Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack

{{Short description|Motor raceway in Springfield, Illinois}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}

{{Infobox motorsport venue

| Name = Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack|

Nicknames = The Springfield Mile

| Time = GMT-6

| Location = Springfield, Illinois

| Coordinates = {{coord|region:US_type:landmark}}

| Image =

| Image_caption =

| Capacity =

| Owner = State of Illinois

| Operator = Bob Sargent / Track Enterprises

| Broke_ground =

| Opened = c. 1853

| Closed =

| Construction_cost=

| Architect =

| Former_names =

| Events = ARCA Racing Series
Allen Crowe Memorial
USAC Silver Crown Series
Bettenhausen 100
American Flat Track|

Miles_first = True

| Layout1 = Oval

| Surface = Clay

| Length_km = 1.6

| Length_mi = 1

| Turns = 4

| embedded = {{Infobox NRHP

| name = Illinois State Fairgrounds

| embed = yes

| nrhp_type = hd

| image =

| caption =

| location = Jct. of Sangamon Ave. and Peoria Rd., Springfield, Illinois

| locmapin = Illinois#USA

| built = 1894

| builder =

| architect = Hammond, Charles Herrick

| architecture = Classical Revival

| added = May 14, 1990

| area = {{convert|366|acre}}

| mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64500204|title=Historic Fairgrounds in Illinois MPS}}

| refnum = 90000720{{NRISref|version=2013a}}

}}

}}

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.{{Cite episode |title=USAC Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield |episode-link= |url= |access-date= |series=USAC Silver Crown |series-link= |first= |last= |network=FloRacing |station= |date=August 21, 2021 |season= |series-no= |number= |minutes= |time=2 hr 38 minutes |transcript= |transcript-url= |quote= |language=}} 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 Late Models and Modifieds and the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. The only driver who has won races in three disciplines of racing in Ken Schrader 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 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 won the Allen Crowe Memorial for the seventh time in 2008.

The Bettenhausen 100 was part of the AAA/USAC Championship Car 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.{{cite book |last1= |first1= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_kDAAAAMBAJ&q=1972+american+motorcyclist+motocross+rules+book&pg=PA34 |title=The First Sixty Years; An Illustrated History of the American Motorcyclist Association |date=January 1984 |work= |publisher=American Motorcyclist |access-date=1 January 2011}} The 2020 Silver Crown race was delayed until October 18 by the COVID-19 pandemic; it was the latest that a race has been held at the track in a year and became the series' finale of the season.{{Cite episode |title=Bettenhausen 100 |series=USAC Silvercrown |network=FloRacing |date=October 18, 2020 |time=14:12 }} The 2022 Silver Crown race was also postponed to October, this time by rain.