Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one mile long clay oval motor racetrack on the grounds of the Illinois State Fair

Illinois State Fair

The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 1853. In 2008 there were more than 700,000 visits, up five percent from 2005,...

 in Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

, the state capital. Constructed in the late 19th century and reconstructed in 1927, the "Springfield Mile" as it is known has hosted competitive auto racing since 1910, making it one of the oldest speedways in the United States. 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. The Illinois State Fair mile currently hosts the Allen Crowe Memorial 100

Allen Crowe Memorial 100

The Allen Crowe Memorial 100 is an ARCA RE/MAX Series stock car race held annually on the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack during the Illinois State Fair.-Allen Crowe:...

 ARCA

Automobile Racing Club of America

Automobile Racing Club of America is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager. The ARCA RE/MAX Series races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and indeed most cars...

 stock car race, USAC Silver Crown championship dirt cars, UMP

United Midwestern Promoters

United Midwestern Promoters is a short track racing sanctioning body in the United States that sanctions short track racing on dirt race tracks from 1/5 mile in length to in length. UMP currently sanctions eight different racing divisions on over 100 tracks in 19 states and one province in Canada...

 Late Models

Late model

A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...

 and Modifieds and the A.M.A. Grand National Championship

A.M.A. Grand National Championship

The AMA Grand National Championship is an American motorcycle racing series. The race series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including; mile dirt track races, half-mile, short-track, TT...

. It is the home of five world records for automobile racing making it one of the fastest dirt tracks in the world.

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 Tony Bettenhausen 100 for the USAC dirt championship cars, first run in 1961 and the Allen Crowe

Allen Crowe

Allen Crowe was an American racecar driver.Born in York, Illinois, Crowe died in New Bremen, Ohio from injuries sustained in a sprint car race at New Bremen Speedway. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1961-1963 seasons with 15 starts, including the 1962 and 1963...

 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 Tony Bettenhausen 100, while ARCA driver Frank Kimmel

Frank Kimmel

Franklin James Kimmel is an American stock car driver/owner. He drives the #44 Ansell Gloves/Menards Ford in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship nine times, including eight consecutive...

 won the Allen Crowe Memorial for the seventh time in 2008.

The Springfield 100/Tony Bettenhausen 100 was part of the AAA/USAC Championship Car schedule from 1934 to 1940, 1947 to 1970 and again in 1981 and 1982.

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.

USAC Champ Car race history

All winners were  United States American

Season	Date	Winning Driver	Chassis	Engine
1956	August 19	Jimmy Bryan Jimmy Bryan James Ernest Bryan was an American racecar driver. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bryan died as a result of injuries sustained in a champ car race at Langhorne Speedway.-Career:...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1957	August 17	Rodger Ward Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...	Lesovsky Lesovsky Lesovsky was a racing car constructor. Lesovsky cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1950 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:...	Offy
1958	August 16	Johnny Thomson Johnny Thomson Johnny Thomson was an American racecar driver. Thomson was nicknamed "the Flying Scot."-Midget cars:...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1959	August 22	Len Sutton Len Sutton Len Sutton was an American racecar driver. He is best known for finishing second at the 1962 Indianapolis 500.-Early racing career:...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1960	August 20	Jim Packard Jim Packard James R. Packard was a racing driver from Hendersonville, North Carolina who competed in the USAC Championship Car series. He made 22 starts and registered a single win in August 1960 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack, however he was killed in an accident during a midget race in...	Lesovsky Lesovsky Lesovsky was a racing car constructor. Lesovsky cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1950 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:...	Offy
1961	August 21	Jim Hurtubise Jim Hurtubise In 1957, Hurtubise started his NASCAR career running two races. Over the next twenty years, he would race 36 races, winning one race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and amassing eleven top ten finishes.-Award:...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1962	August 19	Jim Hurtubise Jim Hurtubise In 1957, Hurtubise started his NASCAR career running two races. Over the next twenty years, he would race 36 races, winning one race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and amassing eleven top ten finishes.-Award:...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1963	August 17	Rodger Ward Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...	Watson A. J. Watson A. J. Watson was a car builder and chief mechanic from 1949 through 1984 in the Indianapolis 500, winning the race seven times, which leaves him tied for the record for most wins by a builder....	Offy
1964	August 22	A.J. Foyt	Meskowski Meskowski Meskowski was a racing car constructor. Meskowski cars competed in one FIA World Championship race - the Indy 500.-World Championship Indy 500 results:...	Offy
1965	August 21	A.J. Foyt	Meskowski Meskowski Meskowski was a racing car constructor. Meskowski cars competed in one FIA World Championship race - the Indy 500.-World Championship Indy 500 results:...	Offy
1966	August 20	Don Branson Don Branson Don Branson was an American racecar driver.Born in Rantoul, Illinois, Branson was killed in a racing crash at Ascot Park in Gardena, California. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series and also in sprint cars, racing champ cars in the 1956-1966 seasons with 129 starts, including the...	Watson A. J. Watson A. J. Watson was a car builder and chief mechanic from 1949 through 1984 in the Indianapolis 500, winning the race seven times, which leaves him tied for the record for most wins by a builder....	Offy
1967	August 19	A.J. Foyt	Meskowski Meskowski Meskowski was a racing car constructor. Meskowski cars competed in one FIA World Championship race - the Indy 500.-World Championship Indy 500 results:...	Offy
1968	August 17	Roger McCluskey Roger McCluskey Roger McCluskey was an American race car driver. He was from Tucson, Arizona.He won championship titles in three divisions of USAC -Sprints, Stocks, and Champ Cars. He won the USAC Sprint Car title in 1963 and 1966, the USAC Stock car title in 1969 and 1970. The Champ Car title in 1973...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1969	August 18	Mario Andretti Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...	Kuzma Kuzma (constructor) Kuzma was a racing car constructor founded by Eddie Kuzma in the USA. Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1951 to 1960.-World Championship Indy 500 results:Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines....	Offy
1970	August 22	Al Unser Al Unser Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....	King	Ford
1981	August 15	George Snider George Snider George "Ziggy" Snider is a retired American race car driver. A longtime driver in the United States Automobile Club Silver Crown series, Snider is also a 22-time starter of the Indianapolis 500, the most starts without winning the race. His best finish was eighth in the 1975 Indianapolis 500...	Lefevre Lefèvre Lefèvre, Lefevre, LeFevre, Le Fevre, or Le Fèvre is a common family name, particularly among French-speaking populations. It means smith...	Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
1982	August 14	Bobby Olivero Bobby Olivero Bobby Olivero , is a former driver in the USAC Championship Car series. He raced in the 1976-1978 seasons, with 17 career starts, including the 1977 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in 5th position in 1977 at Ontario.In 1979, Olivero was the USAC Silver...	Watson A. J. Watson A. J. Watson was a car builder and chief mechanic from 1949 through 1984 in the Indianapolis 500, winning the race seven times, which leaves him tied for the record for most wins by a builder....	Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...