It will be nearly impossible for anyone to top the excitement and interest generated by the 44th Allen Crowe last year but the stars and cars of the Automobile Racing Club of America RE/MAX Stock Car Series will try when they invade the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the 45th Crowe 100 on Sunday August 19. Defending winner Justin Allgaier will be on hand to try to duplicate his record setting victory last year as he chases the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX title, but a large and diverse field will try to keep Allgaier from the repeat at Springfield. Over $100,000 in cash and accessory prizes has been posted in the event promoted by Bob Sargent and Track Enterprises and forty entries are posted by ARCA at press time.
Allgaier has a formidable task at hand just defending his 2006 win which saw him tie the record for the least laps led (1) by a Crowe 100 winner and become the first Central Illinois driver to win the Springfield stock car classic. Not only did the 20 year old become the youngest stock car race winner in Springfield’s long history but he became the first home town driver since motor sports began on the mile dirt in 1910 to post a major national championship race win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Allgaier is poised to defend his Crowe 100 crown and a repeat on the dirt could help propel him back to the ARCA point lead that he held earlier in the year.
Currently Allgaier is 4th in the 2006 Re/MAX title hunt.
Word was received this week that popular Ken Schrader, the 1998 Allen Crowe 100 winner, secured a ride with one of the most popular stock car teams in state fair history, the Hendren Racing team out of Normal, Illinois. The 52 year old Schrader is no stranger to the Springfield area having held the one lap sprint car track record at the now defunct Springfield Speedway as well as USAC midget victories on the small track. Schrader also has run numerous vehicles on the Springfield Mile, including Silver Crown championship dirt cars during his 1982 USAC title run, UMP Modifieds, USAC Midgets and UMP Late Models. Ken is the only driver to post wins in three different types of machines at Springfield, winning the Rex Easton Memorial for USAC Midgets, the ARCA Allen Crowe 100 and a UMP Modified race. The team Schrader drives for this year at Springfield is owned by Normal's Bill Hendren and fielded cars for over 20 years for 1974 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year Ken Rowley of El Paso. Mokena veteran Bob Strait took the wheel of the Hendren car when Rowley retired but unfortunately Strait is sidelined this year with injuries from a motorcycle accident. Strait led 42 laps of the event last year and was leading at the white flag for a team that has been trying to win at Springfield for 33 years.
Eight time ARCA RE/MAX Series champ Frank Kimmel of Clarksville, Indiana, the all-time victory leader of ARCA dirt track events, comes to Springfield as the point leader with one win in 2007 and in search of a record 9th crown. The driver of the Larry Clement Ford has not been as dominant in past seasons but has grown to love the dirt tracks and could be a formidable foe on the 19th. Kimmel is a five-time winner of the Crowe 100 at Springfield securing victories in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005 eclipsing the late Dean Roper’s record of four Crowe 100 victories. He is also the driver who has led the most laps in stock car competition at Springfield having been up front in 9 races for a total of 428 laps. Currently second in the ARCA points, just 70 behind Kimmel is Michael McDowell of Phoenix, Arizona driving for Eddie Sharp. A driver with a road racing background including the Champ car World Series, McDowell, an ARCA RE/MAX stock car rookie has two wins and six ARCA Sim Factory poles this year.
Third in the RE/MAX point standings is Westby, Wisconsin’s Dexter Bean who ran well on the dirt in 2006. Fifth is another rookie, Marion, Illinois’
driver Phillip McGilton is looking for his first one mile dirt track start.
Sixth is yet another rookie as Indiantown, Florida's Patrick Sheltra moves from dirt track late models to the bigger ARCA machines. Sheltra has to be considered a dark horse at Springfield with his late model experience, including a run in the 2004 Illinois Fall Nationals at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Seventh is Justin South of Hueytown, Alabama driving for veteran Mark Gibson. Eighth is Pennsylvania's Bobby Gerhart, a veteran who led the standings earlier this year but is out due to injuries suffered on August 4 at Pocono. Bryan Silas, driving for former USAC driver and ARCA champ Andy Hillenburg is ninth in the standings, and Justin Marks of Rocklin, California is tenth in the car that sat on the pole at Springfield last year .
