Springfield Mile
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Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one mile long clay oval motor racetrack on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, the state capital. It is frequently nicknamed The Springfield Mile. Constructed in the late 19th century and reconstructed in 1927, the track has hosted competitive auto racing since 1910, making it one of the oldest speedways in the United States. The original mile track utilized the current frontstretch and the other side was behind the current grandstands and the straightaways were connected by tight turns. It is the oldest track to continually host national championship dirt track racing, holding its first national championship race in 1934 under the American Automobile Association banner. It is the home of five world records for automobile racing, making it one of the fastest dirt tracks in the world. Since 1993, the venue is managed by Bob Sargent's Track Enterprises. The Illinois State Fair mile currently hosts the Allen Crowe Memorial 100 ARCA stock car race, USAC Silver Crown dirt cars,
UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...
Late Models Late Model stock car racing, also known as late model racing and late models, refers to a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other primarily on oval tracks. This type of racing was early-on ...
and Modifieds and the
A.M.A. Grand National Championship American Flat Track is an American 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 mile dirt track r ...
. The only driver who has won races in three disciplines of racing in
Ken Schrader Kenneth William Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford Motor ...
who won in ARCA cars (1998), UMP Modifieds (1998), and midgets. Billy Winn won the first national championship dirt track race held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 1934. A.J. Foyt ran his first national championship race there in August 1957. The track is host to two of the older memorial events in the United States, the Bettenhausen 100 for the USAC dirt championship cars, first run in 1961 and the
Allen Crowe Allen Moreland Crowe (November 12, 1928 – June 2, 1963) was an American race car driver. Born in Springfield, Illinois, Crowe died in New Bremen, Ohio, from injuries sustained in a sprint car race at New Bremen Speedway. He drove in the ...
Memorial 100 stock car event for USAC, now ARCA, stock cars, first held in 1963. Both races are now held on the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair. Chuck Gurney is the only seven-time winner of the Bettenhausen 100, while ARCA driver
Frank Kimmel Francis James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962) is an American former stock car racing driver. He competed primarily in the ARCA Racing Series, from 1990 through 2016. Kimmel is the most successful driver in ARCA history. He has won the ARCA championsh ...
won the Allen Crowe Memorial for the seventh time in 2008. The Bettenhausen 100 was part of the AAA/USAC
Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...
schedule from 1934 to 1940, 1947 to 1970 and again in 1981 and 1982, and has been a Silver Crown race since then. From 1946 to 1953, the A.M.A. Grand National Champion was crowned based solely on the results of the Springfield Mile held at the fairground racetrack. The 2020 Silver Crown race was delayed until October 18 by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
; it was the latest that a race has been held at the track in a year and became the series' finale of the season. The 2022 Silver Crown race was also postponed to October, this time by rain.


AAA/USAC Champ Car/Silver Crown race history

''All winners were American''


AMA Class C / Grand National / American Flat Track

References:


See also

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List of auto racing tracks in the United States This is a list of all auto racing tracks in the United States. The track length stands for the standard, full courses for each track. The major series listed are only series that currently hold a race at the track. Dragstrip Dirt ovals Fi ...


References


External links


Illinois State Fair Racetrack Official SiteIllinois State Fairgrounds archive
at Racing-Reference {{AAA tracks Motorsport venues in Illinois ARCA Menards Series tracks NASCAR tracks National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Illinois Sports venues in Springfield, Illinois Tourist attractions in Springfield, Illinois Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Sports venues completed in 1853 1853 establishments in Illinois Illinois State Fair