FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                CONTACT:     John Herath

Aug. 19, 2001                                                                          PHONE:          217/524-2751

FAX:                217/782-9857

TDD:                217/524-6858

INTERNET:     www.state.il.us/fair

 

 

STATE FAIR MOURNS LOSS OF VETERAN ARCA DRIVER DEAN ROPER

 

 

SPRINGFIELD, ILL – ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader Frank Kimmel won the PAR-A-DICE 100 Sunday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile dirt track in Springfield.  It was not a sweet victory for Kimmel, however, as veteran ARCA driver Dean Roper died following a crash on the front stretch.

ARCA President Ron Drager issued the following statement following the accident:

“Veteran ARCA stock car driver Dean Roper died at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield this afternoon after an accident in which his Ford slowed on the frontstretch and impacted the inside retaining wall on lap 17 of the ARCA RE/MAX Series PAR-A-DICE 100 at the mile dirt Illinois State Fairgrounds track.

“There were no visible injuries and Roper was unconscious when safety teams arrived. The Fair Grove, Missouri driver was then transported to Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. There were no other injuries as a result of the accident.

“Roper, 62, was the USAC Stock driving champion 1981-82-83 and was the winningest ARCA RE/MAX driver on dirt with 9 career victories, including 3 at the Springfield mile. He became the 2nd oldest driver to record an ARCA RE/MAX Series victory when he won at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 1994 at age 55. The majority of Roper’s success came at the wheel of stock cars fielded by the Mueller Brothers Racing Team of Random Lake, Wisconsin. Roper drove his first race in 1960 and was a 5-time St. Louis-area short track champion from 1967-73 prior to his national championship racing success.

“Roper is survived by wife Marilyn and brother Dale Roper, both of whom were at the track on Sunday. Roper’s son, race driver Tony Roper, was fatally injured in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway.”

 “This is a loss that is felt very deeply by everyone involved with the State Fair,” added Illinois State Fair Manager Bud Ford.  “Dean has won more times than anyone on this track and has been racing here longer than some of these guys have around.  A lot of people were in the grandstands today just to cheer him on.  All of our prayers will be with the Roper family as they return to Missouri tonight.”

The free performance of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra with Karen Deal, Music Director, was followed by a fireworks display to close out the fair.

Abe=s Amble

 

Dan Gray of Peoria blew away the competition, finishing the 10K run in 32:07, 26 seconds in front of Bob Cisler of Clarendon Hills. Paul Rollet of Chatham won the 2-mile race with a final time of 10 minutes and 17 seconds, trumping last year’s time of 10:52.   The Illinois State Fair, Sports Radio 1450-WFMB, Primo Designs, AthletiCare, Ron Mason Lawn Care, Congressman Ray La Hood, BodyCare Association, Rudin Printing, Spinner Plastics and The Springfield Running Center sponsored the annual 10K and 2 mile running event. The race was open to all runners ranging from 14 years and under to 60 years and over.  Participants ran from the fairgrounds for a distance of 6.2 miles or 2 miles.  Winners and times are as follows:

 10K Run

 

Men                                                                           

First Place:                   Dan Gray                                 Peoria, IL                                 32:07

Second Place:               Bob Cisler                                Clarendon Hills, IL                   32:33

Third Place:                  Antwan Garnett                        Springfield, IL                           32:46

 

 

Women

First Place:                   Peggy Shadid                           Peoria, IL                                 38:44

Second Place:               Karen Rogers                           Springfield, IL                           39:10

Third Place:                  Nic Zinn                                   Decatur, IL                               39:13

 

 

2 Mile Run

 

Men

First Place:                   Paul Rollet                                Chatham, IL                             10:17

Second Place:               Abe Ramirez                            Athens, IL                                10:27

Third Place:                  Jeremy Wheeler                        Springfield, IL                           10:31

 

 

Women

First Place:                   Mary McKenna                        Mason City, IL                         14:51

Second Place:               Erica Virgin                              Litchfield, IL                             15:26

Third Place:                  Patty Schafer                            Springfield, IL                           13:14

 

 

ARCA Allen Crown Memorial Auto Races

 

Car #46, driven by Frank Kimmel of Jeffersonville, IN, took first place today in the ARCA auto races at the Illinois State Fair. Frank Kimmel is sponsored by Advanced Auto Parts, and Pork White Meat. Second place went to Bob Strait, in car #66, sponsored by Dauphin Tech. Jason Jarrett in car #67 sponsored by Damon RV-Biomet received third place.

 

Chili Cook-Off

 

1st Place                                   Ehtel Butchek                           Springfield, IL

2nd Place                                  Mike Butchek                           Springfield, IL

3rd Place                                   Mary Markert                          Springfield, IL

4th Place                                   Ed Fahey                                  Springfield, IL

5th Place                                   Melissa Fulk                             Stonington, IL

Best Booth                               Greg Bestudick                         Springfield, IL

 

 

For more information about this year’s Illinois State Fair, visit the website at www.state.il.us/fair.

 

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