleville on video.
Belleville’s history is also linked to Tracy Hines, winner of the first Silver Crown event at the track in 2013. As a matter of fact, around the same time, a veteran Hines served as a mentor to a young Stockon, who was just getting going in his USAC career, who gave him sage advice on Belleville that he could use one dat.
“He told me you’ve got to be smooth and keep it up on the fence,” Stockon said. “That’s the fastest way around there. So, I’m just going with the flow.”
For Stockon, the first thing that comes to his mind about Belleville is the history aspect of it, first and foremost, and Stockon is proud to be a part of it.
“It’s a historic racetrack, and unlike some of the other historic tracks we go to, it seems like this place has not changed. That’s one thing that excites me about it, going to places where guys like (Rich) Vogler, (Jack) Hewitt, Tracy Hines ran, and the list goes on. The people in our sport who’ve been successful at a place like that and knowing that it’s not really any different now than when those guys ran.”
JAKE SWANSON
Jake Swanson can’t even put into words how to dissect the Belleville High Banks. In a clear-cut, no-nonsense way, he put it aptly.
“First things first – you better bring your balls,” Swanson succinctly stated. “You’ve got to make sure you’re mentally prepared to run the fence there at a high rate of speed. I had a friend race there a few years ago, and he told me that he thought he was on top of the racetrack, and as it turned out, he was not at all.”
Running the fence often is practically a necessity to be fast and successful at Belleville. The Anaheim, Calif. driver has plied his trade up top on many a racetrack.
Although Belleville will be a new adventure for Swanson who agrees wholeheartedly from watching clips on FloRacing, Loudpedal TV and YouTube that Belleville has to be, without a doubt, the fastest half-mile dirt track. It’s a sensation he is ready to take on.
RACE DETAILS:
On Friday, it’s practice night for the USAC Silver Crown division at Belleville with three separate sessions throughout the night in conjunction with a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $25. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $15. A one-day pit pass is $35 and two-day pit passes are $60.
On Saturday, it’s a full race day for both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship divisions. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $30. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $20. A one-day pit pass is $40 and two-day pit passes are $60.
The entire events for both nights at Belleville, can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3Kdc2na.
