Series: ARCA Menards Series
Track: DuQuoin State Fairgrounds
Race: Southern Illinois 100
Duration: 100 laps / 100 miles
Date / TV: 9/3/2023 – 9 p.m. ET on FS2
VMS Previous Success at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds:
● Christian Eckes, 2019
● Logan Seavey, 2018
● Tom Hessert, 2016
● Steve April, 2010
Jesse Love Extends his Championship Lead: With a second place finish at the Milwaukee Mile, Jesse Love extended his point lead by a dominating 120 points, gaining an extra six point lead from the previous week at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. To top that, Love has eight wins, 13 top 5’s, and four pole awards with five races to go in the 2023 season.
Brent Crews Eyeing the Performance Seed Dirt Double Bonus: After Brent Crews’ dominating win at Springfield, he became the only driver eligible to chase the Performance Seed Dirt Double Bonus with a potential $34,500 paycheck if he finds victory lane this weekend at DuQuoin. After leading more than half of the race at Springfield (64 of 100 laps total), Crews will look to repeat his dominant performance to secure a historic payday this weekend.
Sean Hingorani Takes on the Dirt Scene: Sean Hingorani will not only be making his ARCA dirt debut, but DuQuoin will mark Hingorani’s first attempt on a dirt track at any level of his racing career. Already proven to be a quick learner and excel on all platforms, Hingorani plans to carry that approach into DuQuoin.
Dominance on Dirt: Venturini Motorsports heads to DuQuoin already having 11 previous wins on dirt tracks since 2010. This year at Springfield, Venturini Motorsports drivers Jesse Love and Brent Crews combined to lead all 100 laps of the race. With such recent and past continued success at dirt tracks, VMS drivers will be hungry to get to victory lane at DuQuoin.
Crew Chiefs:
● Kevin Reed Jr. – No. 15
● Shannon Rursch – No. 20
● Monon Rahman – No. 25
Sean Hingorani – No. 15 Fidelity Capital Toyota Camry
Regarding the DuQuoin Race: I’m excited to see how this weekend goes. I think it will go well and it’ll be fun to try something new. I’ve been doing lots of iracing to prepare. Racing with some very talented guys in the ARCA Menards Series in the dirt will help me when I get back to the West coast.
Jesse Love – No. 20 GEARWRENCH Toyota Camry
Regarding the DuQuoin Race: Honestly I would have liked to have won Springfield so that I could have a shot at the big money on the line, but I still have motivation going into the race because I want to make up losing at Springfield. I believe we have a good shot at it and just need to qualify well and keep it up front. I ran second here last year after starting on the pole, broke something leading, we fixed it, I drove back up to second and then the rain came and rained us out.
Brent Crews – No. 25 Yahoo-Mobil 1 Toyota Camry
Regarding the DuQuoin Race: Knowing we had such a fast racecar, were able to keep that speed the whole race, and then pit and had even faster speed, is huge momentum going into this weekend, especially since this is a dirt race. When you win on dirt and go back to a similar place on dirt, it really boosts your confidence, especially working with the same car and same people. It’s super uplifting.
