Ryan Unzicker
Ryan Unzicker celebrates winning the Illinois Truck & Equipment Allen Crowe 100 for the ARCA Menards Series at the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois, on Oct. 4, 2020. (Jeff Curry/ARCA Racing)

Ryan Unzicker off to good start in 2022 in preparation for ARCA dirt races

www.arcaracing.com June 17, 2022

ARCA Menards Series dirt track ringer Ryan Unzicker kicked off the 37th Annual DIRTCar Summer Nationals with a victory at Kankakee Speedway in Illinois.

Unzicker fought off a heated charge by Bobby Pierce and Dennis Erb Jr. to take the victory in the 40-lap main event.

Unzicker and team owner Bill Hendren have indicated to ARCA Menards Series officials they will once again return to the one-mile dirt ovals at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds to chase not only the victory trophies, but the Performance Seed Dirt Double $50,000 bonus, as well.

For the first time in series history, if a driver can win both races on the two one-mile dirt tracks, they will earn a $50,000 bonus. The last time a driver swept both dirt races in the same season was 2009, when current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series star and NASCAR on NBC analyst Parker Kligerman won them both.

The race at Springfield was Kligerman’s first ever race of any kind on dirt, and the race at DuQuoin was his second.

The Atlas Roofing 100 at Springfield is set for Sunday, Aug. 21, while the Southern Illinois 100 at DuQuoin is set for Sunday night, Sept. 4. Both races will be televised live on MAVTV and streamed live on FloRacing.