Great Driver Lineup For Shamrock Classic At Du Quoin, IL March 18th

[CIRF]

There are some big names and heavy hitters slated to be in action at The Southern Illinois Center on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin, Illinois.

Just 2 weeks away. Can't wait!




USAC CHAMPS THORSON, BELL AND COONS ENTER MARCH 18 SHAMROCK CLASSIC IN Du QUOIN

Du Quoin, Illinois………USAC National Midget champions Tanner Thorson, Christopher Bell and Jerry Coons, Jr. are among the latest headline drivers to file entries to compete in the USAC National Midget season-opening “Shamrock Classic” at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin on Saturday, March 18, 2017.

Thorson, the defending USAC National Midget champ, leads the five-car Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian stable into Du Quoin.* The Minden, Nevada native won six features on his way to the title one year ago, and intends to kick off the year in strong fashion with intentions of becoming the first back-to-back series champ since Bryan Clauson in 2010 and 2011. Thorson is joined on the KKM team by Lebanon, Indiana’s Spencer Bayston, who was victorious in last season’s Gas City round of “Indiana Midget Week.” Rounding out the KKM lineup is Sacramento, California’s Holly Shelton, Foresthill, California’s Ryan Robinson and series Rookie of the Year contender Tanner Carrick from Sacramento.

Christopher Bell, a USAC National Midget champion for KKM in 2013, will pilot the No. 21. The versatile Norman, Oklahoma native finished third in 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points and is also a past winner in the USAC Silver Crown Champ Cars as well as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.

Tucson, Arizona’s Jerry Coons, Jr. is one of just six drivers part of the exclusive USAC Triple Crown Club that includes drivers who’ve earned a title in each of USAC’s three national divisions: Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget.* Coons, the 2006 and 2007 USAC National Midget champ, returns to the seat of the Petry/Goff Motorsports No. 25.

Two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature winner Kyle Cummins of Princeton, Ind. intends to make his USAC National Midget debut aboard the Chase Briscoe Racing No. 5.* Another driver who broke through for his first USAC National win in 2016, Brent Beauchamp of Fairland, Ind., is entered in his own No. 11.

St. Charles, Missouri’s Andy Malpocker knows the 1/6-mile indoor dirt track in Du Quoin well.* Just two weeks ago, Malpocker captured a USAC Speed2 IMRA/Midwest Thunder Midget feature victory at the track during the “Open Wheel Extravaganza” at the Southern Illinois Center.

A handful of flyin’ Illini have mailed in their entries including 2015 Indy Invitational winner Kyle Schuett of Philo as well as longtime midget competitor Tim Siner of Dupo and Daniel Robinson from Ewing.

Entries continue to pour in for the $3900-to-win USAC Midget National Championship season opener which brings the series indoors for its only points race of the season.* Last year’s “Shamrock” brought 54 midgets to battle it out for the “Pot of Gold” trophy and many additional entries are expected to be filed within the next couple weeks leading up to raceday.

Free entry is available for all “Shamrock Classic” competitors courtesy of R.E. Griesemer at* https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/s...du-quoin-entry.* Use the code regriesemer. *The deadline for pre-entry is Monday, March 13.* Entries filed after March 13 are $40.

Reserved seats are $25.00 for the highly-anticipated event while adult general admission tickets are $20.00; kids 6-12 are $10.00 and kids 5 years-old and under are FREE!* Pit passes are $35.00.* The purchase of a reserved seat provides you a free pit pass!* Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.usactickets.com/.

Among the companies offering prizes and bonuses for winning the 50-lap midget feature are Simpson Race Products, who will award a brand-new helmet to the victor.* Cold Hard Art has created a “Pot of Gold” trophy that will be presented to the winning driver and team in victory lane.

Drivers on the move will have the opportunity to cash in on the bonuses being served up. *The “Wheelman of the Race” will earn a Max Papis Innovations (MPI) steering wheel for his or her efforts.* The driver advancing the most positions during the “Shamrock Classic” will earn “Hard Charger” honors courtesy of Elliott’s Custom Trailers.

Furthermore, the third-place finisher in each heat race will receive a prize from FK Shocks.* Ben Hodgin has thrown in $100 to the driver who leads lap 39 of the feature.*

Additional companies offering prize packs include Competition Suspension, Inc., Allstar Performance, AFCO, Indy Race Parts, DMI, Wilwood, Walker Performance Filters, Keizer Wheels, Speedway Motors, Schoenfeld, Arizona Sport Shirts and EarEVERYTHING, Inc.

