St. Clair County picks promoter for Belle-Clair Speedway races
St. Clair County has decided who will run future races at the rebuilt Belle-Clair Speedway racetrack in Belleville.
At a special meeting Monday night, the St. Clair County Board signed an agreement leasing the quarter-mile dirt track to promoter WM Marketing, Inc.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the person behind that company is Curtis Francois, who owns World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison.
“This is going to be an exceptionally great thing,” Kern said of the agreement. “They’ve helped us all along. They helped us design the facility and gave us a lot of advice, so it’s natural to have these great people promote this track and be the ones who will run it.”
Francois’ company will now schedule and manage races in St. Clair County, starting with the first one on the new track on Aug. 1 during the revived County Fair. General admission race tickets are $23.50 and are available for purchase on the county website fairstclair.com.
The county has not hosted an annual fair since 2014. Races at the Belle-Clair Speedway stopped in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual fair returns to the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds and Speedway at 200 South Belt East from July 30-Aug. 1.
WM Marketing’s 10-year lease for the track begins July 1. Under the agreement, the company will pay the county an annual fee of $15,000 for 2026, $30,000 for 2027-2031, and $35,000 for 2032-2036.
The county also expects to receive 10% of ticket sales for events that generate more than $100,000, as well as a portion of food sales.
St. Clair County State’s Attorney Jim Gomric and Assistant State’s Attorney Chris Allen helped write the agreement.
Beyond the first race in August, Kern said he believes WM Marketing plans to schedule two more racing events in the fall.
On Monday night, the county also signed an agreement for concessions at the racetrack and the fairground’s renovated expo center.
Kern said the food will be provided by concessionaire Rob Lenhardt, co-owner of Mac’s restaurants in Alton, Wood River and a new location that recently opened in Belleville called Mac’s on Main.
“He has significant experience in doing events. His restaurant is packed right now, and so we’re hoping to bring that fare to the fairgrounds,” Kern said.
Eight County Board members were absent from Monday’s meeting: Republican Kevin Dawson of District 24 and Democrats Roy Mosley Jr. of District 3; Harry Hollingsworth of District 4; C. Richard Vernier of District 12; Jerry Dinges of District 15; CJ Baricevic of District 16; Jana Moll of District 23; and Richie Meile of District 25.
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "St. Clair County picks promoter for Belle-Clair Speedway races."
