# 2021 Southern Illinois 100

The 2021 Southern Illinois 100 presented by Lucas Oil was the 17th stock car race of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 5, in Du Quoin, Illinois at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack, a 1 mile (1.6 km) permanent clay oval-shaped track at the DuQuoin State Fair. The race took 104 laps to complete due to an overtime finish. At race's end, Landen Lewis of Rette Jones Racing would dominate the race, leading every lap en route to his first career ARCA Menards Series win. To fill out the podium, Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing and Ken Schrader of Fast Track Racing would finish second and third respectively.

## Background

The DuQuoin State Fair was founded in 1923 by local businessman William R. "W.R." Hayes, who owned the fair and ran it. (It did not become run by the state of Illinois as a true "state fair" until the 1980s; it is now officially called the Illinois State Fair in DuQuoin, as opposed to the longtime one at state capital Springfield.) At the start Hayes had a half-mile harness-racing track on his 30-acre site, with wooden grandstands that seated 3000. In 1939 Hayes started buying adjoining stripmined land to develop its potential as parkland, replanting it and turning the strip pits into family-friendly ponds and lakes. He eventually expanded his little fairgrounds into 1200 acres.
The DuQuoin "Magic Mile" racetrack was constructed on reclaimed stripmine land in 1946 by W.R. Hayes. The track's first national championship race was held in September 1948. In the second race on October 10, popular AAA National driving champion Ted Horn was killed in the fourth turn when a spindle on his championship car broke. The national championship race for the USAC Silver Crown dirt cars is held in his honor.

### Entry list

| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 01 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Chevrolet | Carolina Sim Works |
| 2 | Landen Lewis | Rette Jones Racing with Austin Theriault | Toyota | 19th Green |
| 06 | Wayne Peterson | Wayne Peterson Racing | Chevrolet | Great Railing |
| 10 | Ken Schrader | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | Kuttawa Fire Department |
| 11 | Owen Smith | Fast Track Racing | Ford | Pedalin Pup |
| 12 | D. L. Wilson | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | Fast Track Racing |
| 15 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | Mobil 1 |
| 16 | Kelly Kovski | Roy Kovski Racing | Chevrolet | Schluckebeier Farms, Schnapp Sewer Service |
| 18 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 20 | Corey Heim | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | Craftsman |
| 24 | Ryan Unzicker | Hendren Motorsports | Chevrolet | Hummingbird Winery, RJR Transportation |
| 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | Venturini Motorsports |
| 27 | Zachary Tinkle | Richmond Clubb Motorsports | Toyota | Latino Immigration & Legal Center |
| 46 | Taylor Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | David Gilliland Racing |
| 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | Henshaw Custom Automation |
| 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | Clarksville Schwinn |
| Official entry list |||||

## Practice

The only 45-minute practice session was held on Sunday, September 5, at 4:15 PM CST. Jesse Love of Venturini Motorsports would set the fastest lap in the session, with a lap of 36.037 and an average speed of 99.897 miles per hour (160.769 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 15 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 36.037 | 99.897 |
| 2 | 16 | Kelly Kovski | Roy Kovski Racing | Chevrolet | 36.281 | 99.225 |
| 3 | 24 | Ryan Unzicker | Hendren Motorsports | Chevrolet | 36.545 | 98.509 |
| Full practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying would take place on Sunday, September 5, at 6:00 PM CST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. Landen Lewis of Rette Jones Racing would win the pole for the race, setting a lap of 34.236 and an average speed of 105.152 miles per hour (169.226 km/h).
No drivers would fail to qualify. Jesse Love and Kelly Kovski did not make a qualifying lap, and had to start the race from the rear.
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 2 | Landen Lewis | Rette Jones Racing with Austin Theriault | Toyota | 34.236 | 105.152 |
| 2 | 24 | Ryan Unzicker | Hendren Motorsports | Chevrolet | 34.349 | 104.807 |
| 3 | 20 | Corey Heim | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 35.596 | 101.135 |
| 4 | 18 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 35.634 | 101.027 |
| 5 | 10 | Ken Schrader | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 35.940 | 100.167 |
| 6 | 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 36.033 | 99.908 |
| 7 | 46 | Taylor Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 36.189 | 99.478 |
| 8 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 38.214 | 94.206 |
| 9 | 12 | D. L. Wilson | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 38.827 | 92.719 |
| 10 | 27 | Zachary Tinkle | Richmond Clubb Motorsports | Toyota | 39.638 | 90.822 |
| 11 | 01 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Chevrolet | 39.685 | 90.714 |
| 12 | 11 | Owen Smith | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 41.269 | 87.233 |
| 13 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 44.157 | 81.527 |
| 14 | 06 | Wayne Peterson | Wayne Peterson Racing | Chevrolet | 58.780 | 61.245 |
| 15 | 15 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | - | - |
| 16 | 16 | Kelly Kovski | Roy Kovski Racing | Chevrolet | - | - |
| Official qualifying results |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Landen Lewis | Rette Jones Racing with Austin Theriault | Toyota | 104 | 104 | running | 49 |
| 2 | 4 | 18 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 104 | 0 | running | 42 |
| 3 | 5 | 10 | Ken Schrader | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 104 | 0 | running | 41 |
| 4 | 2 | 24 | Ryan Unzicker | Hendren Motorsports | Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | running | 40 |
| 5 | 7 | 46 | Taylor Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 103 | 0 | running | 39 |
| 6 | 11 | 01 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | running | 38 |
| 7 | 3 | 20 | Corey Heim | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 95 | 0 | overheating | 37 |
| 8 | 10 | 27 | Zachary Tinkle | Richmond Clubb Motorsports | Toyota | 76 | 0 | overheating | 36 |
| 9 | 6 | 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 57 | 0 | overheating | 35 |
| 10 | 15 | 15 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 54 | 0 | overheating | 34 |
| 11 | 9 | 12 | D. L. Wilson | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 38 | 0 | suspension | 33 |
| 12 | 8 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 35 | 0 | oil leak | 32 |
| 13 | 12 | 11 | Owen Smith | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 9 | 0 | overheating | 31 |
| 14 | 13 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | brakes | 30 |
| 15 | 14 | 06 | Wayne Peterson | Wayne Peterson Racing | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | transmission | 29 |
| 16 | 16 | 16 | Kelly Kovski | Roy Kovski Racing | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | did not start | 0 |