Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Should be a great car count. Saw BC Is swinging down on his way home from Knoxville. It was a great race last year can't wait!!

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

POWRi to Visit Belle-Clair Speedway for the 23rd Annual Arnie Knepper Memorial
Thursday, August 7th 2014


MILLSTADT, IL - The POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series and the POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series will visit Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, IL on Sunday, August 10th for the 23rd annual Arnie Knepper Memorial.

Knepper, a Belleville native, was one of the best drivers to ever come out of the St. Louis area. He won five St. Louis Auto Racing Association Midget championships from 1954 to 1960. Knepper also drove in the Indianapolis 500 five times from 1965 to 1969. Some of Knepper's notable wins are at the famed Little 500 Sprint Car race at Anderson, IN in 1962 in addition to six midget and two sprint car races in USAC national events. Knepper died in Belleville in 1992.

Since the inaugural race in 1992, the Arnie Knepper Memorial has established itself as a prestigious event in midget racing. Some of the best midget drivers in the country have taken home an Arnie Knepper Memorial win, including Bryan Clauson (2013), Rico Abreu (2012), Brad Kuhn (2011) and Brad Loyet (2010). Steve Knepper, Arnie Knepper's cousin, has won the event six times in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2003.

"The Arnie Knepper Memorial is an event that represents the best aspects of the sport," stated POWRi's Kenny Brown. "Racing truly is family oriented. Arnie came from a racing family and even married a racecar mechanic. He is a racing legend who rose to the top with his family by his side. Arnie's passion for the sport lives on, especially through his family, which is why the Arnie Knepper Memorial has established itself as such a prestigious event in midget racing."

For more information, go to www.powri.com.

Contact:
Paige Elbe
POWRi Media
pelbe@kbrperformance.net
POWRi Racing Official Sponsors
Auto Meter - "The Official Instrumentation" of POWRi Racing
Afco - "The Official Shock" of POWRi Racing
Ford - "The Official EcoBoost Challenge" of POWRi Racing
Great Clips - "The Official Salon" of POWRi Racing
Hoosier Tire - "The Official Race Tire" of POWRi Racing
Impact Racing - "The Official Safety Equipment" of POWRi Racing
K&N Filter - "The Official Filter" of POWRi Racing
Lucas Oil Products - "The Official Oil" of POWRi Racing
Speedway Motors - "The Official Parts Store" of POWRi Racing
Team POWRi Racing
Advanced Racing Suspensions, Aggressive Graphics, Bell Helmets, BT Machine Inc., Butler Built Seats, Competition Suspension Inc., Engler Machine & Tool Inc., Esslinger Engineering, Factor 1 Racing, Kitchen Cooked, Leading Edge Composites, Millennium Components, MPD Racing, MoMo's Racing Engines Purpose Wreckers, Race Bumpers.com, Rod End Supply, Roof Bolt Express, Schoenfeld Headers, Spike Chassis, Stanton Race Engines, The Engine Heater, Ti64, Total Power, TOYOTA

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

wish i could be there but had to work out of state so you guys have fun see you at next weekends races

BC from last after a flat tire around lap 7 over Zach Daum and Shane Cottle. Heck of a race once again!

Sun. Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair.....
 

any complete rundown avail.??...thot Rico had it on his Sched??...or did Natls crash change his plans??.........
_____________
Brucer':32:

Re: Sun. Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair.....
 

Great show from start to finish. POWRi did a great job. Hot laps started at the advertised time 6 pm, and then the heats and the 2 semi-features for the midgets and micros clicked off like clock work. The track was reworked 2 times and both action packed features were finished before 10 pm. By the way the track was great all night long with cars using the top, middle and bottom. No dust! This was the Arnie Knepper Memorial race and it was nice that he was honored respectfully and this portion of the program wasn't rushed at all. If you haven't been to a POWRi midget race at Belle-Clair Speedway you have no idea what you are missing. Our group had a great time.

Re: Sun. Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair.....
 

Well said!..What a SHOW!...:8:

Re: Sun. Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair.....
 