A number of other drivers, young and old, plus some area drivers are expected to come out for the first of two ARCA dirt track races in 2007 as well. Pennsylvania’s Norm Benning is a strong runner on the dirt, while former Crowe 100 champion (1999 & 2004) and ARCA champ Bill Baird of Sturgis, Kentucky has not completely retired entering a Ken Schrader Dodge for Springfield. Second generation driver Brian Keselowski is the son of four-time Crowe 100 winner Bob Kesleowski and has entered his first one mile dirt track event in 2007, after winning twice on the ARCA tour this year.
Todd Bowsher is also the son of a former winner and ARCA champion, the late Jack Bowsher of Springfield, Ohio. Nebraska's Josh Krug looks to make his first one mile dirt track start at Springfield, while veteran Mark Gibson of Georgia returns again due to his love of the one mile dirt tracks on the ARCA schedule. Alabama's Mike Harmon runs the full ARCA RE/MAX schedule while the only female driver on the entry list, Gabi DiCarlo of Arizona is a challenger for rookie of the year honors in the ARCA series.
Illinois should be well represented besides defending winner Allgaier.
Galesburg’s A.J. Fike returns to driver for Mario Gosselin in 2007. Fike won the pole at Springfield for the 2004 Crowe Memorial and led 31 laps last year. He, along with Allgaier may pull double duty on the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair as each have rides for the USAC Silver Crown Tony Bettenhausen 100 at their disposal. In fact, Fike presently sits second in the USAC Silver Crown point chase and is seeking to become the first Illinois driver in 24 years to win USAC’s premier championship. Centralia’s Joe Cooksey is a former pole winner at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds who continued his strong runs on the Springfield dirt with a 5th in 2006 and makes it a point to race on the ARCA dirt schedule each year, while Springfield’s own Wes O’Dell is a five time winner of the Sportsman Nationals and ran extremely well in last year’s ARCA event. O'Dell comes to Springfield this year backed by a former ARCA champ and Illinois resident as Bill Venturini's race team puts their number 25 at O'Dell's disposal.
Another Springfield driver, modified veteran Kelly Kovski has a Chevrolet that finished 12th last year. Arenzville's Mark Littleton has several starts at Springfield in Sportsman competition and looks for his first ARCA start. Normal's Kenny Adams is a midget pilot who becomes a teammate to Schrader in the Hendren stable. Other well known drivers from the area dot the Allen Crowe entry list. Missouri's Doug Keller has emerged as a front runner on the ARCA dirt and has a top flight ride in 2007 as part of the Gerhart operation. Indiana's John Gill is a popular dirt track late model driver who has a quality ride in Stan Hover's Ford. One other entry has local ties and should be very familiar to Springfield race fans, the Stott Classic Racing entry comes from the son of two time Allen Crowe 100 winner and ARCA champ Ramo Stott of Keokuk, Iowa. Corrie Stott is listed as the owner of the Chevrolet with no driver listed at press time.
Not only does the Allen Crowe 100 have a local flavor, it also takes on an 'open wheel' feel as well as at least five drivers with significant experience in open wheel, upright championship machinery are on the Allen Crowe 100 entry list. In addition to 1982 USAC Silver Crown champ Schrader, A.J. Fike and Allgaier, 1998 USAC Silver Crown champion Jason Leffler and former USAC Sprint and Midget champ Josh Wise are also slated for stock car rides in the Allen Crowe 100. Leffler has a number of starts in the big dirt cars on the mile dirt tracks including a win in the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The Californian who ran in the 2000 Indy 500 recently gave Toyota its first NASCAR Busch win at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Fellow Californian Wise is involved in a driver development program and looking to move to NASCAR Nextel Cup in a few seasons, Wise set a one lap qualifying record for the USAC Silver Crown cars at Springfield in 2005 and won the prestigious Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in
2006 driving for Tony Stewart.
