I know it's early and we can't even buy tickets yet, but the decision has been made to go to The Belleville Midget Nationals and USAC Silver Crown race out in Kansas this August.

That's the good news.

The bad news is we know virtually nothing about the area, travel options or lodging availability.

Is it feasible to fly and rent a car? How far away from the racetrack would it be possible fly into and to get lodging? Manhattan looks as if it might be the only workable airline destination but I don't know for sure.

Is camping a problem for The Nationals? Will we need reservations of some sort for camping? We'll probably be showing up in Belleville just the day before the racing action begins and I'd bet there will be folks showing up with RV's several days prior to the beginning of the track activities

I could pull the camper out there but it's about 600 miles to Belleville from home. I gotta' sick feeling gasoline is going to be brutally expensive this summer. Plus we probably won't have an abundance of time and pulling the camper will require at least 2 extra days away from home.

We will be going for the first time as well. I hope many others who have been pleading for expanded silver crown venues and specifically this one will support this venue and the series, but yea what can one expect.

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From Illinois,I'd just drive over. If I had to fly,I'd probably fly into Lincoln Nebraska. Motels?? Belleville isnt exactly excitement central,and surely the rooms in the area would all be booked out by now. Concordia,Kansas,or North on 81 back to I-80 (cant remember the exit right now,but just north of McCool Junction) in Nebraska might be the best bet for Motels,although you'll have to commute. One advantage of being up by McCool Junction is its not all that far from Speedway Motors,and The Museum Tour of Speedy Bills is Daily at 2PM sharp from memory. Well worth having a look there.

Make sure you visit the Belleville Highbanks Hall of Fame. If you go to it's website it has some local info including some travel help.

www.highbanks.org

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Belleville is not the easiest place to get to, and ASQ is right. Lincoln would be the nearest airport with commercial flights, and is a couple hours drive from Belleville. Just north of McCool Junction (and 70 miles north of Belleville) is York, NE, with plenty of motels and restaurants.

Another option is Salina, an hour south of Belleville (4-lane all the way). Salina is right on I-70 and has a good selection of motels, but only offers regional commercial flights. If you wanted to stay in Salina you could fly into Kansas City (3 1/2 hours east of Salina) or Wichita (1 1/2 - 2 hours south Salina).

There are a few Belleville residents who open their homes to race fans. The Chamber of Commerce may have a list of those residents, but I'm not certain. It wouldn't hurt to give them a call. I checked with the people I've stayed with the last 10+ years, but they already have a waiting list.

There are a few camping options, some by reservation, some first come, first served, some with hookups and some with none. And you're right, fans in the past (up until last year) have begun showing up Monday & Tuesday of race week, so the open sites fill up usually by mid-week. The number of campers at last year's event was an exception to the norm, but I would anticipate a return to a higher attendance level this year, and more campers.

Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any questions. I live 2 hours south of B'ville and am fairly familiar with the area. Good luck.

My dad and I are making trip from Ohio in Motorhome and any info to pass along is appreciated. Looking foward to seeing Ballou in 63 silvercrown car on highbanks!

Thanks guys! I'm starting to get that feeling maybe this could be a true adventure.

I can get into Manhattan on American Airlines out of O'hare in chitcago but it's gonna' hurt. $600 round trip give or take. ASQ, it's looking more and more like you're right about driving.

Do any of the townspeople allow you to park a camper in their yard like they do West of the Speedway at Indy? We're 100% self contained, have a quiet generator and we don't do any loud partying anymore.

Salina looks like the best bet, even if we fly into Manhattan.

Find nowhere, look in the middle of it, that's Belleville. Right on 36, and it's a beautiful drive, some great country to look at. It's a haul, but you see parts of the country that you can't see by flying over it.

You're absolutely right. We've seen it several times. We used to go into Clay Center, KS once a year for about 4 or 5 years in a row in the summer time for grain bin equipment. Clay Center is about as far out in the middle of nowhere as Belleville.

I have stayed in Salina for the nationals. The commute was not bad at all. I was able to find enough things during the day to stay busy when I was there.