DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, Oval

DuQuoin State Fairgrounds is a one-mile dirt oval in Du Quoin, Illinois, nicknamed "The Magic Mile." Built on reclaimed strip-mined land (constructed 1946), it has hosted premier championship racing since 1948, when AAA, and later USAC and ARCA, brought national events to the track. On October 10, 1948 driver Ted Horn was killed here when a spindle broke on his championship car; the USAC Silver Crown dirt-car race, the Ted Horn 100, is run in his honor. The circuit remains one of the last great one-mile dirt ovals still hosting top-level competition. Its marquee events include the ARCA Menards Series' Southern Illinois 100, the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100, and the American Flat Track DuQuoin Mile. The surrounding fairgrounds, which opened in 1923, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (July 1990). The venue is owned and operated by the State of Illinois through the Department of Agriculture and hosts the annual DuQuoin State Fair each late summer.

Operated by: State of Illinois (Illinois Department of Agriculture)