EVANSVILLE , IN – March 26, 2007 – After several months of speculation and debate, UMP DIRTcar Racing officials have announced that Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville , Ill. , will be a weekly UMP-sanctioned track and Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach , Ill. , will carry a specials-only sanction.
Stan Schanter of Belle Clair Speedway and Kevin Gundaker of Tri-City Speedway were notified of UMP DIRTcar Racing’s decision on Fri., March 23.
“We have taken calls from fans, drivers and anyone else who wanted to speak their mind about the UMP DIRTcar Racing sanctioning situation between Belle Clair Speedway and Tri-City Speedway and came back with this decision,” said UMP DIRTcar Racing director Sam Driggers. “UMP DIRTcar Racing has a ‘mileage rule’ that states a track cannot sanction weekly races against another UMP track on the same night if the tracks are within 50 miles. Belle Clair and Tri-City are less than 30 miles apart and both will race on Friday nights this year, so the only way both tracks could carry a weekly UMP sanction would be if the promoter from Belle Clair agreed to let Tri-City race under UMP weekly.”
At least six events at Tri-City will be sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing in 2007. The dates are April 13 (Mid-America Racing Series), May 27 (Fed Express race), July 6 (UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals), Aug. 10 (Modified Challenge) and Sept. 21-22 (Modified Mania).
Additional UMP-sanctioned dates at Tri-City may be added later.
“UMP DIRTcar Racing hopes both tracks will be successful in 2007 and we look forward to holding races at both speedways.”
Belle Clair Speedway is a one-fifth-mile clay oval, and Tri-City Speedway has been rebuilt into a three-eighths-mile dirt oval for the 2007 season.