A stellar field of around forty of the full-bodied stock cars is expected at Springfield on August 19 for only one of two appearances in the nation on dirt for such machines. In continuing their link to the past, the Automobile Racing Club of America provides one of the most diverse racing schedules of any sanctioning body in America while continuing a memorial event to a driver that while not well known outside of Springfield, was a larger than life hero to many in Central Illinois.
Allen Crowe may have been something of a journeyman racer as he embarked on a career in big-time auto racing in the early 1960’s but he was nothing less than a major star on the stock car racing tracks in the middle part of Illinois. The Springfield native won numerous feature event in stock cars on the bullrings that popped up in an around Central and Southern Illinois after World War II, including Godfrey, Macon, Champaign, Peoria, Lincoln and of course, Joe Shaheen’s Springfield Speedway.
His success led Crowe to the premier sanctioning body of the day, the United States Auto Club and the road to Indianapolis via their Sprint Car and Midget divisions. Allen showed enough success to merit consideration for an Indianapolis 500 ride picking up a seat in Pete Salemi’s roadster for the
1962 race and again in 1963. While he did not finish in the top half of the field in either event he ran well enough to become something of a regular on the championship trail even getting to run in front of his home town fans on the Springfield mile.
Just as it appeared that Springfield would have a regular entrant in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” Allen’s career and life were cut short. On June 21, 1963 at the half mile dirt track in New Bremen, Ohio Allen’s USAC Sprint Car overturned and he suffered fatal injuries. Sadly Springfield lost one of its sports heroes and local racing fans and officials sought a proper way to preserve Allen’s racing heritage. Since the championship race at the Illinois State Fair already bore the name “Tony Bettenhausen Memorial” they had to look elsewhere.
Stock Car racing had been introduced at the fairgrounds in October of 1950, returned in September of 1953 and became a regular staple of Springfield motor racing in 1961. Although the stock car event was not part of the Illinois State Fair lineup promoter Jim Kidd gave the fledgling stock car event the name “Allen Crowe Memorial for the August 1963 event, won by NASCAR star Curtis Turner. In August of 1965 the Allen Crowe 100 became a regular part of the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair.
Soon stock cars began packing in fans along with the championship machinery that ran on the last Saturday of the fair. Many of the championship drivers ran the stock car event as well while the USAC stock car drivers gained quite a following among Midwestern race fans for their exploits on the dirt.
Drivers like Don White, Norm Nelson, Butch Hartman and Ramo Stott captured Crowe Memorial trophies as did Al Unser and A.J. Foyt. When ARCA took over as the lone sanctioning body in 1985 their stars such as Bob Keselowski, Bob Brevak and Bobby Bowsher posted Crowe 100 wins.
However, no one could lay claim as the master of the “World’s Fastest One Mile Dirt Track” like the late Dean Roper. Winner of four Allen Crowe 100’s and seven races overall at Springfield, including three in succession the Fair Grove, Missouri veteran was nearly unbeatable in the 1980’s. After a period of retirement Dean returned to the track that he loved so much making sporadic appearances driving for the Roulo Brothers and Ken Schrader, as well as the Mueller Brothers out of Wisconsin. Sadly Dean passed away while running tenth in the 2001 event, the victim of a heart attack. The pole position award given to the fast qualifier of the Crowe Memorial is presented each year in his honor.
Some of the best drivers in stock car racing chase a place in auto racing immortality on August 19, 2007 when they take to the track to fill the field for the 45th Allen Crowe 100. Practice for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is slated for 9 a.m., with Sim Factory/Dean Roper pole qualifying at 11 and the 100-mile Allen Crowe Memorial event at 1:30. The 14th running of the Sportsman Nationals is also on the card as well with New Berlin’s Steve Sheppard Jr. the three time and defending winner of the event.
