After more than two months off, the CGS Imaging Four Crown will return in the next ARCA Menards Series race, the Allen Crowe 100 Presented by Lucas Oil at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The 100-lap affair at the Springfield mile will represent the dirt portion of the Four Crown championship. The CGS Imaging Four Crown tests the mettle of ARCA Menards Series drivers at four distinctly different types of racetracks: a superspeedway, a short track, an intermediate speedway and a dirt track. The individual tracks that make up the Four Crown rotate from season to season, representing a different challenge for drivers every year.
Todd Gilliland (No. 4 Frontline Enterprises Toyota) kicked off the hunt for the 2019 CGS Imaging Four Crown by taking the superspeedway leg at Talladega in April in dominating fashion. Four of the top five finishers in the General Tire 200 only planned to race part-time schedules, though. While Gilliland led the standings leaving Talladega, the top full-time driver in the Four Crown standings was Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) back in fifth. The next closest full-time competitor was Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Ford) in seventh place.
Self won the speedway leg at Michigan in June with a last-lap pass of Ty Majeski (No. 22 Crestliner Boats Ford). Majeski ran out of fuel coming through turns 3 and 4 on the final lap in a desperate attempt to clinch his third consecutive series victory. Self appeared to be poised to run away with the CGS Imaging Four Crown lead, but that feeling didn’t last very long. During post-race inspection, ARCA officials determined that the No. 25 team had made illegal modifications to the composite body of the car and penalized the team. Self lost 50 points in the Four Crown standings, and he went from having a 10-point lead over Majeski to trailing Majeski by 40 points.
The Springfield dirt mile is often referred to as a “wild card” due to the very different style of driving necessary to be successful there compared to most tracks on the ARCA Menards Series circuit. It will almost certainly be a wild card again this weekend when it hosts the third race in the CGS Imaging Four Crown. While Ty Majeski leads the standings with 430 points, he is not racing at Springfield. The third-place driver in the standings, Riley Herbst (No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota) is also not entered at Springfield. This will mean that the top three full-time drivers in the Four Crown standings will roll into Springfield separated by just five points. Travis Braden has 395 points, good enough for second overall behind Majeski, while Self and Joe Graf Jr. (No. 77 Eat Sleep Race Ford) are tied for third overall and second among full-time competitors with 390 points. Braden and Graf had never raced on dirt until running this race one year ago, while Self has never raced on the dirt in a stock car at all. The sheer uncertainty surrounding the Allen Crowe 100 leaves the CGS Imaging Four Crown championship battle truly wide open.
The final event in the CGS Imaging Four Crown championship will be the short track event, the fall race at Salem Speedway. The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200 also serves as ARCA’s throwback weekend when the teams hit the half-mile high banks of southern Indiana. The bumping and banging already runs rampant at Salem, and if the CGS Imaging Four Crown title is on the line, the race may be even more intense than usual.
The Allen Crowe 100 Presented by Lucas Oil is this Sunday, August 18 at the Illinois State Fair. Live television coverage will be provided by MAVTV beginning at 2:30 Eastern time. Live timing and scoring as well as a live chat function will be available for free for all registered members on ARCAracing.com. With just five races left in 2019, you won’t want to miss any of the action as the ARCA Menards Series season goes all the way down to the wire.
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