By Jay Hardin Track Enterprises Staff
(Du Quoin, IL) Illinois is unique in that it is home to two state fairs and the last two active one-mile dirt tracks that host auto racing. Twenty-three times, the driver that won the championship race at Springfield followed it up with a win in the Ted Horn 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Winning the Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield gives California’s Justin Grant the chance to be the twenty-fourth.
There will be some similarities between the 71st Ted Horn 100 and the 61st Bettenhausen 100 for Grant. He comes into the event chasing point leader Kody Swanson, the race is on a one-mile dirt track that he’s won on before, and like Springfield it will be a daytime race. Past that, DuQuoin is a different animal than the mile at Springfield, but one Grant is familiar with as the defending winner of the Ted Horn 100. Last year Grant started from the pole after going out nearly last in qualifying, then took the lead on lap 2 and was never headed. This year at Springfield, Grant set fast time and led all 100 miles from the pole position.
Grant clinched the 2022 Silver Crown championship at Springfield in 2020. This year, he has spent most of the year chasing 7-time Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson for the title. Swanson’s misfortune at WWT Raceway and Grant’s Springfield win drew him within 21 points of the championship. With 76 available at DuQuoin, plus dirt events at Eldora and Terre Haute and the season ender at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, Grant can get even closer to a second championship by winning the Magic Mile.
The 71st Ted Horn 100 is part of a huge weekend of racing that begins on Saturday afternoon, August 31 with USAC Silver Crown and Modifieds at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, and Sunday evening, September 1 with the 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.