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DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack

Coordinates: 37°58′58″N 89°13′23″W / 37.98278°N 89.22306°W / 37.98278; -89.22306
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DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack
LocationDu Quoin, Illinois
Time zoneGMT-6
Opened1946
Major eventsARCA Menards Series
General Tire Grabber 100
USAC Silver Crown Series
Tony Bettenhausen 100
American Flat Track
DuQuoin Mile
Oval
SurfaceClay
Length1 miles (1.6 km)
Turns4
Race lap record31.805 (United States Sheldon Creed, Toyota Camry, 2018, Stock car)

DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one-mile (1.6-km) clay oval motor racetrack in Du Quoin, Illinois, about 90 miles (140 km) southeast of St Louis, Missouri. It is a stop on the ARCA Menards Series, USAC Silver Crown Series and American Flat Track.

History

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The DuQuoin State Fair was founded in 1923 by local businessman William R. "W.R." Hayes, who owned the fair and ran it. (It did not become run by the state of Illinois as a true "state fair" until the 1980s; it is now officially called the Illinois State Fair in DuQuoin, as opposed to the longtime one at state capital Springfield.) At the start Hayes had a half-mile harness-racing track on his 30-acre site, with wooden grandstands that seated 3000. In 1939 Hayes started buying adjoining strip-mined land to develop its potential as parkland, replanting it and turning the strip pits into family-friendly ponds and lakes. He eventually expanded his little fairgrounds into 1200 acres.

The DuQuoin "Magic Mile" racetrack was constructed on reclaimed strip-mined land in 1946 by W.R. Hayes. The track's first national championship race was held in September 1948. In the second race on October 10, popular AAA National driving champion Ted Horn was killed in the fourth turn when a spindle on his championship car broke. The national championship race for the USAC Silver Crown dirt cars is held in his honor.

In 1957 the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds became the third longtime home of the Hambletonian, America's premier harness racing event (established 1926). The grandstands and bleachers were expanded to seat 18,000. When the Hambletonian left DuQuoin after 1980 to be raced at the Meadowlands, the Fair became the home of the World Trotting Derby. This race was held from 1981 until it was discontinued after the 2009 race. Both off-track and on-track betting are allowed.

Music concerts are also held at the track, especially during the state fair (in 2012 from August 25 through Labor Day, September 3). The stage is at center at the foot of the grandstand, backed up against the protective cyclone fence that shields the stands from the track.

Race winners

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Lap Records

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Category Driver Vehicle Time Event
Oval (1946–present): 1.609 km
Stock car racing Sheldon Creed Toyota Camry 31.805[1] 2018 General Tire Grabber 100
USAC IndyCar Don Branson Watson-Offenhauser 33.950[2] 1964 Ted Horn Memorial/Du Quoin 100

References

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  1. ^ "2018 ARCA Racing Series". Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ^ "1964 Du Quoin Indycars". Retrieved 24 October 2022.
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37°58′58″N 89°13′23″W / 37.98278°N 89.22306°W / 37.98278; -89.22306


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