NOTEBOOK: Jesse Love looking to bank $50,000 bonus courtesy of Performance Seed

When Jesse Love won last month’s Atlas 100 on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, he earned more than just a trophy.

The victory earned Love the opportunity to race for a $50,000 bonus courtesy of Performance Seed and the new Performance Seed Dirt Double this weekend at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. The new program, which was announced in June, features a $50,000 prize to any driver who can sweep the two dirt miles on the ARCA Menards Series schedule.

Love crossed off the first leg of the Performance Seed Dirt Double by dominating the Atlas 100, leading every lap from the pole in the No. 20 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports.

Now Love heads to DuQuoin for the Rust-Oleum Automotive Finishes 100, where he’ll attempt to sweep the dirt miles and lay claim to the bonus.

ARCA at DuQuoin: Entry list | Complete event schedule

It should be no surprise that Love is the driver chasing the big bonus from Performance Seed. The 17-year-old from Menlo Park, California, grew up racing on dirt and has extensive experience in Sprint Cars and Midget Cars. He’s also a regular competitor at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he races Micro Sprints periodically.

Love recently returned to his roots racing a Midget with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series at Iowa’s Davenport Speedway. He won his heat race and led early in the feature before he was collected in a crash and eliminated from the race.

Should Love not win the Rust-Oleum Automotive Finishes 100 to collect the $50,000 bonus, there is still a chance he could take home a $5,000 bonus, instead. The driver with the best combined average finish at Springfield and DuQuoin will earn $5,000, but that bonus is available to anyone who competes in both races.

Among the likely contenders for that bonus are Love, Ryan Unzicker, Sammy Smith and Nick Sanchez. Each of those drivers finished in the top five at the Springfield Mile.

A warm welcome back to Joe Cooksey

It’s been a few years since Joe Cooksey last raced in the ARCA Menards Series, but there is no better place for him to return to ARCA competition than the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.

Cooksey lives roughly 40 miles away from the one-mile dirt oval in DuQuoin, Illinois, a venue where he has raced 16 times during his ARCA Menards Series career. He made his first start at DuQuoin in 1996, finishing ninth after starting 30th.

In his 16 starts at DuQuoin, Cooksey has earned five top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. He even won the pole at DuQuoin in 2000, leading 12 laps that day before ultimately finishing fourth.

Cooksey last raced in the ARCA Menards Series in 2018, finishing ninth at DuQuoin while driving for Wayne Hixson. On Sunday, he’ll be driving for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing team and will be teamed with veteran Ken Schrader for the Rust-Oleum Automotive Finishes 100.

The 56-year-old Cooksey will look to turn some heads at DuQuoin’s “Magic Mile” this Sunday, and if all goes well, maybe even race for a win. He’s never won in ARCA competition, earning a best finish of second at Michigan’s Flat Rock Speedway in 1999.

Corey Heim looking to make it Heim Time in DuQuoin

Sunday’s Rust-Oleum Automotive Finishes 100 at DuQuoin wasn’t originally on Corey Heim’s schedule, but schedules can change.

Heim was originally only slated to compete in six ARCA Menards Series events this season with Venturini Motorsports, and the race at DuQuoin was not among them.

However, there was an opening in the No. 15 Toyota Camry this weekend, and Heim happened to be available to fill it.

The two-time Daytona ARCA Menards Series winner has two previous starts at the DuQuoin dirt mile, scoring finishes of third in 2019 and seventh last season. However, he does own a victory on dirt in ARCA competition after winning at the Springfield Mile last season.

Heim has kept busy this season. He started the year by winning the ARCA Menards Series opener at Daytona International Speedway and has since picked up two victories in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition (Atlanta Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway). He also triumphed in a Late Model Stock Car during the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway in July.

NOTES:

• Much like he did at the Springfield Mile, Ken Schrader will be pulling double-duty at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. In addition to racing in Sunday’s ARCA Menards Series event, Schrader will also be piloting a UMP Modified on Saturday and Sunday.
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race winner and 2015 ARCA Menards Series champion Grant Enfinger will be on hand Sunday working as crew chief on the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Kelly Kovski.
• Will Kimmel, who is winless in ARCA competition, has come close to winning at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds before. He matched his career-best finish of second in 2018, finishing behind race winner Logan Seavey at DuQuoin.