Tickets can be obtained by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200, the Illinois State Fair Box Office at 217-782-1979 or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Additional information can be found at www.trackenterprises.com, www.usacracing.com or www.agr.state.il.us/isf.
Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield IL, 8-19-07
Official Entry List, Allen Crowe 100
As of 8-13-07, 4:30 pm ET
NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR OWNER
0 David Breen/Union City MI Wayne Peterson Racing Chevrolet Wayne Peterson
1 Dominick Casola/Holmdel NJ A. Casola Farms Ford Jennifer Belmont
2 Michael McDowell/Phoenix AZ Z Line-Make A Wish-Beck Dodge Eddie Sharp
4 Mark Gibson/Winder GA Dodge Motorsports-Cunningham Motorsports Dodge Kerry Scherer
5 Doug Keller/St. Joseph MO John Hay Cigars Chevrolet Bill Gerhart
6 Dexter Bean/Westby WI Five Star Telecom Chevrolet David Bean
7 tba BGR Chevrolet Bill Gerhart
8 Greg Seevers/West Milton OH Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet Norm Benning
11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Nortrax-Shell Rotella Chevrolet Andy Hillenburg
12 AJ Fike/Galesburg IL DGM Racing Ford Mario Gosselin
14 Kenny Adams/Normal IL Hendren Motorsports Ford Bill Hendren
16 Justin Allgaier/Springfield IL Justin Allgaier Motorsports Chevrolet Mike Allgaier
21 Todd Bowsher/Springfield OH Jack Bowsher & Associates Ford Julie Bowsher
22 Josh Wise/Riverside CA ESR Development Team Dodge Eddie Sharp
23 Josh Krug/Omaha NE Bigford Enterprises-ARCASimRacing.com Chevrolet Wayne Hixson
25 Wes O'Dell/Springfield IL Jacksonville Dodge Chevrolet Cathy Venturini
26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Koolmat Ford Brad Smith
29 Brian Keselowski/Rochester Hills MI Holloway-Dusty's Collision Dodge Ron Keselowski
32 James Buescher/Plano TX Red Line Oil Dodge Kevin Cywinski
38 Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL Richardson-Netzloff-Harmon Racing Chevrolet Mike Harmon
39 Kelly Kovski/Springfield IL Levi Home Construction-Aspen Real Estate Chevrolet Russ Roulo
44 Mark Littleton/Arenzville IL 44 Fans-Birdsley Electric-AJ's-Mason Sound Chevy Mark Littleton
46 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Fort Dodge Animal Health-Pork Ford Larry Clement
47 Phillip McGilton/Marion IL SI Performance Ford Clarence Brewer
48 Dustin Delaney/Mayfield NY FreeFeds.org Dodge James Hylton
49 Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN Hixson Construction Pontiac Wayne Hixson
51 Joe Cooksey/Centralia IL Biggeez Convenient Stores Chevrolet Joe Cooksey
52 Bill Baird/Sturgis KY Saturn Machine Dodge Ken Schrader
57 Jason Leffler/Long Beach CA Uncle Joe's Sauce Ford Doug Stringer
59 Justin South/Hueytown AL HD Supply Dodge Mark Gibson 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL FloraGanics-Brady Ranch Chevrolet Grace Sheltra
62 Adam Edwards/Falls Church VA Andy Belmont Racing Ford Jennifer Belmont
65 Justin Marks/Rocklin CA Crocs Dodge Robby Benton
66 Ken Schrader/Fenton MO Hendren Motorsports Ford Bill Hendren
79 Mike Koch/Mountain Home AR K&K Racing-Karl's Plumbing Pontiac Patricia Koch 80 John Gill/Mitchell IN Stan Hover Motorsports Ford Stan Hover
84 Norm Benning/Pittsburgh PA Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet Norm Benning 90 Gabi DiCarlo/Phoenix AZ Great Clips Ford Doug Stringer
93 David Boggs/Rock Hill SC Red Oil Jeans-Catchit Cam Chevrolet Drew White
06 Tim Mitchell/Fayetteville TN Star Wheels Skate Center Ford Wayne Peterson
07 tba Stott Classic Racing Chevrolet Corrie Stott
Allgaier has a formidable task at hand just defending his 2006 win which saw him tie the record for the least laps led (1) by a Crowe 100 winner and become the first Central Illinois driver to win the Springfield stock car classic. Not only did the 20 year old become the youngest stock car race winner in Springfield’s long history but he became the first home town driver since motor sports began on the mile dirt in 1910 to post a major national championship race win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Allgaier is poised to defend his Crowe 100 crown and a repeat on the dirt could help propel him back to the ARCA point lead that he held earlier in the year.