Clauson Claims Knepper Memorial, Andruskevitch Scores Micro Victory
Monday, August 10th 2014


Belleville, IL. - Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana overcame a flat left rear tire on lap 11 and raced his way back up front to claim the 23rd Annual Arnie Knepper Memorial, Clauson's 23rd career POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series win and his first of the 2014 season at the high-banked 1/5th mile Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois. Aaron Andruskevitch of Riverton, Illinois took his second POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series win of the 2014 season.

Pole-sitter Austin Brown of Millstadt, Illinois powered his KBR Performance-BOSS Chassis into the early lead and began working the top side of the high-banked 1/5th mile Belle-Clair Speedway, while Nick Knepper of Swansea, Illinois chased down Zach Daum. Knepper, driving the K&K Garage-sponsored, Esslinger-powered Spike, would repeatedly slide Daum, but Knepper officially made it stick for second on lap eight. With 10 laps in the books, Andy Malpocker would jump the cushion in turns three and four, ramping the outside wall and rolling his Esslinger-powered Spike, bringing out the first red flag of the evening. Malpocker would be alright, but damage sustained to the car would be enough to end his evening. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana would enter the work area during the red flag after suffering a flat left rear tire aboard his Rusty Kunz Racing/Curb-Agajanian entry.

When green flag racing resumed, Brown would again power into the lead, but this time Knepper would stay close enough to begin to mount a charge. Within striking distance, Knepper would attempt to slide Brown for the lead, but the move would hardly faze Brown. Just as the battle for the lead began to heat up, Dave Camfield, Jr.'s spun machine in the middle of turns one and two would bring out the caution, bunching the field up.

With 16 laps in the books, Brown would lead the field back to green flag racing with Knepper and Daum in tow. As Brown took back off, Shane Cottle would slide Zach Daum for third. Entering turns three and four, Knepper would take a charge at Brown ending with the duo making contact exiting turn four, racing down the front stretch. When both drivers entered turn one, they would dive to the bottom side of the racetrack making contact resulting in both cars coming to an abrupt stop on the track with enough damage that both cars would be done for the evening.

Inheriting the lead, Shane Cottle in the RAB Racing, Fontana-powered Spike would lead the field to green with Daum, Andrew Felker, Darren Hagen, and Bryan Clauson right behind. As Cottle took to the high-side, Darren Hagen would try to slide Daum for second, ultimately slowing the momentum of Daum and Felker enough that Clauson would be able to slide all the way to second in one move. With enough steam left to his charge, Clauson would reel in Cottle and with three laps left, Clauson would make his move, sliding Cottle for the lead and never looking back. Following 2014 Chili Bowl Nationals Champion Bryan Clauson to the line were Zach Daum and Shane Cottle, side by side for second. Coming in fourth was Tyler Thomas of Owasso, Oklahoma and rounding out the top five was Darren Hagen of Riverside, California.

"I can't thank everyone enough," said a victorious Bryan Clauson. "I'm not quite sure what popped the left rear, I think I had to get on the brakes real hard to keep from hitting the 22 car when he turned over and maybe just peeled it off the bead. This thing was a rocket ship. I always enjoy coming over to run these POWRi races. Man, we have a lot of fun. I always tell people little Belleville [Belle-Clair Speedway] is one of my, if not my favorite midget track in the country."

"It was real fun right there at the end," said second place finisher Zach Daum. "Bryan drove a heck of a race. The track got better as the race went on and hopefully we put a show on."

"This place is just awesome," explained third place finisher Shane Cottle. "I love coming here and running. I don't come here very often, but when I do, it sure is fun. I have to congratulate Bryan. We just got beat."

Driving the GMS Racing Engines, Suzuki-powered Stallard Chassis, Aaron Andruskevitch of Riverton, Illinois won the nail-bitter 20 lap POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series Feature. "That's the first time we got the car working good here in the past two months," explained Andruskevitch. "We've been struggling. I have to thank my mom for running to the drug store to get some medicine. I picked up a sinus infection this morning. I felt pretty weak right before the feature, but I feel pretty good right now. Definitely a good night for points."
Second place finisher Jeremy Camp of Blue Mound, Illinois showed his Suzuki-powered Sawyer Chassis would be a threat all night after dominantly winning his heat race from fourth and starting outside the second row for the feature. "Second place is not what we came for, but pretty much where we seem to be going," explained a disappointed Camp. "We'll take it; it puts us up front in the points. It would be nice to get a few wins before the end of the year, but we'll keep plugging away at it and see what happens."

