For the second consecutive season, the ARCA Menards Series and Performance Seed will offer a bonus to the driver who can win both of the two races the series runs on one-mile dirt tracks. The races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds both date to the 1950s, and both have carried the ARCA sanction since the early 1980s.
The Performance Seed Dirt Double will offer the driver who can win at both Springfield and DuQuoin a $20,000 bonus. If the bonus goes unclaimed, the driver with the best average finish in the two races will claim $7,500, the driver with the second-best average finish will take $5,000, and the driver with the third-best average finish will claim $2,500.
In 2022, the bonus was nearly captured by then 17-year-old Jesse Love, who came one position away from becoming the first driver to win both ARCA dirt track races in the same season since Parker Kligerman took both checkered flags in 2009. Love held off a furious charge by teammate Michael “Buddy” Kofoid to win at Springfield but was just behind leader – and eventual winner – Ryan Unzicker when Mother Nature cut short the scheduled 100-miler at DuQuoin.
“It’s been over a decade since Parker Kligerman won both ARCA Menards Series dirt races in the same season, at Springfield and DuQuoin,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “Jesse Love came as close as anyone has in the intervening 13 seasons, coming up just one position short. Jesse is racing for the series championship in 2023 and he’s let it be known one of his goals for this season is to pick up that Performance Seed Dirt Double $20,000 bonus.”
“The Performance Seed Dirt Double bonus added a layer of excitement to two races that are already two of the most anticipated races on the schedule,” said Bob Sargent, president of Track Enterprises, promoter of the races at Springfield and DuQuoin. “Seeing the heavy ARCA Menards Series cars on dirt is one of the most unique experiences we have every year and make each of these two races must-see races for fans in central and southern Illinois.”
The ARCA Menards Series will visit the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield for the 41st time on Sunday, August 20, while the 43rd visit to the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds is slated for Sunday night September 3.
Ticket information for both races is available at TrackEnterprises.com. For complete event information for all races across the ARCA Menards Series platform, including live timing & scoring, please visit ARCARacing.com; for up-to-the-minute updates please follow @ARCA_Racing on Twitter.