Currently Allgaier is 4th in the 2006 Re/MAX title hunt.
Word was received this week that popular Ken Schrader, the 1998 Allen Crowe 100 winner, secured a ride with one of the most popular stock car teams in state fair history, the Hendren Racing team out of Normal, Illinois. The 52 year old Schrader is no stranger to the Springfield area having held the one lap sprint car track record at the now defunct Springfield Speedway as well as USAC midget victories on the small track. Schrader also has run numerous vehicles on the Springfield Mile, including Silver Crown championship dirt cars during his 1982 USAC title run, UMP Modifieds, USAC Midgets and UMP Late Models. Ken is the only driver to post wins in three different types of machines at Springfield, winning the Rex Easton Memorial for USAC Midgets, the ARCA Allen Crowe 100 and a UMP Modified race. The team Schrader drives for this year at Springfield is owned by Normal's Bill Hendren and fielded cars for over 20 years for 1974 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year Ken Rowley of El Paso. Mokena veteran Bob Strait took the wheel of the Hendren car when Rowley retired but unfortunately Strait is sidelined this year with injuries from a motorcycle accident. Strait led 42 laps of the event last year and was leading at the white flag for a team that has been trying to win at Springfield for 33 years.
Eight time ARCA RE/MAX Series champ Frank Kimmel of Clarksville, Indiana, the all-time victory leader of ARCA dirt track events, comes to Springfield as the point leader with one win in 2007 and in search of a record 9th crown. The driver of the Larry Clement Ford has not been as dominant in past seasons but has grown to love the dirt tracks and could be a formidable foe on the 19th. Kimmel is a five-time winner of the Crowe 100 at Springfield securing victories in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005 eclipsing the late Dean Roper’s record of four Crowe 100 victories. He is also the driver who has led the most laps in stock car competition at Springfield having been up front in 9 races for a total of 428 laps. Currently second in the ARCA points, just 70 behind Kimmel is Michael McDowell of Phoenix, Arizona driving for Eddie Sharp. A driver with a road racing background including the Champ car World Series, McDowell, an ARCA RE/MAX stock car rookie has two wins and six ARCA Sim Factory poles this year.
Third in the RE/MAX point standings is Westby, Wisconsin’s Dexter Bean who ran well on the dirt in 2006. Fifth is another rookie, Marion, Illinois’
driver Phillip McGilton is looking for his first one mile dirt track start.
Sixth is yet another rookie as Indiantown, Florida's Patrick Sheltra moves from dirt track late models to the bigger ARCA machines. Sheltra has to be considered a dark horse at Springfield with his late model experience, including a run in the 2004 Illinois Fall Nationals at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Seventh is Justin South of Hueytown, Alabama driving for veteran Mark Gibson. Eighth is Pennsylvania's Bobby Gerhart, a veteran who led the standings earlier this year but is out due to injuries suffered on August 4 at Pocono. Bryan Silas, driving for former USAC driver and ARCA champ Andy Hillenburg is ninth in the standings, and Justin Marks of Rocklin, California is tenth in the car that sat on the pole at Springfield last year .
