Gene Gennetten
Topeka, Kan. (July 16, 1989) – Steve Knepper may be the defending Belleville Midget Nationals champion, but Gene Gennetten proved Sunday he’s still king of Topeka Raceway when it comes to racing a midget.
Gennetten held off Knepper to win the 15th annual Mike Hill Memorial race in front of a capacity crowd at the quarter-mile dirt track. It marked the first time in the history of the event that it had been held in Topeka after making Riverside Stadium it’s home the last 11 years.
The race is held in honor of Mark Hill – a promising 21-year-old Kansas City driver killed in a USAC midget race at Charleston Speedway in Illinois – and was sanctioned by the Midwest Auto Racing Association.
The race was originally schedule for Saturday, but an early afternoon rain shower postponed it until the next night. It was the only appearance for the one of the oldest forms of auto racing in the Topeka area.
For Gennetten, it was his seventh Hill victory and third in a row on Topeka soil. The Gravois, Mo., driver, who moved to the Ozarks from Parkville this spring, won the 1987 Hill Memorial and the 1983 Jayhawk Midget Classic, the last two Topeka midget races prior to Sunday.
It was Gennetten’s first start since a mid-February Florida race while Knepper has racked up a comfortable lead as the MARA circuit points leader.
The 46-year-old driver was given an unplanned layoff last season after being banned for using physical force on two MARA officials during a race at Central Missouri Speedway in Warrensburg.
Results –
1. Gene Gennetten, Gravois Mills, Mo.
2. Steve Knepper, Belleville, Ill.
3. Bob Thoman, Higginsville, Mo.
4. Scott Frew, Columbia, Mo.
5. Tim McVay, Blue Springs, Mo.
6. Terry Holderfield, Mattoon, Ill.
7. Matt Berryhill, Tulsa, Okla.
8. Steve Gennetten, Parkville, Mo.
9. Don Lehman, Springfield, Ill.
10.Mike Wente, Florissant, Mo.
11.Aaron Berryhill, Tulsa, Okla.
12.Johnny Yonke III, Alma
13.Jim McVay, Blue Springs, Mo.
14.Dan Ford, St. Peters, Mo.
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