TEMPERANCE, Mich. — ARCA Menards Series teams that compete in both series races in the two Illinois fairgrounds mile-dirt races will again be racing for the $20,000 Audubon Park Dirt Double bonus, which is up for grabs if any driver can win at both the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
If no driver can sweep both races, the bonus money will be split among the drivers with the best average finish, with the $7,500 going to the driver with the best average in the two races, $5,000 for the second-best, and $2,500 for the third-best average finish.
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The last driver to win at both Springfield and DuQuoin in the same season was current NASCAR broadcast analyst Parker Kligerman in 2009. Driving for team owners Briggs Cunningham and Kerry Scherer, Kligerman won at Springfield after qualifying on the front row in his first race of any kind on dirt and then followed by racing from 34th at the start to take the lead at lap 55 and lead the rest of the way at DuQuoin to sweep both races.
Last year, eventual ARCA Menards Series champion Brenden “Butterbean” Queen earned the $7,500 bonus by having the best average finish in both races. After a fourth-place finish at Springfield, Queen, who races a dirt late model regularly near his Virginia home base, stormed to victory at DuQuoin to nail down a 2.5 average finish to barely edge out Springfield’s own Kelly Kovski who finished third in both races to claim the $5,000 runner-up prize.
In addition to the battle for the Audubon Park Dirt Double bonus, the race for the ARCA Menards Series championship will also be center stage at both Springfield and DuQuoin. Series points leader Jake Bollman heads to Sunday’s race at Springfield with just a seven-point advantage over his Nitro Motorsports teammate Thomas Annunziata.
Bollman is looking for his first ARCA Menards Series victory, while Annunziata, a two-time series winner on road courses, is still looking for his first oval track checkered flag.
