9/1/24 71st Southern Illinois 100 ARCA Menards Series @ DuQuoin State Fair

**TEI PR** · 08-27-2024, 09:35 PM

Stock Car Sunday May Be Ladies Day at DuQuoin Mile

By Jay Hardin Track Enterprises

(Du Quoin, IL) In the 101-year history of auto racing at the DuQuoin State Fair, no female driver has ever won a major automobile race. That includes the 78-year history of the Magic Mile which has hosted open wheel racing since 1946 and stock cars since 1950. History may change on Sunday, September 1 as at least three women pilots come to DuQuoin with dirt experience and top ten finishes on Illinois clay. The ARCA Menards 70th Southern Illinois 100 is scheduled for Sunday night on the historic Magic Mile of the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.

Bill Venturini raised eyebrows when he fielded an all-female pit crew in ARCA competition during the 1980’s. He won the 1987 ARCA championship with that crew. On August 18, Bill, Billy, and Cathy Venturini raised eyebrows again when they fielded four female pilots in their five-car team in the ARCA Allen Crowe 100 at the Springfield Mile. Among the drivers were three with dirt experience and a largely unknown driver from South Carolina.

To the delight of the crowd at Springfield, the ladies more than held their own with their male counterparts. South Carolina’s Isabella Robusto wowed the crowd with a drive from the last row to challenge for the lead, and eventually finished second in her first ever one-mile dirt track start.

Midget standout Taylor Reimer, fresh off a limited late model win at the Hickory Speedway, got shuffled out of line a couple of times but fought her way back to third, leaning on some of the boys in the process. It was the first time in ARCA and Springfield history that women finished second and third.

Venturini teammates Toni Breidinger and Amber Balcaen were competitive all day. Breidinger started dead last and managed to finish sixth at the end. Balcaen drove a steady race and finished eighth.

Indications at Springfield were that three of the four were slated to enter the Southern Illinois 100 at DuQuoin, with Rubusto not scheduled to make the trip. Reimer has shown the ability to run at the front and win in both an open wheel car and a stock car. A potential obstacle is that Reimer has no previous experience on the DuQuoin mile. Breidinger has finishes of twelfth and thirteenth in two previous Southern Illinois 100 starts, while Balcaen finished fourteenth in 2022.

Sunday September 1 is “Stock Car Sunday” at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. With a bit of a break, it could also be “Ladies Day” with history made in the 70th Southern Illinois 100.

The 70th Southern Illinois 100 is part of a huge weekend of racing that begins on Saturday afternoon, August 31 with 71st Ted Horn 100 USAC Silver Crown and Modifieds at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, and Sunday evening, September 1 with the 70th ARCA Southern Illinois 100 and the Bill Oldani Memorial for the Modifieds at the Magic Mile.

Advance tickets for the DuQuoin State Fair races are available by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200, by calling the DuQuoin State Fair box office at 618-542-1535, or by stopping by the DuQuoin State Fair box office.

For more information, visit www.usacracing.com, www.arcaracing.com, or www.trackenterprises.com.

**TEI PR** · 08-28-2024, 12:52 PM

All you need to know about the DuQuoin State Fair race weekend, including detailed times, pricing, and entry lists for USAC, ARCA, and DIRTcar Modifieds.
Join us for a great weekend, starting Saturday afternoon with USAC Silver Crown and the Ted Horn 100 and culminating Sunday night with the ARCA Menards Series in the Southern Illinois 100. The DIRTcar Modifieds will also be on track.

Tickets and more info available by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200. Tickets will also be available at the gate on race day.

**TEI PR** · 08-28-2024, 10:44 PM

Performance Seed Dirt Double Bonus on Line for ARCA at DuQuoin Sunday

By Jay Hardin Track Enterprises

(Du Quoin, IL) Minnesota’s William Sawalich isn’t in line for the 2024 ARCA Menards season title, yet the 17-year-old from Minnesota has been so dominant in the races he has entered his Joe Gibbs owned entry is the car to beat whenever it unloads in an ARCA pit area. Sunday night at DuQuoin should be no different as the Springfield Mile winner looks to capture the Performance Seed Dirt double and make it a clean sweep of the ARCA dirt track events. If he can win the 70th Southern Illinois 100 the youngster could add $20,000 to his winner’s share of the DuQuoin ARCA purse.

Capturing both Illinois fairground stock car events isn’t as easy as it seems. In the previous 64 years, both ovals have scheduled stock car races in the same year just 16 times the same driver won both at Springfield and DuQuoin. And the feat hasn’t been accomplished since 2009. Only ten drivers can claim a sweep of both dirt tracks in stock cars, Frank Kimmel did so four times between 2001 and 2008. The late Dean Roper, ARCA’s “Dean of the Dirt” did so three times and the “Black Bandit” Bob Keselowski did it twice. Parker Kligerman is the last to sweep the dirt doing so in spectacular fashion in 2009 when he started dead last in the Southern Illinois 100 and came to the front.

Even if Sawalich doesn’t complete the sweep, Performance Seed has put up significant cash for the three drivers with the best finishes between the two Illinois dirt events, the best finisher gets a $7500 bonus with less for second and third best. Jesse Love was a heavy favorite for the bonus in 2022 after dominating Springfield, but a heavy-footed Ryan Unzicker and weather derailed his shot at the big bonus. Brent Crews won at Springfield last year but did not appear at DuQuoin.

Sawalich led all but one of the 105 laps from the pole on August 18 at the Springfield Mile and has seven wins in ten ARCA Menards starts, including this past weekend at Milwaukee. He also has led 1054 of a possible 1525 laps in 2024. Not to mention he also has wins in the ARCA East and West campaigns this season. It’s easy to see why he will be a favorite at DuQuoin Sunday evening.

The 70th Southern Illinois 100 is part of a huge weekend of racing that begins on Saturday afternoon, August 31 with 71st Ted Horn 100 USAC Silver Crown and Modifieds at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, and Sunday evening, September 1 with the 70th ARCA Southern Illinois 100 and the Bill Oldani Memorial for the Modifieds at the Magic Mile.

Advance tickets for the DuQuoin State Fair races are available by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200, by calling the DuQuoin State Fair box office at 618-542-1535, or by stopping by the DuQuoin State Fair box office.

For more information, visit www.usacracing.com, www.arcaracing.com, or www.trackenterprises.com.

9/1/24 71st Southern Illinois 100 ARCA Menards Series @ DuQuoin State Fair

9/1/24 71st Southern Illinois 100 ARCA Menards Series @ DuQuoin State Fair

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