Three 2026 dirt racing events starting with an Aug. 1 fair race are tentatively planned for the rebuilt Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., with WM Marketing signing an 11-year lease to promote the quarter-mile oval, according to a report in the Belleville News-Democrat.

WM Marketing is operated by Curtis Francois, who owns World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., and helped design the new layout, Mark Kern, the St. Clair County board chairman told the newspaper, adding that "it's natural to have these great people promote this track and be the ones who will run it."

WM Marketing's lease begins July 1 with the firm paying the county an annual fee of $15,000 for 2026, $30,000 for 2027-2031, and $35,000 for 2032-2036.

August's Fair St. Clair Classic, with modifieds among divisions, would be the first at the St. Clair County Fairgrounds since 2019 on the former fifth-mile oval, which was removed amid a multimillion fairgrounds renovation. Tickets are available at fairstclair.com. Kern said he believed WM Marketing planned two more fall racing events.

Attempts to reach WM Marketing for details on racing divisions weren't successful.