The Springfield ARCA 100 (formerly the Allen Crowe 100, Atlas 100 and the Dutch Boy 100) is an ARCA Menards Series stock car race held annually on the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack during the Illinois State Fair.
It is one of two dirt races on the ARCA schedule, the other being the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack, both of which are longtime events on the series schedule. These two races are part of the Performance Seed Dirt Double, which is a $20,000 bonus that is given to a driver who wins both races (the last time it happened was Parker Kligerman in 2009) and if not, bonuses are given to the drivers with the three best average finishes in the two races ($7,500 for first best, $5,000 for second best and $2,500 for third best).[1]
History
USAC era
The first race was held August 25, 1963.[2] That race was won by NASCAR driver Curtis Turner.[3]
USAC's stock car division sanctioned the race from the race's inception in 1963, until the series' demise in 1984. 1972's race was an odd occurrence, in that Al Unser won the USAC Stock car race on Saturday, and then won the USAC Championship Dirt Car race the following day.[2] The feat has never been repeated in the years since.
Co-sanctioning
As USAC was downsizing its stock car division, the 1983 and 1984 running of the Allen Crowe Memorial was co-sanctioned with ARCA.
ARCA era
ARCA took over as sole sanctioning body in 1985.
In years where the race has not had a title sponsor, it has been named after former driver Allen Crowe (either "Allen Crowe Memorial", "Allen Crowe Memorial 100", "Allen Crowe Memorial ARCA 100", or simply "Allen Crowe 100"). Crowe was born on November 12, 1928 in Springfield, Illinois and died in New Bremen, Ohio, on June 2, 1963 from injuries sustained in a Sprint Car race at New Bremen Speedway. Allen cut his teeth at the now-defunct Springfield Speedway. He started in stock cars and moved up fast. He soon became a first class racer, winning the Missouri-Illinois stock car title. He began racing in the USAC Championship Car Series, racing in the 1961 through 1963 seasons with 15 starts, including the 1962 and 1963 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten six times, with his best finish of 5th in 1962 at Syracuse.[4]
Beginning in 1989, the race was renamed the Coors Allen Crowe Memorial 100. In 1995, it took the name "Pabst Genuine Draft 100", then was known as the "Super Chevy Dealers 100" for 1996, before returning to the original name for 1997. From 1999 to 2001, the race was known as the "Par-A-Dice 100", due to a new sponsor agreement. The race reverted to the "Allen Crowe Memorial 100" (or a variation of) moniker in 2002 and kept it until being renamed the "SuperChevyStores.com 100" for 2014.[5] The race had a title sponsor again in 2022 when Atlas Roofing became the title sponsor of the race. Dutch Boy Paint was the title sponsor of the race in 2023. The two Illinois dirt races are jointly sponsored by Performance Seed, which promotes the "Dirt Double" and a cash bonus of $20,000 if a driver wins Springfield and DuQuoin in a season. For 2024 the race itself did not have a title sponsor and was billed as the "Springfield ARCA 100" while being part of the Dirt Double.[6]
There have been no deaths in the race attributed to crashes; however, four-time race winner Dean Roper, whose son Tony Roper was killed in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race 10 months earlier, suffered a heart attack on lap 17 of the 2001 race. Roper's car slowed on the frontstretch, then hit the inside retaining wall. He was unconscious when medical help arrived and later pronounced dead at Springfield Memorial Hospital.[7][8][9] [10]
Race winners
- 1963 – 1982: USAC-sanctioned event
- 1983 – 1984: ARCA and USAC co-sanctioned event
- 1985 – present: ARCA-sanctioned event
† – Record for a 100-mile race.[11]
§ - Because of inclement weather and track preparation, the race was run to a time limit as to allow other events at the Fairgrounds to start on time. Race start delayed to 1448 local time, and distance changed to one lap after 1559. Race further shortened by a red flag during the final lap caused by a crash. Race was red-flagged on Lap 76, but countback rule meant ARCA declared results official as of Lap 74.
References
External links
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