Third place finisher Joey Wirth started on the pole, with high point honors, a career best for the driver of the Engler-injected Sawyer Chassis. "We're doing real good," said third place finisher Joey Wirth. "I got my first pole with POWRi tonight. We were fifth in points last week and we'd really like to get a podium in points this year. We're here to finish the season strong."

POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series Feature Results (30 laps): 1. 63 - Bryan Clauson 2. 5D - Zach Daum 3. 57 - Shane Cottle 4. 91T - Tyler Thomas 5. 56 - Darren Hagen 6. 88 - Terry Babb 7. 57D - Daniel Robinson 8. 2 - Seth Motsinger 9. 32 - Garrett Aitken 10. 11A - Andrew Felker 11. 9P - Parker Price Miller 12. 39 - Spencer Bayston 13. 79J - Jacob Patton 14. 86C - Dave Camfield Jr. 15. 5C - Colten Cottle 16. 15 - Tim Siner 17. 31 - Kyle Schuett 18. 35T - Tyler Robbins 19. 7 - Austin Brown 20. 55 - Nick Knepper 21. 25 - Jake Blackhurst 22. 22 - Andy Malpocker 23. 7X - Gage Walker

POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series Feature Results (20 Laps): 1. 21 - Aaron Andruskevitch 2. 23 - Jeremy Camp 3. 77W - Joey Wirth 4. 52 - Jason Harms 5. 51B - Joe B. Miller 6. 21A - Austin VanToll 7. 30T - Tyler VanToll 8. 42M - Spencer Montgomery 9. 00 - Matt Ponder 10. 14 - Kurt Westerfield 11. 9K - Kyle Schuett 12. 3N - Jake Neuman 13. 28V - Luke Verardi 14. 19 - Natasha Cox 15. 45 - Lucas Pejakovich 16. 33M - Ryan Mueller 17. 87 - Kyle Stearns 18. 08C - Allen Cope 19. 145 - Tony Lawrence 20. 72 - Heath Ross 21. 2B - Nathan Benson 22. 44 - Ayrton Gennetten

For more information, visit www.powri.com.

Contact:
Derek Schuett
POWRi Media
Derek.schuett@gmail.com
POWRi Racing Official Sponsors
Auto Meter - "The Official Instrumentation" of POWRi Racing
Afco - "The Official Shock" of POWRi Racing
Ford - "The Official EcoBoost Challenge" of POWRi Racing
Great Clips - "The Official Salon" of POWRi Racing
Hoosier Tire - "The Official Race Tire" of POWRi Racing
Impact Racing - "The Official Safety Equipment" of POWRi Racing
K&N Filter - "The Official Filter" of POWRi Racing
Lucas Oil Products - "The Official Oil" of POWRi Racing
Speedway Motors - "The Official Parts Store" of POWRi Racing
Team POWRi Racing
Advanced Racing Suspensions, Aggressive Graphics, Bell Helmets, BT Machine Inc., Butler Built Seats, Competition Suspension Inc., Engler Machine & Tool Inc., Esslinger Engineering, Factor 1 Racing, Kitchen Cooked, Leading Edge Composites, Millennium Components, MPD Racing, MoMo's Racing Engines Purpose Wreckers, Race Bumpers.com, Rod End Supply, Roof Bolt Express, Schoenfeld Headers, Spike Chassis, Stanton Race Engines, The Engine Heater, Ti64, Total Power, TOYOTA

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Another enjoyable evening at Belle - Clair! POWRi does a great job of running the program off quickly and redoing the track without excessive downtime. As a bonus, I always get to enjoy some of the great brisket at Hick's BBQ every time I go to Belle - Clair. Love this place!

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

I got thinking about this night a few years ago at Duquoin on the drive home last night. https://www.indianaopenwheel.com/showthread.php?t=44940

It took awhile to get Bryan to run there,but he sure has taken a liking to the place since.

