(Springfield, IL) Open wheel and stock car fans, alike, are looking forward to the annual return of racing to the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fair. The stars of USAC Silver Crown, ARCA Menards Series, and DIRTcar Sportsman will all be on track the final weekend of the Illinois State Fair, Saturday and Sunday, August 17-18, 2024. In addition, the weekend gets kicked off on Friday night, August 16 with MOWA Sprint cars at Lincoln Speedway, in nearby Lincoln, IL
The Saturday, August 17 action will feature the 61st Bettenhausen 100 featuring the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus the prelims for the 31st annual Illinois Sportsman Nationals. Fields for the USAC Silver Crown events have been outstanding over the last several years and fans should expect another great field this year.
Multi-time USAC Silver Crown champion, Kody Swanson, is currently atop the standings with Justin Grant, Logan Seavey, C.J. Leary, and Trey Osborne in the top five. The series has two more races between now and Springfield with Jennerstown Speedway in Pennsylvania on August 10 and World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis the night before the Mile.
The races have seen great parity in recent years with different winners in each of the last six races. Justin Grant took the win in 2017 with Chris Windom (2018), Kyle Larson (2020), Kody Swanson (2021), Shane Cockrum (2022), and Logan Seavey (2023) also taking recent wins at the Springfield Mile.
The ARCA Menards Series returns to the track on Sunday, August 18 for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100. The Springfield stop will be on the final day of the 159th Illinois State Fair and will be the 42nd time the series has raced the Springfield Mile, dating back to 1983.
Notable winners for ARCA include Dean Roper, Bob Keselowski, Bobby Bowsher, Frank Kimmel, Bill Baird, Justin Allgaier, Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley, Christian Eckes, and Corey Heim.
The Sunday event will also feature the A-Main for the DIRTcar Sportsman Nationals.
The events are all part of a huge weekend of racing that begins Friday night, August 16 at Lincoln Speedway featuring MOWA Sprint Cars, Saturday afternoon, August 17 with USAC Silver Crown and Sportsman at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, and Sunday afternoon, August 18 with the ARCA Allen Crowe Memorial 100 and the Sportsman Nationals at the Illinois State Fair.
Advance tickets for the Illinois State Fair races are available by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200, by calling the Illinois State Fair box office at 217-782-1979, or by stopping by the Illinois State Fair box office.
Advance sale discounted tickets for the ARCA Menards Series event on Sunday, August 18 can be purchased in Central Illinois area Menards stores for a price of just $20. Stores selling tickets include Champaign, Danville, Effingham, Forsyth, Normal, Pekin, Peoria, Quincy, Springfield North/South, and Washington.
For more information, visit www.usacracing.com, www.arcaracing.com, or www.trackenterprises.com.