BELLEVILLE, Kan. — The road to the championship began Friday night as 42 of the Midwest’s best 305 sprint car teams converged on the legendary Belleville High Banks for the opening night of the Ninth Annual Belleville 305 Nationals.
With only 24 drivers earning a spot in the night’s Rick Salem Memorial feature, every lap of qualifying, heat races and B Features carried added importance.
After a full evening of competition, Joey Danley stood atop the field, driving to a convincing victory in the 20-lap A feature.
The evening opened with qualifying split into five groups, with Brandon Bosma setting the pace in Group 1 with a lap of 16.595 seconds. Justin Fifield topped Group 2 at 16.556, while Trevor Serbus led Group 3 with a 16.583-second lap. Garrett Benson paced Group 4 at 16.624, and eventual feature winner Joey Danley was quickest in Group 5 with a 16.585.
Those qualifying efforts helped set the stage for five competitive eight-lap heat races. Kaylee Bryson, Jon Freeman, Stuart Snyder, Jeremy Campbell, and Jake Bubak each raced to heat race victories, securing favorable starting positions while others were left battling to keep their Belleville hopes alive.
When the green flag waved for the 20-lap A feature, Danley wasted little time asserting himself as the driver to beat. Despite a field loaded with talent from across the region, Danley kept his No. 14 machine out front and never surrendered the top spot, capping off an impressive opening night performance with a victory on the historic High Banks.
Garrett Benson put together another strong Belleville run to finish second, while Justin Fifield completed the podium in third. Brandon Bosma crossed the line fourth after beginning the night as the fastest qualifier in Group 1, and veteran Jake Bubak rounded out the top five.
Joe Bob Lee finished sixth ahead of Jeremy Campbell in seventh. Jeremy Huish charged forward to finish eighth, followed by Whit Gastineau in ninth, while heat race winner Kaylee Bryson completed the top 10.