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Another great POWRi show. I just can't say enough about how well this organization runs the show, the excellent announcing job that Jim Childers does, the excellent track prep at Belleville, the friendly staff at the track, easy parking and in and out of the track, and the number of really good drivers who run with POWRi. They really get to shine at this track. In short, when POWRi runs this track you have the total package, a great fan experience. All the positive comments on this thread are right on. If you haven't been to Belleville yet, you really owe it to yourself to go. I would also strongly recommend the POWRi shows at Lincoln and Macon Illinois this weekend.
What can you say about BC? By sheer luck I happened to be at Lincoln Park a few years ago to see his first sprint victory. I have seen many others over the years and still occasionally make the mistake of thinking that the task on some particular night is too difficult. Thought that the last night of the midget portion of the Western World at Canyon last year. Even BC couldn't make up that much ground in the last 1/3 lap to snatch the win. Oops, wrong again. Last night was another of those times. He drew the pole for his heat race, which guaranteed that he wouldn't start very well for the feature because he couldn't accumulate any passing points. That got him a 9th place start and he started working forward. Then he got a flat from someone else's mess, and had to change it and start at the back. The rest of the race consisted of excellent racing among the top 5 or 6 positions with passing and slide jobs galore (and probably throughout the field, but I only have two eyes), and BC working his way to the front. I saw the move from 5th to 2nd in one turn and still have trouble believing it. I really, really hope the race was being taped so we can enjoy it again. Nights like last night are why I go to races. Note to self: Never, never think that the situation looks impossible for BC. I may be wrong again.

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Bryan looking like he's having fun in hotlaps
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7c4519e.jpg

Tyler Thomas looks to be having fun as well
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psefcfeb63.jpg

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Dave Camfield III not so much fun....
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1b329ba1.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psb8b52e87.jpg


http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psdc2b08b1.jpg

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

The Knepper Family would like to thank everyone who attended and/or participated in the Knepper Memorial Race. A great job again by POWRi and the racers and another thanks to the St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club for working the 50/50 drawing for the benefit of the Arnie Knepper Memorial Scholarship Fund at Rankin Technical College. It is amazing that after 20+ years that fans still remember Arnie and support the race and his favorite class of midget auto racing. Hope to see you all again next year. Wanda Knepper

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

Andrew, your becoming quite the photographer, great shots.:22: Again, what a show we all got to witness.

Re: Arnie Knepper Memorial Race@Belle-Clair
 

It was more by good luck than by good management! I was just shooting away from my top secret vantage point,and when I took this pic of Daniel Adler,I saw Camfield in the background on 2 wheels,and started to try for him instead.http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7bcd91b4.jpg

The writeups dont do the race justice. It was a night when 10 sets of eyes would come in handy to keep track of all of the action. Just after Clauson got a new tire and started his charge from the back,I told Frank Daigh,sitting next to me,that I was trying to watch Bryan,but on the other hand I was watching Knepper and Brown,and Knepper was about ready to slide for the lead,when they had another yellow. And there was a bunch of action going on in between the leaders,and back to Clauson to watch as well!


It was a good social night as well. I chatted with Rick and family,then Wally McDuffey came by and I fixed him up with a "All Mortied Up" koozie that I had been saving for him-Morty introduced me to him a few years ago,and Wally was desperate enough to want his photo taken with me,so we got both photos of Wally when he is undercover in Stealth Mode,and then got a few more with his trademark red hat on as well.

I was surprised to see Dickster and his wife there from Michigan. I had forgotten that he had never been there before,and I said you came all this way to come here,and he replied "Well this is the place you are always talking about for watching midgets" I hope he wasnt disappointed!:D

When I left my secret photo taking spot,and sat in my regular seat in the "Morty section" I found Frank Daigh was my neighbor there that night,and we talked about various subjects as we do whenever I catch up with him,which is quite often. We were chatting away,and I noticed a few rows down was David Mills and his family from Australia. David is the manager at Premier Speedway in Warrnambool (my favorite speedway in Australia) and they were coming down from the Knoxville Nationals. 2 years ago I saw David at Kokomo one night,and told him he had to come to the Smackdown,so last year he was at the Smackdown. He also takes note of other places that I tell him are worthy of a look for good racing,so he dropped in at Little Belleville. I went down to talk with him before the racing got started to catch up for a bit,and told him "This is THE place for midget racing". After the feature was over I looked over his way,and he gave me the thumbs up! When I stopped down to say goodbye,I told him to tell his buddys if they are looking for a race next year after Knoxville,then Little Belleville is the place.I'm sure he'll pass the word along.