Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / They're Demolishing & Rebuilding Belle-Clair Speedway | Kenny Wallace Show

Transcript

They're Demolishing & Rebuilding Belle-Clair Speedway | Kenny Wallace Show · Kenny Wallace Media

0:00
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Kenny Waller Show brought
0:03
to you by Jags, the leader in high performance aftermarket car
0:08
parts. And remember to go to jags.com
0:12
for everything you need to fix your hot rod up or your everyday
0:15
vehicle. Well, for the locals, you know
0:18
where we're at and we're going to do a quick 360.
0:22
This is Mark Kern, the great Bobby Biddle, the great race car
0:26
driver. But before we talk to everybody,
0:29
I want to show you all our surroundings.
0:34
They ran this place for how many years, sold tickets, worked the
0:38
dirt. These people are so heartfelt.
0:43
They've seen it all. Well, as you figured it out by
0:45
now, we are in Belleville, IL at Belle Claire Superspeedway.
0:50
This place has so many memories. I'm going to take a page from
0:54
Delano Harvick, Kevin Harvick's wife.
0:57
She said don't be sad it's over. Be happy it happened.
1:02
So before we talk to Bobby Biddle and everybody else, Mark
1:06
Kern, Mark, you know, name, rank, serial number, tell me,
1:12
tell me where you fit in here. So a while back, few years ago,
1:17
it it was made known that the Saint Clair County Fairgrounds
1:20
was for sale and might be turned into a warehouse.
1:25
All of this would go away and all of the things that we love
1:29
to do yet this fairgrounds would be just off the tape.
1:33
So county went forth with the city of Belleville, Mayor
1:37
Gregory at the time, and she came with us and we purchased
1:41
the fairgrounds and from there we knew we had to save the
1:44
track. Originally we thought we might
1:47
be able to kind of repurpose what was here, but it became
1:50
pretty apparent that the track had seen better days.
1:54
Right. So we're going to continue this
1:56
conversation in depth, but let's go around the Rosie here.
2:01
When was this racetrack built? 1948. 19481948 right and and
2:09
Bobby Dandy, Don Klein Names of Carl Springer.
2:16
Ravey, ravey Kenny Shrum, 6699. The list just goes on and on and
2:22
on. Yeah.
2:22
Did your brother Rusty, Did he ever run here?
2:26
The only brother Rusty ever ran here.
2:29
Maybe Mike. OK, I've been.
2:31
Here many a. Times.
2:32
I've been here a handful of times.
2:33
OK, you, you, you get the idea. Built in the 40s.
2:37
What a great race track. We're going to go back to Bobby
2:39
and everybody for some memories. All right.
2:42
So now we talked earlier and a lot of the people say that times
2:47
changed. Bobby, you even mentioned we
2:50
used to come here. People would show up and and
2:53
Bobby, come on over here a little bit.
2:54
You're a big part of this. We're going to get to the
2:57
business. We know all the locals want to
2:58
know all the dirt. We're going to get there.
3:00
We're going to tell you everything.
3:02
Bobby, years ago you said this place was successful because
3:06
some people didn't even come here for the race.
3:08
They would come here for a fish fry.
3:10
Tell tell me some of your stories.
3:12
Early 70s. There would be a row of picnic
3:15
tables Friday night. People would come here to buy
3:17
their supper for the evening. Some would go into the race
3:21
track. Some would take their food home.
3:22
Some would sit out there and picnic right outside the
3:25
racetrack. They delicious goes along with
3:29
the memories. I mean, that was in the early
3:31
70s, so I've been coming here for 50.
3:33
Years. So it's a sad day for me, but I
3:36
also understand sometimes you have to move backwards to go
3:39
forward and it'll be a great facility if everything moves
3:43
forward and goes the way Mark wants it to go.
3:45
So you are Kurt, right? Yes.
3:48
You're you're emotional today. It's your birthday.
3:51
Happy birthday. You you work the dirt at this
3:54
racetrack. You and your wife, She's over
3:57
there. What are your emotions right
4:00
now? Tell me your thoughts.
4:02
Well, I've been coming here 72 years.
4:07
I was 11 years old when I first came in here.
