Magic on the Midway

Yesterday I made my second trip to the Magic Mile at DuQuoin State Fair Speedway. The beautiful USAC Silver Crown Cars were on tap and the weather consisted of blue skies and warm temperatures. It was the kind of day that makes one welcome the setting of the sun and the coolness of evening.

There is something awe-inspiring about this mile-sized dirt track carved from the Illinois countryside, especially when you are used to tracks that are anywhere from a quarter- to a half-mile. No matter your vantage point, at most tracks you can see everything that is going on all through a race. On a track the size of DuQuoin, it can get pretty tough to keep up with the action in the back stretch or a far corner, which actually makes for some fun surprises coming down the front straightaway.

During last night's race, Shane Cottle led flag-to-flag, but that does not mean the race was boring. There were a lot of little battles going on all through the field, and several drivers made some pretty impressive advances. I loved it that they opted to start 32 cars in the feature, rather than the traditional 24, but I did miss the introductions and pre-race line up in front of the grandstands this year. There's a sort of pageantry to that which would have been nice, but knowing that it takes time and a lot of folks have long drives home, I can understand the change.

My Dad and I got to spend a lot of time in the pits together while my husband, our daughter and her boyfriend wandered around to see the sites of the fair. Everyone enjoyed the different foods offered too. My daughter (the amateur baker) raved over some huge hand-made cinnamon rolls she discovered and my Dad was crazy for the lemonade. For me, chocolate ice cream did the trick.

All-in-all it was a wonderful day and I really enjoyed getting to photograph the big, beautiful Silver Crown cars again. It is a once-a-year experience that I truly love. My deepest thanks to the folks at Track Enterprises for allowing me to do it again. I hope everyone enjoys the pictures!