Expect more SUPER action in Central IL SuperChevyStores.com 100 @ IL SF Aug 17

[DLM Fan 1]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/p180x540/10511331_905731056107299_6274751411177080943_n.jpg On the FINAL DAY of the 162nd Illinois State Fair the ARCA RACING SERIES presented by Menards brings NASCAR style stock car racing back to the mile dirt. The Central Illinois SuperChevyStores.com 100 Allen Crowe Memorial takes the spotlight. Will A.J. Fike get redemption from last year's controversial restart penalty? Does Kelly Kovski score another popular win for the locals? Does 10 time ARCA Champion Frank Kimmel add another dirt victory to his impressive resume? The ONLY way to find out is to BE THERE! The championship race for the Sportsman Nationals will also be on this day. Come send the Illinois State Fair out the best way possible, with some great racing action on the Springfield Mile.

[DLM Fan 1]

Poole grew up on dirt, ready to defend win in SuperChevyStores.com 100 on Aug. 17 http://www.maconracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pace1-401x300.jpg SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Defending Springfield mile dirt winner Brennan Poole spends most of his time on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards tour these days spotting and consulting for Justin Boston. That’s all fine and good, but, like most racers, he’d rather be in the driver’s seat. Poole will get the opportunity again when he trades in his headset for his helmet in the 52nd running of the SuperChevyStores.com-Allen Crowe 100 Sunday, August 17 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. “I’m a dirt track guy,” Poole said. “I grew up racing dirt modifieds. If you go back to the beginning, I started in quarter midgets on the dirt.” In last year’s Springfield race, Brennan Poole surfaced as the winner after a controversial finish during which Illinoisans Kelly Kovski and AJ Fike, deemed to have jumped the final restart, were denied victory. “I just wanted to go and have some fun, then we ended up winning the thing. That’s a really special win for me, personally. It’s such a special event…so historical. There’s so much racing history there; it’s so cool to go there and relive that history. So many great champions raced at the state fair over the years. To have that win, at that place, means a lot.” This year’s race will coincide with the 162nd annual Illinois State Fair. “You definitely get a certain feeling when drive into the place, with the state fair going on…the race…then the concert afterwards. The entire experience is so cool. The one year, Taylor Swift was playing right after our race. I thought to myself, ‘how cool is that?’ I really wanted to go.” Poole will be driving a Venturini Motorsports Toyota with sponsorship from The Identical movie, scheduled to debut in theaters September 5. “The car looks awesome…can’t wait to take it to the dirt. “Running Springfield is a feel-thing. It’s all about throttle control. You’ve got to feel the rear-end of the car…feel the traction. You drive it in pretty straight, but they do get sideways in the corners. You can definitely tell you’re in a different environment. You put the car right up against the inside guardrail and keep it there, without touching it. It’s tough to do, especially if you haven’t done it before. “It’s (Springfield) my favorite of the two dirt tracks ARCA runs. I’ve only raced there twice but it really feels like coming home for me. I spent a lot of nights growing up running modifieds at the local dirt track. We ran a lot of dry-slick tracks and it taught me a bunch. It all comes back to me when I come back to Springfield. It’s so cool.” 10-time ARCA Racing Series national champion Frank Kimmel is the all-time Springfield winner with eight wins, his most recent in 2012. NASCAR veteran and former Springfield winner Ken Schrader has already filed an entry for the race. Over the years, Allen Crowe 100 winners include Curtis Turner (’63), Don White (’66, ’67, ’72), Al Unser (’72), Jack Bowsher (’73), Roger McCluskey (’74), Ramo Stott (’76, ’77, ’80), AJ Foyt (’79), Joe Ruttman (’80), Dean Roper (’81, ’82, ’83, ’83, ’85, ’86), Bob Keselowski (’87, ’88, ’89, ’93), Bobby Bowsher (’91, ’92), Tim Steele (’96, ’97), Schrader (’98), Bill Baird (’99, ’04), Justin Allgaier (’06), Parker Kligerman (’09), and Kimmel (’00, ’01, ’02. ’03, ’05, ’07, ’08, ’12). Practice for the SuperChevyStores.com 100 is scheduled from 9:00-10:00 a.m. with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 11:15. The 52nd annual SuperChevyStores.com 100 starts at1:30 p.m. All times are local. ARCAracing.com will feature live timing and scoring of all on-track activity as well as live flag-to-flag audio coverage of the race.

