ARCA's Best Entered at Du Quoin
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Midwestern race fans have the privilege of watching the last dirt track race of 2009 for the full bodied stock cars of the ARCA RE/MAX Series on Labor Day at Du Quoin and the excitement is heightened again by the appearance of NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Ken Schrader and a terrific battle for the ARCA RE/MAX title among a group of impressive ARCA youngsters as they arrive at the Du Quoin State Fair for the 57th annual Federated Southern Illinois 100.
With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Atlanta Motor Speedway the day before, attention turns to who else from the NASCAR community might make an appearance on the 'Magic Mile'.
Schrader is just one of two former winners of the Southern Illinois 100 entered for Labor Day.
Ken Schrader spent 27 years trying to win a race on the mile dirt track closest to his Fenton, MO home and ended that quest in victory lane on Labor Day 2006.
The 54-year-old repeated the victory in 2007. The other former winner is a nine time ARCA RE/MAX national driving champion who dominated both dirt races on the ARCA schedule in 2008.
Forty-seven-year old Frank Kimmel of Clarksville, Indiana started his own race team in 2008 and looked as if he might not run a full season due to sponsorship concerns. He and brother Bill, his crew chief, made a concerted effort to run both dirt miles and the work paid off as Kimmel won the Allen Crowe 100 at Springfield and followed that with a convincing win on the mile at Du Quoin, his fifth.
Kimmel can become the all-time lap leader in stock car competition at Du Quoin on Labor Day and is currently third in the RE/MAX title battle in his quest for a tenth crown.
Kimmel was in the hunt for the win at Springfield and led a record 10,000th lap at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Both Schrader and Kimmel face stiff competition from the ARCA 'kiddie corp,' a group of young drivers contending for the RE/MAX crown, many of whom have never raced on nor perhaps seen a dirt track.
An 18-year-old rookie from Connecticut sits atop the ARCA point chase. Parker Kligerman has a road racing and midget car background and is a development driver for Roger Penski. He has used six wins and 11 top ten's during the season to lead Californian Justin Lofton by 35 markers after Kligerman's surprise win in the Allen Crowe 100 at Springfield in his first ever dirt track start.
Lofton set a new track record at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and led 40 circuits before losing the lead with 11 laps to go and Lofton finished second at Springfield.
Fourth in the points is another youngster, 19-year-old Joey Coulter of Florida. Fifth is Canadian Steve Arpin, sixth is Craig Goess, seventh is Floridian Bryan Silas (driving for former ARCA champ and USAC driver Andy Hillenburg), eighth is Floridian Patrick
Sheltra, ninth is New Jersey's Tom Hessert and tenth is Michigan's Robb Brent.
Brent has taken the seat vacated by Springfield's Justin Allgaier who moved to the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving for Roger Penski. All are expected to enter the Southern Illinois, with the possible exception of Arpin.
The two ARCA dirt track races always bring out a number of Illinois drivers and cars and 2009 is not exception.
Centralia's Joe Cooksey won the pole for the Southern Illinois 100 in 2000 and returns to ARCA racing after a one-year absence. Springfield's Kelly Kovski returns for another Du Quoin start as does Galesburg's A.J. Fike who will again pull double duty driving a dirt champ car Sunday night and the stock car on Sunday.
Car owners Brad Hill (West Frankfort) and driver Eddie Pearson and Bill McCreery (Benton) with driver Kyle Chady are also expected to return to the Du Quoin dirt.
Another driver pulling double duty at Du Quoin is Parma, Michigan's Brian Tyler driving for owner Doug Stringer. The 41-year-old Tyler had the opportunity last year to make history by becoming the first man to win the Ted Horn 100 championship dirt car race and the Southern Illinois 100 on the same weekend.
The former stock race car track record holder won the Ted Horn 100 but experienced engine problems in his Toyota in the Southern Illinois 100.
Other veterans dotting the probable 47-car entry list include Ron Cox of Tennessee (second at Springfield), Georgia's Mark Gibson, Michigan's Brad Smith, Indiana's Darrell Basham and South Carolina's James Hilton who will try to extend his record as the oldest driver ever in the Southern Illinois 100.
The 21 year old known as "Kid Rocket", Josh Richards of Shinnston, West Virginia, has found the lure of a victory at the DuQuoin State Fairgroundstoo much to resist and the World of Outlaws Late Model star has entered the 57th Federated-Southern Illinois 100 ARCA stock car event in search of his second start and first win.
Richards first came to DuQuoin as a 19 year old in 2007 driving for friend and mentor Tony Stewart and finished third as Stewart spotted for the ARCA rookie. Last year Richards missed the ARCA dirt event on the "Magic Mile" but won six World of Outlaw Late Model events and finished second in the 2008 World of Outlaw late model chase.
Richards is entered for the 2009 Southern Illinois 100 as a teammate to Canada's Steve Arpin on the Venturini Motorsports team giving car ownerBilly Venturini, formerly of Chicago, a potent combination on Labor Day.
Forty-one cars graced the beautiful Du Quoin State Fairgrounds last Labor Day with a similar number expected again this year. Practice for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is slated for 9 a.m. with drivers taking aim at Ricky Stenhouse' one-year-old qualification record of 32.896 (109.436) in Ansell-Menard's Pole qualifying. The 57th Federated Southern Illinois 100 is slated for a flying start at approximately 1 p.m.
The race will be broadcast live over WDQN-AM (1580) with reports beginning around 11:30. Lap-by-lap coverage starts just before 1.