The timetable of events at the Southern Illinois Center for the “Shamrock Classic” begins with participant parking on March 17 (Friday) from 4-7 pm. Saturday’s race-day schedule begins with pits opening at 8 am, followed by a “pit sweep” at noon. Spectator gates open at 1 pm.* A public drivers' meeting open to all race fans starts at 3:30 pm.* Hot laps get under way at 4 pm with racing set for 5:30pm.

Fans who are unable to attend the event in-person can view the race LIVE on http://www.speedshifttv.com/.

*

“SHAMROCK CLASSIC” ENTRIES AS OF FRIDAY, MARCH 3

1T Tony Roney - Herculaneum, MO

5 Kyle Cummins - Princeton, IN

7 Gage Walker - Fairland, IN

7BC Tyler Courtney - Indianapolis, IN

9JR Derek Hagar - Marion, AR

9K Kyle Schuett – Philo, IL

11 Brent Beauchamp - Fairland, IN

15 Tim Siner - Dupo, IL

15x Cole Fehr - Coatesville, IN

17w Shane Golobic - Fremont, CA

21 Christopher Bell - Norman, OK

22 Andy Malpocker - St. Charles, MO

25 Jerry Coons, Jr. - Tucson, AZ

29 David Hair - Indianapolis, IN

39BC Justin Grant - Ione, CA

50 Tony DiMattia - Malvern, PA

50x Daniel Adler - St. Louis, MO

57D Daniel Robinson - Ewing, IL

67 Tanner Thorson - Minden, NV

67K Holly Shelton - Gold River, CA

71 Ryan Robinson - Foresthill, CA

71K Tanner Carrick - Sacramento, CA

76M Brady Bacon - Broken Arrow, OK

91 Tyler Nelson - Kansas City, KS

91A Chris Andrews - Sandusky, OH

91T Tyler Thomas - Catoosa, OK

97 Spencer Bayston - Lebanon, IN

[FourDeepInTheFluff]

I did a cross reference of registered drivers from March 14th of last year to the current list that is out today. IF all of those were to enter again, barring a few a know will not be there, this list could have 75 pre entered cars by this time next week. Free entry closes Monday I think, so I expect plenty to pour in this week and with fair weather pushing the count near the 65 mark realistically.

Also CIRF, I had planned on going to the brewery you speak highly of in December but the snow and a late getaway from St. Louis made us have other plans. This year we plan to leave Memphis around 8 a.m. and get to DuQuoin near the 12:30 mark. Gates open and mark our spot top row of G/H. Then go to the brewery for lunch before coming back by drivers meeting!

Cant wait, one of the best bargains in auto racing!

[CIRF]

I did a cross reference of registered drivers from March 14th of last year to the current list that is out today. IF all of those were to enter again, barring a few a know will not be there, this list could have 75 pre entered cars by this time next week. Free entry closes Monday I think, so I expect plenty to pour in this week and with fair weather pushing the count near the 65 mark realistically.

Also CIRF, I had planned on going to the brewery you speak highly of in December but the snow and a late getaway from St. Louis made us have other plans. This year we plan to leave Memphis around 8 a.m. and get to DuQuoin near the 12:30 mark. Gates open and mark our spot top row of G/H. Then go to the brewery for lunch before coming back by drivers meeting!

Cant wait, one of the best bargains in auto racing!

FourDeep, you can add Dave Darland, Chad Boat and Alex Bright to the star studded driver list. I don't believe there will be a support class this year, thank God! The support class made for a very long night last year!

The drivers slated to be in action at Du Quoin are nothing short of stellar! In just it's second year of existence this event has become huge and highly anticipated. The racing is very dependable, too. We've attended all but 2 full on midget events at Du Quoin and there have been maybe 2 that weren't spectacularly exciting.

Hopefully the weather will not be a problem again this year.

Your drive time is very similar to ours. We'll be coming from the North and it takes us about 4 1/2 hours to get down to Du Quoin.

FourDeep, are you staying the night in the Du Quoin area? We are figuring on leaving home at around 7 AM which will put us in the Du Quoin area at around 11:30 AM. We'll take time to settle into our room and head to Du Quoin in time to be there when the spectator gates open to put down our blanket and then head to St. Nicholas Brewery.

Maybe we'll run into ya'll at St. Nicholas. Travel safe!!

