For race 16/20 on the main ARCA Menards Series calendar, the series will visit a dirt track for the second and final time this season at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds dirt track in DuQuoin, Illinois.

Race Information:
Date: Sunday, September 3rd, 2023
Laps: 100
Start Time: 9 PM EST/8 PM CST
Live: FS2/FloRacing
Radio: ARCARacing.com
Car Count: 18

Entry List
2- Andres Perez De Lara- Chevy- Rev Racing
(Withdrawn) 4- Dale Quarterley- Chevy- 1/4 ley Racing
8- Sean Corr- Ford- Empire Racing
10- Clayton Weatherman- Toyota- Fast Track Racing
11- Dallas Frueh- Ford- Fast Track Racing
12- Tim Monroe- Chevy- Fast Track Racing
15- Sean Hingorani- Toyota- Venturini Motorsports
16- Kelly Kovski- Chevy- Kelly Kovski Racing
18- William Sawalich- Toyota- Joe Gibbs Racing
20- Jesse Love- Toyota- Venturini Motorsports
25- Brent Crews- Toyota- Venturini Motorsports
30- Frankie Muniz- Ford- Rette Jones Racing
31- Brayton Laster- Chevy- Rise Motorsports
32- Christian Rose- Ford- AM Racing
48- Brad Smith- Chevy- Brad Smith Motorsports
66- Jon Garrett- Chevy- Veer Motorsports/Fast Track Racing
69- Will Kimmel- Ford- Kimmel Racing
03- Chris Golden- Ford- Clubb Racing Inc
06- AJ Moyer- Toyota- Wayne Peterson Motorsports

PC: arcaracing.com/Jeff Le

Storylines

After losing the lead at Milwaukee with 5 laps to go to William Sawalich, Jesse Love still holds an incredible 122 point lead over Rev Racing’s Andres Perez De Lara and is highly likely not gonna lose much ground if any. While Jesse Love has the title all but locked up at this point, 2nd through 4th in points are separated by only 25 points. De Lara is currently 11 points ahead of 3rd place Frankie Muniz who had a rough day at Milwaukee and now only sits 14 points ahead of 4th place Christian Rose. With 5 races to go, this is gonna be a points battle to watch for.

Like Illinois, DuQuoin is another traditional stop on the ARCA calendar holding races since 1957 when Jerry Unser took home his only ARCA victory. The track has appeared on the calendar every season since 1983 with the exceptions of 2012 (Hurricane Isaac remnants) and 2020 (Covid-19 Pandemic).

Currently 18 cars are entered, unfortunately a 19th entry withdrew before the entry list dropped on the ARCA website which would’ve been the #4 of Dale Quarterley. Unfortunately, Dale Quarterley will not be making the trip to DuQuoin after sadly crashing out at Illinois. The 62 year old veteran from Westfield, Massachusetts however on the bright side will be returning for Daytona again next year and more events to follow. RAISE HELL AND PRAISE DA L E!!!

PC: ARCA Illinois Broadcast

Currently, 3 start and parks are expected for DuQuoin. Dallas Frueh will likely be starting and parking the 11 as Tim Monroe will go the distance again Sunday night in the 12 for Fast Track Racing. The 03 of Chris Golden who will be making his ARCA Menards Series debut is also expected to start and park in what is also a driver change as team owner Alex Clubb was originally listed to be driving the 03 but was changed on Thursday. Golden was originally slated to drive the 03 at Milwaukee too but backed out due to sponsorship issues, and appears to also not be in the 03 at Bristol like originally planned. The other expected start and park is the 48 of Brad Smith who usually does not attempt the full distance at dirt tracks.

For this race, 4 cars in the field will have associate sponsorship from Drillbrush Power Scrubber which is new to the series. The company based out of Upstate New York will appear on the 31 of Brayton Laster, the 32 of Christian Rose, the 48 of Brad Smith and the 03 of Chris Golden. Little sponsorships like this can go a long way especially for the smaller teams they are sponsoring.

PC: Drillbrush- Facebook

Kimmel Racing will also be returning for DuQuoin in a surprise turn of events. The Kimmel Racing team had announced before the season began that they would be skipping both dirt races for the first time in over 20 years. However, the Kimmel Racing team decided to make the trip to DuQuoin on Monday in a last minute decision. Will Kimmel will be driving in the same car he ran at Flat Rock which he calls 13. He was originally gonna start and park at Kansas in the 68 but that plan has been withdrawn to focus on DuQuoin as they will be going the distance on Sunday and hungry for a win too!

PC: Will Kimmel- Facebook

Full time driver for Wayne Peterson Racing AJ Moyer was also able to pick up sponsorship from Bucked Up Energy. Some may recognize Bucked Up as they were previously a sponsor for Xfinity Series driver Joe Graf Jr. The 06 will likely run the full distance on Sunday as a result of this big sponsorship. Clayton Weatherman will also make his first ever ARCA Menards Series start since 2016 at Berlin on Sunday in the #10 for Fast Track Racing. Other notable entrants include Sean Corr, Sean Hingorani, Kelly Kovski, Brent Crews, and Jon Garrett.

PC: arcaracing.com/Jay Alley

Prediction To Win

My pick to win at DuQuoin is gonna be Illinois winner Brent Crews. On purpose, I saved the best for last in this article. The young hotshoe out of Oklahoma has proven himself to be a top prospect in the sport. His dominating performance at Illinois is why I have to pick him to win. Introduced last season, the Performance Seed Dirt Double is a 20k bonus given to a driver who can win both dirt races and I believe that Brent Crews will be the first driver to win the 20k bonus. Jesse Love nearly won it last year but just barely lost DuQuoin to Ryan Unzicker. If proven successful, Crews would become the first driver to sweep the dirt races since Parker Kligerman in 2009.

PC: arcaracing.com/Jeff Le

Thank you for reading my preview of the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds! Check me out down here!

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