(TOLEDO, Ohio) – Two major league milestones will meet in the small, sleepy southern Illinois town of DuQuoin Labor Day weekend.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season in 2012, is steering for the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds “Magic Mile” dirt, where the 60th running of the Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care comes alive Labor Day Monday, September 3.
The momentous meeting will take shape alongside the 90th annual DuQuoin State Fair.
Fittingly, much of ARCA’s rich history played out on dirt tracks across America. In fact, the 2012 Southern Illinois 100 marks the 347th ARCA race on dirt since the series’ inception in 1953.
“The Illinois State Fair mile dirt venues are vitally important to the character and identity of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “It’s a conscious effort on our part to continue to recognize the role non-pavement tracks played in the development of our series, and motorsports as a whole, and the role dirt racing continues to play today.”
The Southern Illinois 100 at DuQuoin, born in 1950, is one of two dirt-track venues on the annual ARCA Racing Series schedule, the other being the Allen Crowe 100 in Springfield during the Illinois State Fair in late August.
In addition to the pageantry of anniversaries and the accompanying DuQuoin State Fair, the ARCA Racing Series is brewing with a major league title fight featuring Roush Fenway Racing development driver Chris Buescher (Roulo Brothers Racing), nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel (ThorSport Racing) and Team Messina Rookie of the Year leader Brennan Poole (Venturini Motorsports).
Kimmel, already a five-time winner at DuQuoin, just secured a record eighth victory August 19 on the Springfield mile dirt; and in doing so, climbed to within 15 points of Buescher for the championship points lead. Poole is currently third in points, 95 points from the lead.
Kimmel could also secure another milestone at DuQuoin with what would be a record sixth victory there. Currently, Kimmel is tied with the late Dean Roper in all-time Southern Illinois 100 wins – each having five victories in the prestigious stock car classic.
Kimmel, who has 76 career ARCA victories overall, is also inching closer to Iggy Katona’s all-time ARCA win mark of 79.
The past winners list of the Southern Illinois 100 includes some of the greatest names in motorsports. Jay Frank won the inaugural Southern Illinois 100 in 1950. Just some of the winners who would follow include Marshall Teague, Indy 500 winners Jimmy Bryan and AJ Foyt, Fred Lorenzen, Don White, Norm Nelson, Jack Bowsher, NASCAR champions Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart, Bob Keselowski, Billy Thomas, Ken Schrader, Parker Kligerman, and most recently, Buescher, in 2011.
Practice for the September 3 Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care is scheduled from 9:00-10:00 a.m. with Menards Pole Award Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 11. The 60th annual Southern Illinois 100 starts at 1 p.m. All times are local.
ARCA Celebrating 60th Anniversary Season
2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time.
Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.
CONTACT:
Griffin Hickman, ARCA
(419) 574-2685 (mobile)
ghickman@arcaracing.com
Don Radebaugh, ARCA
(419) 450-0611 (mobile)
dradebaugh@arcaracing.com