4:10
The racetrack was five years old and it we had some really good
4:18
time, Sir, just like Bobby said, remember the fish fry and
4:23
families came here on Friday nights.
4:26
If you're a young kid like I was on Friday night, you came in
4:33
here, that's what you did, and now there are so many
4:37
distractions that it's hard to get the grandstand for.
4:42
You got to really work at it, and in our electronic world
4:46
we're in now. So I want to, I want to come
4:49
right here and and talk to you about that.
4:51
So we don't want, we know it's emotional time, but but you said
4:55
it best. I said, what do you think
4:57
stopped the operation of velvet? And I know all of you are going
5:01
to respond. I get that.
5:03
But we're celebrating today, OK? Not just is it your birthday,
5:07
but I loved your response. I looked at you and I said,
5:08
Kurt, why do you think the operations started?
5:12
Why do you or stop? Why do you think racing stopped
5:15
here? And I love what you told me
5:16
earlier. Can you say that again?
5:19
As far as? Why did racing stop here?
5:22
Well, there were young folks came here.
5:29
That's what we did on Fridays and then it it became easier to
5:35
watch things on TV or Internet and you didn't have to
5:41
experience setting up in the grandstand and getting mud clots
5:45
thrown at you. Yeah.
5:47
And and so. So so times change.
5:50
Times have changed. All right, OK, everybody, we're
5:53
going to move forward now. And anybody there that wants to
5:56
say anything, speak now. Come behind me forever.
6:01
Hold your peace. A lot of emotional people here.
6:04
OK, Now, Mark, we're going to get down to business and, and
6:08
that's what kind of what we're known for.
6:09
All right, I'm going to throw some questions at you because I
6:12
know a lot of the people, they're tough customers out
6:15
there. All right?
6:17
I, I want to know your business for fun, not for being me.
6:20
All right, where did we get the money to do all this?
6:24
So most of the money came from the COVID relief money.
6:27
One good thing came out of COVID everybody one good thing.
6:31
So we were able, that's what we bought the fairgrounds with.
6:34
That's what a lot of the renovations are, are being paid
6:37
for. State of Illinois has promised
6:40
us $5,000,000 to build this track.
6:42
So we're should be enough. So we're going to be holding
6:45
them to that. And building track is expensive.
6:48
You know, we've already purchased the grandstands.
6:51
We've already purchased the catch.
6:52
Fence. OK.
6:53
So this is where you all say you're repeating yourself, but
6:57
what you just said, so everybody understands the severity that it
7:02
is really going to happen. Say it again, you purchased it
7:06
and where is it all at right now?
7:07
What have you purchased? It's all in storage in the
7:09
county and it's. Grandstands.
7:13
Fencing. Fencing is is all there because
7:16
lead times on that are pretty long.
7:19
So we want to make sure that was taken care of because we are
7:22
going to be trying to race this fall.
7:25
I don't know. We're going to make it.
7:26
We're going. To try maybe nice little local
7:28
race just to test everything. Unless you, unless you set a
7:32
goal, you're, you're not going to achieve it.
7:34
So we, we're being aggressive, you know, as, as we see right
7:38
here in March, we're just starting to demolish the old
7:40
track. So we have a ways to go.
7:43
So you know, we're going to keep talking business, but just so
7:47
everybody hears us, there is a goal to run one or two local
7:53
type races here. What September?
7:56
So if if we could get done by September, we want to have a a
8:00
bigger race, but we'll see. It was going to be in
8:03
conjunction with a County Fair. But we want it when we do this,
8:07
we want to do it right. We're not going to open up and
8:10
not be ready. To go right.
8:11
So, so we just see, we'll see how this goes.
8:16
There been a lot of hiccups and, and in the design, we have to
8:20
make sure that that if we're elevating this track to get out
8:24
of the waterway, I mean, they're just a number of things we're
8:26
doing and we're going to do it right.
8:29
And when people come in, they're going to see a a racetrack
8:32
that'll be an exciting track to run on and for the drivers will
8:36
like it, the fans will like it. It'll really be a facility that
8:40
Saint Clair County can be proud of and that everybody's going to
8:42
want to come to. OK, Mark Kern, everybody, he's
8:45
the man in charge with the money.