[FourDeepInTheFluff]

We have missed two at Du Quoin, and have already made the decision to stay in St. Louis in December to take in the 2nd night of the race in the Dome. So this will be our only trip there this year. I may try to make it to the midget race in Springfield later in the year.

Right now I have a hotel in Du Quoin at the Super 8 for my dad, brother and both nephews. If a friend of mine goes we will be driving back to Memphis after it is over with because he has to be at work at 9 a.m. Sunday morning (FedEx Hub)...

Hope to see you at the Brewery! Any recommendations as far as whats on the menu from there? Any must haves?

[CIRF]

If you come for up for the Springfield midget race on Monday night July 3rd you 'bout as well come a couple of days early and take in the other two USAC National Midget events at Mighty Macon on Saturday night July 1st and at Lincoln on Sunday night July 2nd. If the weather holds and everything goes right that should be a hell of a weekend of racing!!

As far as the brewery food is concerned I can only speak for what our group has ordered there in the past. For appetizers we generally get the nachos or the jalepeno poppers. My wife loves their fish taco and I have had the reuben sandwich several times and it's really good. We like the bacon brussel sprouts for a side dish, as well.

Their pizza is pretty good but not the greatest we've ever had. If you like pizza, and who don't, it's worth a try.


We're staying at a motel East of Du Quoin near Rend Lake. We stayed at the same place back in December and it's a decent place, especially for the off season rate of $73.00. We used to stay at The Rend Lake Resort which was a nice place and reasonably priced, too ($67.00 offseason). It is right on the lake but the state closed it down in December due to financial problems and there are also some concerns about mold.

[FourDeepInTheFluff]

Its funny you mention the Rend Lake Resort being shut down..

Back in November we had decided to Go Friday night to the Dome in STL and then head to Du Quoin on Saturday. I remembered you giving me a heads up about the resort and called to get a room that Saturday on the Midget race. The girl on the other end of the line said they didn't have anything from before then until March which was the furthest away she could see. So she said "I guess we are closed but nobody told me about that." .... So now I found out the other side of the story.

As for Springfield, I will for sure look into the other races. I usually do a summer trip to Indiana be it for Indy 500 week, Midget Week, or Sprint week, but this year I am open to venturing out and trying other places.

I am looking forward to the pizza! And since the nephews wont be going with us now I may even enjoy a local brew.

[CIRF]

The Rend Lake Resort being shut down is a kinda' worrisome for us. We pull the camper down and camp at Rend Lake the week leading up to going to the Labor Day State Fair races (Silver Crown & ARCA) on the mile. We also take the boat down with us, too. We spend a lot of time on the lake and Rend Lake Resort is the only place on the lake where we can eat and have a cold beer. Hopefully they get things straightened out by the time we head down there in August. The Corps of Engineers need to open up opportunities for other businesses to be built on the lake. Sooner rather than later.

Since we live within 2 hours of all 3 of the Independence Day Weekend USAC Midget events we're planning on attending all 3 along with a couple of out of state friends. If you decide to come up for all three let me know and I might be able to point you in a direction that will be convenient and save you some money on lodging. The 3 events are within and hour of each other so one centrally located motel room is all you'll need for your whole stay. Keep in touch as these events draw nearer and we'll help you out any way we can.

Travel safe to and from Du Quoin next weekend and have a great time!!

[CIRF]

As for Springfield, I will for sure look into the other races. I usually do a summer trip to Indiana be it for Indy 500 week, Midget Week, or Sprint week, but this year I am open to venturing out and trying other places.

Another side note on the Independence Day USAC races.

My take on all three are is purely my opinion. I've yet to be paid for my opinion so take it for what it has been worth in the past.

We've attended several POWRi National Midget events at Lincoln Speedway and it's a very good track. Seating and concessions are good and management is highly conscious of track condition and take appropriate steps to maintain a good and racy track surface. The generally don't go overboard with support classes.

Mighty Macon is simply one of the best midget tracks in the whole country. We've seen USAC, MARA and POWRi events there and they have been some of the best midget racing we've ever seen. The only drawback with Macon is Sarge includes way too many support classes. That said, the quality of the midget racing more often than not exceeds the aggravation of the excessive support classes.

The Illinois State Fairgrounds show is an unknown commodity in that cars have previously never raced at the venue. They build a short track for the motorcycles when the AMA flat trackers come to town but never any full on racecars have been on it. The grandstands and other amenities are as nice as you'll ever experience but how the track will shape up is a total uncertainty.