A number of other drivers, young and old, plus some area drivers are expected to come out for the first of two ARCA dirt track races in 2007 as well. Pennsylvania’s Norm Benning is a strong runner on the dirt, while former Crowe 100 champion (1999 & 2004) and ARCA champ Bill Baird of Sturgis, Kentucky has not completely retired entering a Ken Schrader Dodge for Springfield. Second generation driver Brian Keselowski is the son of four-time Crowe 100 winner Bob Kesleowski and has entered his first one mile dirt track event in 2007, after winning twice on the ARCA tour this year.
Todd Bowsher is also the son of a former winner and ARCA champion, the late Jack Bowsher of Springfield, Ohio. Nebraska's Josh Krug looks to make his first one mile dirt track start at Springfield, while veteran Mark Gibson of Georgia returns again due to his love of the one mile dirt tracks on the ARCA schedule. Alabama's Mike Harmon runs the full ARCA RE/MAX schedule while the only female driver on the entry list, Gabi DiCarlo of Arizona is a challenger for rookie of the year honors in the ARCA series.
Illinois should be well represented besides defending winner Allgaier.
Galesburg’s A.J. Fike returns to driver for Mario Gosselin in 2007. Fike won the pole at Springfield for the 2004 Crowe Memorial and led 31 laps last year. He, along with Allgaier may pull double duty on the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair as each have rides for the USAC Silver Crown Tony Bettenhausen 100 at their disposal. In fact, Fike presently sits second in the USAC Silver Crown point chase and is seeking to become the first Illinois driver in 24 years to win USAC’s premier championship. Centralia’s Joe Cooksey is a former pole winner at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds who continued his strong runs on the Springfield dirt with a 5th in 2006 and makes it a point to race on the ARCA dirt schedule each year, while Springfield’s own Wes O’Dell is a five time winner of the Sportsman Nationals and ran extremely well in last year’s ARCA event. O'Dell comes to Springfield this year backed by a former ARCA champ and Illinois resident as Bill Venturini's race team puts their number 25 at O'Dell's disposal.
Another Springfield driver, modified veteran Kelly Kovski has a Chevrolet that finished 12th last year. Arenzville's Mark Littleton has several starts at Springfield in Sportsman competition and looks for his first ARCA start. Normal's Kenny Adams is a midget pilot who becomes a teammate to Schrader in the Hendren stable. Other well known drivers from the area dot the Allen Crowe entry list. Missouri's Doug Keller has emerged as a front runner on the ARCA dirt and has a top flight ride in 2007 as part of the Gerhart operation. Indiana's John Gill is a popular dirt track late model driver who has a quality ride in Stan Hover's Ford. One other entry has local ties and should be very familiar to Springfield race fans, the Stott Classic Racing entry comes from the son of two time Allen Crowe 100 winner and ARCA champ Ramo Stott of Keokuk, Iowa. Corrie Stott is listed as the owner of the Chevrolet with no driver listed at press time.
Not only does the Allen Crowe 100 have a local flavor, it also takes on an 'open wheel' feel as well as at least five drivers with significant experience in open wheel, upright championship machinery are on the Allen Crowe 100 entry list. In addition to 1982 USAC Silver Crown champ Schrader, A.J. Fike and Allgaier, 1998 USAC Silver Crown champion Jason Leffler and former USAC Sprint and Midget champ Josh Wise are also slated for stock car rides in the Allen Crowe 100. Leffler has a number of starts in the big dirt cars on the mile dirt tracks including a win in the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The Californian who ran in the 2000 Indy 500 recently gave Toyota its first NASCAR Busch win at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Fellow Californian Wise is involved in a driver development program and looking to move to NASCAR Nextel Cup in a few seasons, Wise set a one lap qualifying record for the USAC Silver Crown cars at Springfield in 2005 and won the prestigious Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in
2006 driving for Tony Stewart.
