Four Past Winners & Ringer Highlight Pre-Entries
By Jay Hardin
Track Enterprises Staff
Springfield, IL (August 18, 2021)-If the news of the return of Justin Allgaier and Ken Schrader to competition on the Springfield Mile this weekend wasn’t enough, the release of the current Sportsman National entry list makes the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair a can’t miss event. Four past winners of the Sportsman Nationals plus a popular dirt track ace on the entry list account for 18 Sportsman National victories and an additional 3 wins in other events.
Springfield’s Wes O’Dell became the oldest winner of the Sportsman Nationals last year at age 60 capturing an unprecedented sixth win and he returns for a try at number seven. Five-time winner Dennis Vandermeersch, also of Springfield, is a five-time winner and he returns along with fellow five-time winner Jeremy Nichols of Lovington. Two-time winner Ethan Schnapp, of Springfield, rounds out the former winners on the entry list and the four former winners account for 18 wins in 27 Sportsman National races.
But wait, the entry list gets even tougher with the addition of Ken Schrader. Schrader won the 1983 Rex Easton midget race, the June 1998 UMP Modified event and the 1998 Allen Crowe 100 for his three victories on the Springfield Mile and is the only driver to post a feature win in three different types of race cars. Schrader led the opening 12 laps of the 2020 event only to drop out due to mechanical issues with O’Dell taking the lead and going to victory.
Veteran mile campaigners Phil Moreland of Assumption, Steve Adams of Humboldt, Rick Wietekamp, of Springfield, plus Danny and Josh Sissom of Cape Girardeau, Missouri are part of an entry list that is sure to draw a lot of attention to the short track stock cars as they compete on the big mile dirt of the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Heat races for the Sportsman Nationals are slated for Saturday in conjunction with the Bettenhausen 100 for the USAC Silver Crown Series. The 28th running of the Sportsman Nationals feature is slated to go off just before the 59th ARCA Allen Crowe 100 on Sunday.
Tickets for Saturday are available by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 or at the Illinois State Fair Box Office. Tickets for Sunday are available by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200, at the Illinois State Fair Box Office or by visiting your local central Illinois Menards store.
The event is all part of a huge racing weekend in Central Illinois featuring Lincoln Speedway with MOWA Sprint Cars on Friday night, Silver Crown Saturday at the Springfield Mile, Jack Hewitt Night featuring POWRi Midgets at Macon Speedway Saturday night, and the ARCA Menards Series Sunday afternoon at the Springfield Mile.
Full information on the events can be found at www.trackenterprises.com.