8:47
You hurt him. They're tearing the facility
8:49
down right now. They're hoping to have one race.
8:51
Don't get your hopes up, brother.
8:53
Rusty always said hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
8:57
So hope that we do run that one race this year.
9:00
But be ready maybe not to, but we have a go.
9:02
Bobby, I want to talk to you about them making this track
9:05
bigger. Can you come on over again?
9:08
OK, so Mark, Bobby, one of one of you know, people are
9:11
emotional right now. They they want the old track
9:14
down, but we know it's an ugly word, but the track is now
9:17
dilapidated. Dilapidated means everything's
9:20
falling down it. It was a neat little bull ring
9:23
for sure. action-packed, tight racing, you know yourself, all
9:29
the traveling series, they all gone on on bigger quarter mile
9:34
3/8 or bigger and they don't want to.
9:36
I mean, they've been here before on the little track knocking
9:39
their fenders off and stuff, but the race and every other beyond
9:42
1/4 mile a little bigger. So I get everybody wanting to
9:46
want to keep the fifth mile just because all the fun everybody
9:48
had here. I mean over the years everybody
9:50
felt the excitement that was in the grandstands and stuff.
9:54
It'll be that away with a quarter mile.
9:56
Yeah. So because I owned Macon
9:59
Speedway with Kenny Schrader, Tony Stewart, Bob Sergeant, one
10:03
thing we learned, and I want to talk about this for all the
10:05
people that are emotional about going from the 8th to the
10:08
quarter, when we bought Macon, we went, Oh my God, you know,
10:12
Dandy, Don Klein, Carl Springer, they'd show up in their little
10:16
pickup truck with their little trailer and their car was
10:18
little. So this, this, this served its
10:22
purpose back in those days. Now the late models are 8 foot
10:25
wide S&S. We got to have room.
10:28
When I started this year racing our deal like 30 years ago, we
10:32
all pitted on the infield. Everybody unloaded.
10:35
There was 50. Cars, they pitted right in
10:37
there. Lined up.
10:39
Lined up. They pulled it back through the
10:41
center. They'd have two cars nose to
10:44
tail through the center. They'd be all around the outside
10:46
rail. I mean, people have been hit,
10:50
hit, go through the fence, knocked off the tires before.
10:53
I think my wife might get her nicknamed Hoosier Hip by getting
10:57
hit by Bobby Joe Keister. We're going to, we're going to
11:00
go down there in just a minute. We're going to bring back some
11:02
memories, but so I think it's fair to say the reason we're
11:05
going to 1/4 is because the the late models are wider.
11:11
And Mark, is it true that you want to have some bigger shows
11:14
here to elevate Belle Claire? Yeah, that's for sure.
11:17
We want to do some bigger racing events because at the end of the
11:20
day we got to break even on this track.
11:22
Oh, you got to make money. You can't do it free.
11:25
Well. I'm just saying break even.
11:27
You know, it is a taxpayer funded facility and so we got to
11:31
be responsible taxpayers too. But we can do that because
11:35
people are going to come, they're going to buy tickets and
11:37
they're going to, they're going to be here because it's going to
11:39
be a. Blast.
11:40
OK, so I think we're breaking it all down.
11:42
We told you where the money's coming from.
11:44
We've showed you the wonderful people here, Bobby Biddle, what
11:47
a legend. We're going to go down in there
11:49
and have fun with that wall that's still there.
11:52
Bobby has got a piece of the wall.
11:53
But so we know where the money's coming from.
11:56
We've explained to everybody why we're going to a quarter because
11:59
everything's bigger now. The cars are wider.
12:01
If you want to see Bobby Pierce, throw some sliders on Fager, you
12:05
know, I mean, the cars are 8 foot wide now.
12:08
Times have changed. So you are in charge of what
12:14
it's what did we, what did we say earlier?
12:16
Your position is what? The county board chairman public
12:20
building Commission actually is going to be running facility
12:23
Public building Commission is part of the county.
12:25
But you know, then we've got to get insurance.
12:28
So look at look at the catch fence here is just chain link
12:31
fence. Oh wow, you know that that would
12:33
the insurability of this track. We couldn't do it as.