[DLM Fan 1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBc4s9E0i10 Video teaser for the ARCA race. This video from the 2009 Allen Crowe 100 thanks to Andy Marquis.

[DLM Fan 1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLWEREVe1Iw Another Throwback Thursday treat, the 1981 USAC Racing sanctioned Allen Crowe Memorial 100. Sunday, August 17th, the full bodied, NASCAR style stock cars will be back as the ARCA RACING SERIES comes for the Central Illinois SuperChevyStores.com Allen Crowe Memorial 100 will run. #TBT #USAC #ARCA

[DLM Fan 1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Qrm9g4emA Video teaser for the ARCA race. This video from the 2011 Allen Crowe 100 thanks to Andy Marquis.

[DLM Fan 1]

Just 6 more days until this SUPER event.

[DLM Fan 1]

Swindell hops into ARCA seat left vacant by injury for SuperChevyStores.com 100 SundaySPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Kevin Swindell reunites with Venturini Motorsports (VMS) this weekend to substitute for driver John Wes Townley at the famed Springfield Mile driving the No.15 Zaxby’s Toyota.Townley will miss his third consecutive ARCA race after an accident at Pocono Raceway on August 1, 2014.“It’s an unfortunate situation John (Townley) won’t be able to return this week but I’m glad for the opportunity Zaxby’s is providing me to return to the series driving the No.15 car,” stated Swindell. “The last time I ran here with Venturini we had a winning car but I got blocked in on pit road and it cost of the win. I’m looking forward to going back to Springfield and battling for the victory.”Swindell, who drove eight races for VMS in 2012, earned his first series victory at Chicagoland Speedway. That same year he claimed four top-5 finishes, including a third place effort at Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) and runner-up finishes at Lucas Oil Raceway and Kansas Speedway.Since his stint with VMS, Swindell has gone on to race 18 NASCAR Nationwide races and made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut in 2013 at Loudon earning a 38th place finish.Practice for the SuperChevyStores.com 100 starts at 9 a.m. with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 11:15. The 52nd annual SuperChevyStores.com 100 starts at 1:30 p.m. All times are local.ARCAracing.com will feature live timing and scoring of all on-track activity as well as live flag-to-flag audio coverage of the race. Tickets are available by calling Track Enterprises or the Illinois State Fair box office.

[DLM Fan 1]

