Since 1983, a staple of the ARCA Menards Series has been the series’ two events on the dirt, held annually at Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
This season, the series’ four-decade-long tradition, has been offered some increased stakes, in the form of a hefty cash bonus, known as the Performance Seed Dirt Double.
On Friday, ARCA Menards Series officials announced the launch of the program, which will offer a $50,000 bonus to any driver that can visit victory lane in both dirt events this season.
In the event that no driver is able to sweep the dirt track events, a $5,000 bonus will be awarded to the driver with the best average finish between the two races.
“The two races at Springfield and DuQuoin are the direct connection to the foundation of the sport,” said ARCA President Ron Drager.” There are thousands of race fans in the heartland of the country who attend those races, and many have been coming to them for decades. Having dirt races has kept us connected to the grassroots of the sport and it has meant a driver who can win the ARCA Menards Series championship has to succeed on a wide variety of racetracks.
Both facilities have been a regular stop on the ARCA Menards Series schedule since 1983, dating back to the original foundation of the sport.
“We’re always looking at adding another layer of excitement to our two traditional ARCA Menards Series dirt races, and the Performance Seed Dirt Double will do that,” said Bob Sargent, president of Track Enterprises, promoter of both events. “A $50,000 bonus to any driver who can win both of those races will give those drivers a pretty big carrot to chase after. And if that bonus goes unclaimed, the driver who performs the best in both races and has the best average finish will still come away with a $5,000 bonus. Either way, someone is going to carry away some bonus money.”
The ARCA Menards Series will contest the first of two dirt track events at Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) on August 21, before visiting DuQuoin State Fairgrounds two weeks later, on September 4.
