DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one-mile (1.6-km) clay oval motor racetrack in Du Quoin, Illinois, about southeast of

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. It is a stop on the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

USAC Silver Crown Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

and

American Flat Track American Flat Track is an American Motorcycle sport, motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including ...

History

The

DuQuoin State Fair The DuQuoin State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the themes of agriculture and country music, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois on an approximately fairground site adjacent to the southern Illinois town of Du Quoin. The 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 A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

race was held in September 1948. In the second race on October 10, popular AAA National driving champion

Ted Horn Eylard Theodore Horn (February 27, 1910 – October 10, 1948) was an American racing driver. Widely considered one of the greatest racers of his era, he was the first person in history to win the AAA Contest Board, AAA American open-wheel car rac ...

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

AAA/USAC Champ Car/Silver Crown race winners

''All winners were American''

ARCA Racing Series

Lap Records

References

External links

Official DuQuoin State Fair websiteTrack Enterprises websiteDuQuoin State Fairgrounds archive
at Racing-Reference {{Coord, 37, 58, 58, N, 89, 13, 23, W, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Motorsport venues in Illinois ARCA Menards Series tracks NASCAR tracks Buildings and structures in Perry County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Perry County, Illinois