12:37
A county nowadays that's what's that that is what closed Lake
12:41
hill Speedway in valley Park, MO.
12:43
What was OK 50 years ago, we can't get away with nowadays.
12:47
OK, I want to point out something that you've already
12:49
done. This is where the great dandy
12:51
Don Klein would park his whole life.
12:53
But you, you, these are all new buildings.
12:56
Look at this everybody already all these upgrades that's new
12:59
metal. Just kind of tell us what you've
13:02
done here so we. We left the original structures,
13:06
but we made them look better. We put new roofs, new metal, new
13:10
posts all around. We painted it all new electric
13:13
because the electric was a little sketchy and now it's all
13:17
available. So when we have our County Fair,
13:19
we'll be able to have place for animals.
13:21
Also every month the flea market sets up and fills that hall and
13:27
flea market is this weekend. Now be filling these barns again
13:32
with 100. Vendors.
13:33
Fantastic. Eventually, and it's all just
13:35
part of commerce and we fill the parking lots here.
13:37
People, people love this flea market.
13:40
Very important multipurpose facility.
13:43
We got to make money racing because he's got people to
13:46
answer to. We got to have the fair.
13:48
I see beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine.
13:51
I mean, we, we got to have more. Tell me about the, the what
13:55
about the fairs? Are we going to see the
13:56
legendary Ferris wheel? We're going.
13:58
We're going to bring back the county, Yeah.
14:00
So we we. We've got plans and Jan Severit,
14:04
who's here. Jan, are you smiling, Bobby?
14:06
Yeah. Rodeos.
14:09
Cyber. Racist concerts, You're going to
14:11
have it all. Wow.
14:12
There we go. Yeah, you're the promoter.
14:15
Thank you. OK, so I want to thank you so
14:19
much for everything. Listen, everybody, there's an
14:22
old saying and I Charlie's probably going to barely beat me
14:27
out on the YouTube show, but everybody here on Facebook or X,
14:31
you're not going to beat me out today.
14:33
We debull did everything. You know the truth.
14:36
She there's I had to apologize earlier because I said a curse
14:40
word. You're not mad at me, are you?
14:42
You love me. We got this thing we call D
14:46
bullshitting. We we have told the truth and
14:48
and now you know, and I want to thank you.
14:52
Thank you very much. Thank you.
14:53
Bobby. You ready to go down the infield
14:55
one last time? Anybody want to go down?
14:57
You think you're going to make it down there?
15:01
All right, let's go down there, Bobby.
15:03
Let's talk about this groove. So when What's going through
15:08
your mind right now? Oh, you know, I haven't stepped
15:11
out here. On this race, let me help you.
15:12
Hold on to you. Watch out for.
15:14
Some. Trees.
15:15
Yeah, I need a chainsaw. So who made this high side
15:20
famous here? Probably Ray Walsh.
15:23
Ray Ray Action. He was up there.
15:26
Eddie Dixon. Oh, fast Eddie.
15:28
Fast Eddie, he'd be up there crashing the cushion.
15:31
There it is, everybody. There it is.
15:35
Hey, let's go down to this bottom.
15:36
There's some funny stuff down here.
15:38
So when the when the when the cushion was totally gone and
15:44
there was just a 2 foot of moisture.
15:47
I remember I won my first race here in O6 in the Cardinal car
15:51
and I run the bottom and I swore, OK, stand right there.
15:54
You can. You was probably coming by.
15:56
Yeah, giving your pick to you guys, the old Hansinger.
15:59
Where was that Hansinger? I swear I could see.
16:03
I could see their face perfectly.
16:05
So you'd bring that? Yeah.
16:08
Right there. That's, that's how little this
16:11
place is. Everybody look at look at the
16:12
emotion. So the track was an eighth.
16:15
It was built for its time. The, you know, the coops.
16:18
My dad, Russ Wallace, ran here. Oh, whoa, whoa.
16:22
Say that again. The midgets ran here.
16:24
The midgets. Oh, what a great ninja track.
16:26
Yeah, it was. Introduce yourself.
16:28
Glenn Friedrich. You're in.
16:30
Good to see you buddy. Good to see you.
16:32
Coneppers. Oh, Ernie.