Late model ace Unzicker guns for ARCA win on Springfield Mile in SuperChevyStores.com 100 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The annual SuperChevyStores.com 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds – this year being the 52nd running – always sports a good bit of local flavor, which definitely adds to the overall personality of the show, complete with its very own and spectacular Illinois State Fair as a backdrop. El Paso, Illinois’ Ryan Unzicker fits this description to a tee. If he’s not well-known within the ARCA ranks, he most assuredly is in the dirt late model ranks, not only in the Land of Lincoln, but across the United States. Unzicker was the 2011 UMP National Late Model Series champion, and just finished second in points in the wild and brutal UMP Summer Nationals “Hell Tour”. “We do it (Hell Tour) all in about a month,” Unzicker said. “This year, it was 33 races in 38 days all over Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. We led most of it this year until Terre Haute…fell off there and lost the lead. We ended up losing it by 38 points. It was so disappointing; we led the majority of it.” Talk about at Illinois fan favorite, and a national champion to boot. And you can bet he’ll have a boat-load of fans coming out to root on their local hero, who will be driving for longtime ARCA car owner Bill Hendren, who is also fielding a car for Manteno, Illinois’ Bob Strait. “We’ll get a lot of fans coming out for the race…between Hendren’s and Bob’s fans and my fans, but I also have to compete against Bob Strait, my teammate this year. Both cars are coming out of the same shop. We’re all pretty pumped about it this year.” With 65-year-old Strait returning to compete this year, Unzicker will not run the number 66 as he had in most of his previous ARCA starts at the fairgrounds. The 66 will go back to Strait. As it turns out, it works out great for Unzicker too. “Strait was always 66, at least since I’ve been coming around this thing. So this year we got the number 24, so we got our number back too.” Unzicker’s late models are all lettered with the 24. “I’m not sure who owns the 24 in ARCA, but somehow Bill (Hendren) got it, and I’m pretty excited about that. I’m hoping the fans will identify with me even more now.” With so much local support, Unzicker knows full-well that success in a 2300-lb. dirt late model does not necessarily translate over into a 3400-lb. ARCA car. “There really is no resemblance to be honest with you. The dirt late model has much more chassis movement…the speeds are more…the accelerating is faster…braking…everything is faster. “You get in an ARCA car and it feels like a steel tank. It takes a mile to slow down. The visibility is not as good with all the bars, padding, mirrors; you’re a lot more enclosed. “There really is no comparison. The only comparison where it bears some resemblance is the track itself, which gets hard and slick. “With the ARCA car, you keep it straight and work the pedal and brake a lot. And you’re running on a smaller, harder tire; it feels like there’s no traction; it’s hard to get hooked up.” Unzicker finished an ARCA career-best sixth at Springfield in 2002, in his first try. “I know it’s a tall order…to win it…but we’re going with the idea that we can. It would absolutely be a big, huge deal for me, and certainly for Bill Hendren and his family and fans. It would be so much fun and gratifying to win it for them. There’d be a lot of happy people; I can tell you that.” Back home in El Paso, Unzicker helps run the family business, RJR Transport, a longtime sponsor/supporter of Hendren Motor Sports. “It’s a trucking company. We do all 48 states.” 10-time ARCA Racing Series national champion Frank Kimmel is the all-time Springfield winner with eight wins, his most recent in 2012. NASCAR veteran and former Springfield winner Ken Schrader has also filed an entry for the race, as has defending race winner Brennan Poole. Over the years, SuperChevyStores.com-Allen Crowe 100 winners include Curtis Turner (’63), Don White (’66, ’67, ’72), Al Unser (’72), Jack Bowsher (’73), Roger McCluskey (’74), Ramo Stott (’76, ’77, ’80), AJ Foyt (’79), Joe Ruttman (’80), Dean Roper (’81, ’82, ’83, ’83, ’85, ’86), Bob Keselowski (’87, ’88, ’89, ’93), Bobby Bowsher (’91, ’92), Tim Steele (’96, ’97), Schrader (’98), Bill Baird (’99, ’04), Justin Allgaier (’06), Parker Kligerman (’09), and Kimmel (’00, ’01, ’02. ’03, ’05, ’07, ’08, ’12). Practice for the SuperChevyStores.com 100 is scheduled from 9:00-10:00 a.m. with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 11:15. The 52nd annual SuperChevyStores.com 100 starts at 1:30 p.m. All times are local. ARCAracing.com will feature live timing and scoring of all on-track activity as well as live flag-to-flag audio coverage of the race. For tickets, call Track Enterprises or the Illinois State Fair box office. Late model ace Unzicker guns for ARCA win on Springfield Mile in SuperChevyStores.com 100

[DLM Fan 1]

All of the great ARCA action will be accompanied by the 21st Annual Sportsman Nationals feature event. It sounds like almost all of the former champions will race plus some new entries. Not sure if anyone is pulling the Sportsman/ARCA double.