Ryan Unzicker
Eventual race winner Ryan Unzicker leads the Allen Crowe 100 for the ARCA Menards Series on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois, on Oct. 4, 2020. (Jeff Curry/ARCA Racing)

Ryan Unzicker back to defend Springfield victory in ARCA Menards Series

Track Enterprises August 18, 2021

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — As if central Illinois needed another reason to attend Sunday’s stock car extravaganza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, a good one comes in the form of the entry for the defending ARCA Menards Series race winner.

Ryan Unzicker of nearby El Paso, Illinois, is slated to make his 12th start on the Springfield Mile on Aug. 22. His win in last year’s Allen Crowe 100 was his first in the ARCA Menards Series.

Unzicker is a popular central Illinois driver and a UMP national driving champion. He is paired with equally popular car owner Bill Hendren, who has been part of a stock car entry in every Allen Crowe 100 since 1974.

ALLEN CROWE 100: Entry List | Schedule | Preview

Ken Rowley, Bob Strait and even Ken Schrader have all been behind the wheel of a Hendren-backed car at one point in time. While Hendren drivers had been able to capture pole positions and lead laps in stock car competition on the Illinois dirt, none were able to find Victory Lane before Unzicker did in October.

Hendren last year was contemplating retirement but went ahead and put together a new car for a driver who first ran Springfield in 2003 and finished sixth after starting 20th. Unzicker and Hendren always seemed to be on the cusp of a win, and four top-10 finishes from 2015-2019 at Springfield backed the possibility of victory.

As the COVID-19 pandemic altered the 2020 ARCA Menards Series schedule, the Allen Crowe 100 was moved to an early October date, and the series’ other dirt race, at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, was removed from the slate. It meant the central Illinois team would have only one shot at victory in front of the home fans, and they made the most of the chance.

Unzicker was strong in practice, qualified on the General Tire Pole and led a record 102 laps (of 103), beating rookie Hallie Deegan to the finish line after a wild overtime restart.

A partisan crowd (reduced by COVID-related restrictions) could be heard cheering over the engines during the last two laps, and the Hendren crew and army of fans celebrated wildly when the checkered flag fell over the blue and yellow machine. Unzicker pulled off the feat of doing a burnout on dirt in front of the south end of the grandstand, which drew even more cheers.

Unzicker became just the second driver from central Illinois to capture an Allen Crowe 100 trophy, the first being hometown hero Justin Allgaier in 2006.

Unzicker will return to the Illinois State Fairgrounds with Hendren and an army of fans for the traditional stock car race held on the last Sunday of the Illinois State Fair. Practice begins at 10 a.m. CT with General Tire Pole Qualifying to follow 11:30 a.m. CT. The Allen Crowe 100 will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. CT. It will broadcast live on MAVTV Motorsports Network with a live stream available on NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass.

Tickets are available by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 or at the Illinois State Fair box office. Fans can also “save big money” at Menards by purchasing their Sunday tickets in store.

The event is all part of a huge racing weekend in central Illinois featuring Lincoln Speedway with MOWA Sprint Cars on Friday night, Silver Crown Saturday at the Springfield Mile and Jack Hewitt Night featuring POWRi Midgets at Macon Speedway on Saturday night.

Full information on the events can be found at www.trackenterprises.com.