16:34
Arnie Coneppers. They raced here, Steve, his dad,
16:40
Junior Coneppers. They field with Midget cars for
16:42
years. Here's another name about old
16:45
Ivan. Sims, Ivan.
16:46
Oh, my dad. The demolition Derby.
16:48
My dad would tell me about it would.
16:50
Be full for demolition derbies and stuff.
16:52
It would rock that way, so yeah. Well, I got.
16:54
My start. Helping Mark Pruitt, that's.
16:56
Another old name, Mark Pruitt Mark.
16:57
Refused to race. Here a lot.
16:59
OK, everybody. I think we've done a good job.
17:02
We're going to see if this 20 minute video will download and
17:06
the great Bobby Biddle Bobby's won so many races here.
17:08
It's it's crazy. He laid he first laid eyes on
17:12
his wife. Hold on.
17:14
Where did you first lay lay eyes on your wife?
17:16
At I? Guess that was a great thing.
17:19
Probably right up there underneath the photographer's
17:22
deal looking out. She was coming here to see
17:24
during the County Fair. Yeah, I was just a spectator.
17:27
That was that was 40 years. Ago and you became a great race
17:30
car driver and still. People got to appreciate what
17:34
you do, too. Can you do a wonderful?
17:35
I I'm coming. Around promoting this racing
17:38
stuff, they're great social media with it.
17:40
You do you. Do a wonderful well Bobby I, I I
17:43
love racing I like I I I'm getting emotional I could
17:46
probably start crying my my dad my dad, you know listen I went
17:51
NASCAR. I come back to be around all my
17:54
friends and they were mad at me when I came back and and I
17:57
understand because I made it for NASCAR, but all I'm trying to do
18:00
is fit in this. This is my home before most
18:03
people. I was born in 63 in the city.
18:06
I was born in the city of Saint Louis at Lutheran Hospital.
18:09
So when I came back to race, I was coming back to my buddies
18:12
and a lot of them were pissed at me because because I did what
18:16
they wanted to do and I understand it.
18:17
But now it's time for everybody to quit being mad at me.
18:21
You and Kenny do. Schrader does.
18:22
The same thing I love you it's. Really good that way you could
18:25
have you would have been great. But come on, he's raised here a
18:27
few. Times.
18:28
But Schrader's been here. He's been here.
18:30
Many a time Kenny Schrader and I always, I always say to some
18:33
people say what about your wife? Schrader's the love of my life.
18:37
But me, me, me and him have different perspective.
18:40
Like when when Lake Hill close, he's like, well, they should
18:42
have showed up and it would have it would have never closed.
18:45
So Kenny, like he just gets upset.
18:49
You don't want Kenny rubbing your leg in badge.
18:52
No, you better. Have.
18:53
Kim doing that. OK, everybody listen, thanks so
18:57
much. Respond right here.
18:59
I know, I know all the local people are going to light this
19:02
up because this is we just did bullshit everything.
19:06
We're going to try start racing here and it's all being
19:09
professionally done. Bobby, the the grandstands have
19:12
been bought, the fencing has been bought.
19:14
It's all ready to go, So what am I going to do?
19:17
For the wall I saved the car, I got a car and a motor.
19:20
So if it does happen. You will be here.
19:22
You will be here. You will be here.
19:25
That that's awesome. OK, going to.
19:26
Be done right, they they've got it all designed and blueprinted
19:29
out and swap. It's going to be, it's going to
19:31
be a nice facility, really nice, state-of-the-art facility.
19:34
Doing our best. So everybody?
19:36
Yeah. Right.
19:36
Respond right here. Remember, we don't want to hear
19:39
it. We don't want to hear everybody.
19:42
We're trying. We told you everything.
19:44
OK? So we don't want to hear it.
19:46
Positive mental attitude. OK.
19:50
Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till
19:55
it's gone and you know the rest? They paid Paradise and put in a
20:00
parking lot. They didn't put a parking lot in
20:02
here. We are lucky.
20:04
They're bringing Belleville, the legendary Belle Cutter.
20:06
They're bringing it back, baby. All right, Bobby, say goodbye to
20:10
everybody. Thank you all.
20:12
Thank you and thank you, Sinclair County.