The 2021 Southern Illinois 100 presented by Lucas Oil was the 17th stock car race of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 5, in Du Quoin, Illinois at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack, a permanent clay oval-shaped track at the DuQuoin State Fair. The race took 104 laps to complete due to an overtime finish. At race's end, Landen Lewis of Rette Jones Racing would dominate the race, leading every lap en route to his first career ARCA Menards Series win. To fill out the podium, Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing and Ken Schrader of Fast Track Racing would finish second and third respectively.
Background The DuQuoin 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 stripmined 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 stripmine land in 1946 by W.R. Hayes. The track's first national championship race was held in September 1948. In the second race on October 10, popular AAA National driving champion Ted Horn 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.
Entry list #DriverTeamMakeSponsor01Tim MonroeFast Track RacingChevroletCarolina Sim Works2Landen LewisRette Jones Racing with Austin TheriaultToyota19th Green06Wayne PetersonWayne Peterson RacingChevroletGreat Railing10Ken SchraderFast Track RacingToyotaKuttawa Fire Department11Owen SmithFast Track RacingFordPedalin Pup12D. L. WilsonFast Track RacingToyotaFast Track Racing15Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyotaMobil 116Kelly KovskiRoy Kovski RacingChevroletSchluckebeier Farms, Schnapp Sewer Service18Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyotaJoe Gibbs Racing20Corey HeimVenturini MotorsportsToyotaCraftsman24Ryan UnzickerHendren MotorsportsChevroletHummingbird Winery, RJR Transportation25Toni BreidingerVenturini MotorsportsToyotaVenturini Motorsports27Zachary TinkleRichmond Clubb MotorsportsToyotaLatino Immigration & Legal Center46Taylor GrayDavid Gilliland RacingFordDavid Gilliland Racing48Brad SmithBrad Smith MotorsportsChevroletHenshaw Custom Automation69Will KimmelKimmel RacingFordClarksville SchwinnOfficial entry list
Practice The only 45-minute practice session was held on Sunday, September 5, at 4:15 PM CST. Jesse Love of Venturini Motorsports would set the fastest lap in the session, with a lap of 36.037 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed115Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyota36.03799.897216Kelly KovskiRoy Kovski RacingChevrolet36.28199.225324Ryan UnzickerHendren MotorsportsChevrolet36.54598.509Full practice results
Qualifying Qualifying would take place on Sunday, September 5, at 6:00 PM CST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. Landen Lewis of Rette Jones Racing would win the pole for the race, setting a lap of 34.236 and an average speed of .
No drivers would fail to qualify. Jesse Love and Kelly Kovski did not make a qualifying lap, and had to start the race from the rear. Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed12Landen LewisRette Jones Racing with Austin TheriaultToyota34.236105.152224Ryan UnzickerHendren MotorsportsChevrolet34.349104.807320Corey HeimVenturini MotorsportsToyota35.596101.135418Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota35.634101.027510Ken SchraderFast Track RacingToyota35.940100.167669Will KimmelKimmel RacingFord36.03399.908746Taylor GrayDavid Gilliland RacingFord36.18999.478825Toni BreidingerVenturini MotorsportsToyota38.21494.206912D. L. WilsonFast Track RacingToyota38.82792.7191027Zachary TinkleRichmond Clubb MotorsportsToyota39.63890.8221101Tim MonroeFast Track RacingChevrolet39.68590.7141211Owen SmithFast Track RacingFord41.26987.2331348Brad SmithBrad Smith MotorsportsChevrolet44.15781.5271406Wayne PetersonWayne Peterson RacingChevrolet58.78061.2451515Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyota - -1616Kelly KovskiRoy Kovski RacingChevrolet - -Official qualifying results
Race results FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts112Landen LewisRette Jones Racing with Austin TheriaultToyota104104running492418Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota1040running423510Ken SchraderFast Track RacingToyota1040running414224Ryan UnzickerHendren MotorsportsChevrolet1040running405746Taylor GrayDavid Gilliland RacingFord1030running3961101Tim MonroeFast Track RacingChevrolet1020running387320Corey HeimVenturini MotorsportsToyota950overheating3781027Zachary TinkleRichmond Clubb MotorsportsToyota760overheating369669Will KimmelKimmel RacingFord570overheating35101515Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyota540overheating3411912D. L. WilsonFast Track RacingToyota380suspension3312825Toni BreidingerVenturini MotorsportsToyota350oil leak32131211Owen SmithFast Track RacingFord90overheating31141348Brad SmithBrad Smith MotorsportsChevrolet70brakes30151406Wayne PetersonWayne Peterson RacingChevrolet00transmission29161616Kelly KovskiRoy Kovski RacingChevrolet00did not start0
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