No Clear Favorite For Ted Horn 100 Sunday at DuQuoin

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No Clear Favorite For Ted Horn 100 Sunday at DuQuoin

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By Jay Hardin Track Enterprises Staff
(August 24, 2014)-No one, not even a Vegas odds maker would be able to select a clear favorite for Sunday’s Ted Horn 100 at the DuQuoin State Fair. Rain fell on the field for the Tony Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield last weekend as the green flag was about to drop, with at least ten cars at or near the front of the pack among the favorites to take the win. Nothing less is expected Sunday night as a revitalized USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series takes center stage at the 92nd DuQuoin State Fair.

“Illini Pride” could be the theme for the 62nd running of the Ted Horn 100 at DuQuoin, well over a third of the entrants were either behind the wheel of one of the big cars or held title to one of the championship machines and the same holds true for DuQuoin. Defending winner Chris Urish of Elkhart looks to repeat his 2013 upset victory but faces stiff competition from the home state as well as the USAC series regulars.

Galesburg’s A.J. Fike, Canton’s Chris Windom, Benton’s Shane Cockrum and Pocahontas’ Zach Daum are four Illini drivers who may have a shot at victory Sunday night. Fike is a two-time winner of the Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield while Windom got his first Silver Crown win at Eldora last year and led until the 97th lap of the 2013 Ted Horn 100. Cockrum is a second generation driver just 20 minutes from the fairgrounds who was in contention last year until fuel issues slowed his pace. Daum is the defending Powri midget champion and 2009 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year.

Murphysboro’s Randy Batemen is the elder statesman of the series, a fact not lost on the sanctioning body nor the race promoter. Bateman began in the big cars in September of 1982 driving for the Harris Racing Team of nearby Vergennes but was unable to make the starting lineup. Since then Bateman has made 24 more appearances at DuQuoin with his first start coming in 1983. In 2008 he rocked the grandstand by setting second fast time in qualifications.

Other Illini entrants include drivers Patrick Lawson of Edwardsville, Dave Ray of Loves Park and third generation driver Steven Russell of Springfield. The seventeen year old Russell raced in micro sprints at the Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion and is teamed with Oklahoma standout Brady Bacon on the Springfield based McQuinn Motorsports team.

Former winners Russ Gamester (1997), Tracy Hines (2005-06) and Kody Swanson (2010) are likely entrants. Swanson is the current USAC Silver Crown point leader having won all the dirt events on the schedule to date, including the May Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Hines set quick time before the rains came at Springfield.

Dave Darland continues to be in search of an elusive DuQuoin win. The Lincoln, Indiana driver won the 1997 USAC Silver Crown title and could be the 14th driver in history to win in dirt championship cars on all three of the dirt miles. He recently passed Tom Bigelow as the all-time feature winner in USAC Sprint Car history with 53 victories. Jon Stanbrough nearly beat Swanson at DuQuoin in 2010 and he now occupies the Foxco entry formerly driven by Darland.

Indy 500 starter Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana is teamed with car owner Gene Nolen in a machine purchased from 2011 DuQuoin winning car owner Keith Kunz who is serving as chief mechanic. He is one of many young drivers in the series, including two-time defending Silver Crown champ Bobby East and Indiana’s Caleb Armstrong.

2008 USAC Silver Crown champ and DuQuoin polesitter Jerry Coons, Jr. is also expected to be part of the starting field.

Practice for the Ted Horn 100 begins at 5 p.m. Sunday night with racing slated for around 8 p.m.
 
LEVI JONES RETURNS FOR SUNDAY’S “TED HORN 100”

One of USAC’s most proficient drivers, Levi Jones, will return to the cockpit Sunday night in the “Ted Horn 100” USAC Silver Crown race at the beautiful DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.

The one-mile oval sits just an hour southeast of Jones’ present residence of Swansea, Ill. and about thesame distance southwest of his hometown of Olney, Ill. and his appearance will end his USAC hiatus, which began just over a year ago. Last year he recorded his third career Silver Crown victory in the prestigious Hoosier Hundred” in Indianapolis, Ind. and he has 28 career Sprint wins and four in the Midgets.

Jones will pilot the famed #56 entry for long-time car owner Galen Fox, the 1994 DuQuoin winner with Chuck Gurney driving. Fox also entered the recent Springfield race with driver Jon Stanbrough.

The 2010 and 2011 USAC Silver Crown Champion and five-time USAC National Sprint Car Champion looks forward to Sunday’s race: “It’s a race I’d like to win, for sure,” says Levi. “Not having competed full-time in a year or so, I feel like the miles (DuQuoin and Springfield) are ones where you can race and have some fun and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to drive for Galen. “He’s definitely got a car that can win the race. DuQuoin has special meaning for me, so close to my home. We used to go to the races every year and I’ve been going there for more than 20 years now.”

Jones’ last USAC appearance came in last year’s “Eastern Storm” Sprint races in Pennsylvania and New Jersey where he recorded three “top-10s.”

He’ll face a formidable field of USAC Champions and Illinois veterans. They include USAC driving champions Bobby East, Tracy Hines, Dave Darland, Chris Windom, Russ Gamester, Kody Swanson, Robbie Ray, Jerry Coons Jr. and Caleb Armstrong, plus Illinois vets (Windom included) Patrick Lawson, A.J. Fike, Zach Daum, Steven Russell, Randy Bateman, Shane Cockrum and Chris Urish.

Urish shocked the series regulars with his “Ted Horn 100” victory a year ago, while Fike also has a couple of recent victories in the “Tony Bettenhausen 100” at the Illinois State Fairgrounds which returns to Springfield next week (September 7).

Practice at DuQuoin begins at 5 pm, followed by qualifications and the 100-mile “Ted Horn 100.”
 
....levi jones returns to the cockpit.... in my humble opinion, the weekend just got a whole lot better. best of luck to all the racers
 
That it should Babbfan

Track preparations are underway at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Ill., for the Ted Horn 100 for USAC Silver Crown cars, and we are racing today. The program gets underway with gates open at 4 p.m., practice at 5, qualifications at 6 and racing at 8. UMP Modifieds will also run heats. The beautiful fairgrounds are located on the south side of Du Quoin at the corner of U.S. 51 and Illinois Route 14. For more information, check online at http://trackenterprises.com or call 618-542-1515. After the USAC program Sunday night, the Southern Illinois 100 for ARCA stock cars is Monday with the race set for 1:30 p.m.
 




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