ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards 50th Running of the Allen Crowe 100
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NOTES OF INTEREST:
Versatile ARCA Racing Series Heads Back to Dirt Track Roots for 50th Allen Crowe 100 The 50th running of the Allen Crowe 100, event no. 16 on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series tour, takes center stage on the world's fastest mile-dirt track alongside the 160th annual Illinois State Fair, ongoing since 1853. The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season.
Several Illinoisans Invade ARCA on Springfield Mile Dirt; UMP Nat'l Late Model Champ Unzicker Entered
Springfield always attracts an interesting assortment of Illinoisans to the line-up. This year's entry list includes a strong contingent from the Land of Lincoln including Mark Littleton (Arenzville), AJ Fike (Galesburg), Kelly Kovski (Springfield), Rodney Melvin (Benton), Joe Cooksey (Centralia), Joseph Hughs (Springfield), Shane Cockrum (Benton), and Ryan Unzicker (El Paso). Unzicker is the 2011 UMP Late Model National Champion.
Championship Points Title Fight Tight to Springfield
Chris Buescher (Prosper, Texas) has reclaimed the ARCA championship points lead following his victory last Saturday at Berlin Raceway; however, it's not by much. Buescher leads fellow Texan Brennan Poole (The Woodlands, Texas) by just 10 points headed to Springfield. Buescher arguably has the advantage going in having raced at Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile dirt in 2011, taking the victory at DuQuoin. Poole, although he has some dirt modified experience, has never raced at Springfield or DuQuoin. Nine-time ARCA champion and seven-time Springfield winner Frank Kimmel (Clarksville, Ind.), by no means out of the championship hunt, trails in third, just 45 points from first following his second place finish at Berlin.
Kimmel; King of the Springfield Clay Nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel is the all-time, modern-day ARCA dirt winner with 13 wins overall at Springfield, the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and the West Virginia Motor Speedway. His record at Springfield is especially incredible where, in his last 15 events there, he has won a record seven times, and has finished second on four occasions, fourth and ninth. Kimmel is also the all-time lap-leader at Springfield with 614 laps led in 13 races.
Veteran Kimmel Back on the March; Snaps Long Winless Streak Frank Kimmel turned 50 years young in late April, yet the nine-time Series champ is clearly still on his game. Kimmel finally snapped a winless streak that reached back to September of 2008 with his victory at Lucas Oil Raceway three weeks ago. Kimmel went 75 races between victories. Kimmel's first win came in his 53rd career start back in 1994, meaning his first winless streak was 52 races. The two streaks lasted about the same amount of time. Between July 1, 1990 (Kimmel's ARCA debut) and May 22, 1994 (his first ARCA win), 1421 days transpired. Between September 13, 2008 (win No. 74) and July 27 (win No. 75), 1413 days passed.
Springfield - 3rd Leg of Bill France Four Crown; Buescher Leads
The Allen Crowe 100 is the third leg of the Bill France Four Crown, the season-within-a-season contest which rewards ARCA Racing Series drivers for success on a diverse slate of tracks. The 2012 Four Crown includes the New Jersey Motorsports Park road course, the two-mile Michigan Int'l Speedway, the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile-dirt and the Salem Speedway half-mile short track. Current ARCA Racing Series point leader Chris Buescher leads the 2012 Four Crown by 25 points over his teammate Brandon Davis. However, Davis will not be racing at Springfield, opening the door for six-time Four Crown champ Frank Kimmel, who trails Buescher by 50 points. Rookies Alex Bowman and Brennan Poole are fourth and fifth.
Grueling/Versatile Late Summer Stretch for ARCA Warriors
The event on the New Jersey Motorsports Park road course kicked off a grueling and very versatile stretch for the ARCA teams, depictive of the tour's diversity. This particular stretch started July 1 on the New Jersey road course and will end on the Salem short track on September 15. In addition to the New Jersey road course and Salem short track, the tour will travel in between to superspeedways at Chicagoland, Pocono and Kansas, short tracks at Iowa, Lucas Oil Raceway, Berlin, Madison and Salem, and two late-season mile dirt tracks at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Ill. During the span, the ARCA tour will race at 10 different tracks over an 11 week period. Kansas will wrap the 2012 season on October 19.
Fike Doing Double Duty at Springfield
Galesburg, Illinois driver AJ Fike is the only driver doing double duty at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The former ARCA Menards Pole winner is entered for the USAC Silver Crown Series Tony Bettenhausen 100 Saturday afternoon as well as the ARCA Racing Series Allen Crowe 100 Sunday. Fike finished fourth in the Silver Crown and ARCA races in 2009. He finished fifth in the Allen Crowe 100 last year (the 2010 Silver Crown race was canceled for rain). Al Unser was the last driver to sweep both the events at Springfield in 1972. Fike also finished fourth in the ARCA race in 2009 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile-dirt where he also earned the Menards Pole Award. Fike was also the ARCA pole winner at Springfield in 2004.
Past Allen Crowe 100 Winners List Impressive The list of Allen Crowe 100 winners at Springfield reads from a who's who list of champions and racing legends from all walks of motorsports. Past Allen Crowe 100 winners include Frank Kimmel, Ken Schrader, AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Ramo Stott, Don White, Roger McCluskey, Bob Keselowski, Jack Bowsher, Bobby Isaac, Bob Keselowski, Tim Steele, Dean Roper and Parker Kligerman, to name a few.
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