MACON, Ill. – So, you like dirt track racing. Well, Macon Speedway and Track Enterprises has you covered this week with just about all kinds of racing.
Fifth-mile. Quarter-mile. Springfield Mile. We got three difference sizes of tracks. High banked. Banked. And the big fairgrounds track with little banking.
Midgets. Silver Crown. ARCA stock cars. Plus Sportsman Nationals, Street Stocks, Billingsley Towing Modifieds and Beach House Mini-Sprints. Even the Hornets.
So grab your seat cushion, round up the wife and kids and let’s go dirt trackin’ on a full-throttle racing weekend. It’s a carnival of speed, so let’s give you the lineup.
FRIDAY
POWRi midgets at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway. The POWRi midget and micros race on the quarter-mile track. Pro Crate Late Models and Modifieds are also on the program. Gates open at 5. Racing at 7.
SATURDAY
USAC Tony Bettenhausen 100 for Silver Crown cars. The 100-lapper on the Springfield Mile is a race made famous by Vukovich, Foyt, Andretti, Unser and Bettenhausen himself. The feature begins at 2 p.m. with A.J. Fike of Galesburg going for a three-peat, but the action starts with practice at 9 a.m. and qualifying at 10:25. The Sportsman Nationals heat races go at 11 a.m.
POWRi Midgets, Micros at Macon Speedway. The program includes double features in both POWRi classes that have yet to take the checkered flag at the legendary speedway this season because of weather issues. So get your short track fix after much of the same drivers climb out of the Silver Crown cars. Beach House Mini-Sprints go against the POWRi Micros with Billingley Towing Modifieds, Street Stocks and both Hornets classes also racing. Gates open at 5 with racing at 7.
SUNDAY
Central Illinois SuperChevyStores.com 100 for ARCA stock cars. The 100-lapper is the first time the ARCA cars hit the dirt this season, after making stops at Daytona, Talladega, Pocono and Michigan, among other famous tracks. Last summer, Brennan Poole raced to the thrilling ARCA win in Springfield after locals Kelly Kovski, driving for Allgaier Motorsports of Springfield, and Fike were black flagged for jumping a late restart. ARCA opens practice at 9 a.m. with qualifying at 11:15 and racing at 1:35 p.m. The Sportsman Nationals feature is set to take the green flag at noon.
Tickets for Illinois State Fair events are on sale at the State Fair ticket office (217-782-1979) and Track Enterprises (217-764-3200). For each event, advance tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets sold on day of the race are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are sold race day only for $35. A two-day pass is $40. Infield tickets are sold race-day only for $20 for adults, including the $5 entry fee to the fair. Children 6-11 are $5, and children 5 and under are free.