A stellar field of around forty of the full-bodied stock cars is expected at Springfield on August 19 for only one of two appearances in the nation on dirt for such machines. In continuing their link to the past, the Automobile Racing Club of America provides one of the most diverse racing schedules of any sanctioning body in America while continuing a memorial event to a driver that while not well known outside of Springfield, was a larger than life hero to many in Central Illinois.
Allen Crowe may have been something of a journeyman racer as he embarked on a career in big-time auto racing in the early 1960’s but he was nothing less than a major star on the stock car racing tracks in the middle part of Illinois. The Springfield native won numerous feature event in stock cars on the bullrings that popped up in an around Central and Southern Illinois after World War II, including Godfrey, Macon, Champaign, Peoria, Lincoln and of course, Joe Shaheen’s Springfield Speedway.
His success led Crowe to the premier sanctioning body of the day, the United States Auto Club and the road to Indianapolis via their Sprint Car and Midget divisions. Allen showed enough success to merit consideration for an Indianapolis 500 ride picking up a seat in Pete Salemi’s roadster for the
1962 race and again in 1963. While he did not finish in the top half of the field in either event he ran well enough to become something of a regular on the championship trail even getting to run in front of his home town fans on the Springfield mile.
Just as it appeared that Springfield would have a regular entrant in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” Allen’s career and life were cut short. On June 21, 1963 at the half mile dirt track in New Bremen, Ohio Allen’s USAC Sprint Car overturned and he suffered fatal injuries. Sadly Springfield lost one of its sports heroes and local racing fans and officials sought a proper way to preserve Allen’s racing heritage. Since the championship race at the Illinois State Fair already bore the name “Tony Bettenhausen Memorial” they had to look elsewhere.
Stock Car racing had been introduced at the fairgrounds in October of 1950, returned in September of 1953 and became a regular staple of Springfield motor racing in 1961. Although the stock car event was not part of the Illinois State Fair lineup promoter Jim Kidd gave the fledgling stock car event the name “Allen Crowe Memorial for the August 1963 event, won by NASCAR star Curtis Turner. In August of 1965 the Allen Crowe 100 became a regular part of the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair.
Soon stock cars began packing in fans along with the championship machinery that ran on the last Saturday of the fair. Many of the championship drivers ran the stock car event as well while the USAC stock car drivers gained quite a following among Midwestern race fans for their exploits on the dirt.
Drivers like Don White, Norm Nelson, Butch Hartman and Ramo Stott captured Crowe Memorial trophies as did Al Unser and A.J. Foyt. When ARCA took over as the lone sanctioning body in 1985 their stars such as Bob Keselowski, Bob Brevak and Bobby Bowsher posted Crowe 100 wins.
However, no one could lay claim as the master of the “World’s Fastest One Mile Dirt Track” like the late Dean Roper. Winner of four Allen Crowe 100’s and seven races overall at Springfield, including three in succession the Fair Grove, Missouri veteran was nearly unbeatable in the 1980’s. After a period of retirement Dean returned to the track that he loved so much making sporadic appearances driving for the Roulo Brothers and Ken Schrader, as well as the Mueller Brothers out of Wisconsin. Sadly Dean passed away while running tenth in the 2001 event, the victim of a heart attack. The pole position award given to the fast qualifier of the Crowe Memorial is presented each year in his honor.
Some of the best drivers in stock car racing chase a place in auto racing immortality on August 19, 2007 when they take to the track to fill the field for the 45th Allen Crowe 100. Practice for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is slated for 9 a.m., with Sim Factory/Dean Roper pole qualifying at 11 and the 100-mile Allen Crowe Memorial event at 1:30. The 14th running of the Sportsman Nationals is also on the card as well with New Berlin’s Steve Sheppard Jr. the three time and defending winner of the event.
Tickets can be obtained by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200, the Illinois State Fair Box Office at 217-782-1979 or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Additional information can be found at www.trackenterprises.com, www.usacracing.com or www.agr.state.il.us/isf.
Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield IL, 8-19-07
Official Entry List, Allen Crowe 100
As of 8-13-07, 4:30 pm ET
NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR OWNER
0 David Breen/Union City MI Wayne Peterson Racing Chevrolet Wayne Peterson
1 Dominick Casola/Holmdel NJ A. Casola Farms Ford Jennifer Belmont
2 Michael McDowell/Phoenix AZ Z Line-Make A Wish-Beck Dodge Eddie Sharp
4 Mark Gibson/Winder GA Dodge Motorsports-Cunningham Motorsports Dodge Kerry Scherer
5 Doug Keller/St. Joseph MO John Hay Cigars Chevrolet Bill Gerhart
6 Dexter Bean/Westby WI Five Star Telecom Chevrolet David Bean
7 tba BGR Chevrolet Bill Gerhart
8 Greg Seevers/West Milton OH Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet Norm Benning
11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Nortrax-Shell Rotella Chevrolet Andy Hillenburg
12 AJ Fike/Galesburg IL DGM Racing Ford Mario Gosselin
14 Kenny Adams/Normal IL Hendren Motorsports Ford Bill Hendren
16 Justin Allgaier/Springfield IL Justin Allgaier Motorsports Chevrolet Mike Allgaier
21 Todd Bowsher/Springfield OH Jack Bowsher & Associates Ford Julie Bowsher
22 Josh Wise/Riverside CA ESR Development Team Dodge Eddie Sharp
23 Josh Krug/Omaha NE Bigford Enterprises-ARCASimRacing.com Chevrolet Wayne Hixson
25 Wes O'Dell/Springfield IL Jacksonville Dodge Chevrolet Cathy Venturini
26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Koolmat Ford Brad Smith
29 Brian Keselowski/Rochester Hills MI Holloway-Dusty's Collision Dodge Ron Keselowski
32 James Buescher/Plano TX Red Line Oil Dodge Kevin Cywinski
38 Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL Richardson-Netzloff-Harmon Racing Chevrolet Mike Harmon
39 Kelly Kovski/Springfield IL Levi Home Construction-Aspen Real Estate Chevrolet Russ Roulo
44 Mark Littleton/Arenzville IL 44 Fans-Birdsley Electric-AJ's-Mason Sound Chevy Mark Littleton
46 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Fort Dodge Animal Health-Pork Ford Larry Clement
47 Phillip McGilton/Marion IL SI Performance Ford Clarence Brewer
48 Dustin Delaney/Mayfield NY FreeFeds.org Dodge James Hylton
49 Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN Hixson Construction Pontiac Wayne Hixson
51 Joe Cooksey/Centralia IL Biggeez Convenient Stores Chevrolet Joe Cooksey
52 Bill Baird/Sturgis KY Saturn Machine Dodge Ken Schrader
57 Jason Leffler/Long Beach CA Uncle Joe's Sauce Ford Doug Stringer
59 Justin South/Hueytown AL HD Supply Dodge Mark Gibson 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL FloraGanics-Brady Ranch Chevrolet Grace Sheltra
62 Adam Edwards/Falls Church VA Andy Belmont Racing Ford Jennifer Belmont
65 Justin Marks/Rocklin CA Crocs Dodge Robby Benton
66 Ken Schrader/Fenton MO Hendren Motorsports Ford Bill Hendren
79 Mike Koch/Mountain Home AR K&K Racing-Karl's Plumbing Pontiac Patricia Koch 80 John Gill/Mitchell IN Stan Hover Motorsports Ford Stan Hover
84 Norm Benning/Pittsburgh PA Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet Norm Benning 90 Gabi DiCarlo/Phoenix AZ Great Clips Ford Doug Stringer
93 David Boggs/Rock Hill SC Red Oil Jeans-Catchit Cam Chevrolet Drew White
06 Tim Mitchell/Fayetteville TN Star Wheels Skate Center Ford Wayne Peterson
07 tba Stott Classic Racing Chevrolet Corrie Stott
