NASCAR Stars Coming To The Illinois State Fair

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – NASCAR drivers Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace are entered to race in the second annual UMP Modified Dirt Car Series Illini Dash. The event will be held at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand Saturday, Aug. 18. It is a 20-mile event ran in conjunction with the USAC Tony Bettenhausen 100.

Both famous racers have competed on the world’s fastest dirt track before, but not for several years. It will be Schrader’s first visit since he ran in the Allen Crowe 100 ARCA event in 2009. He also took first place at the UMP Modified race in 1998 and has several victories in the ARCA Stock Cars and Midget races at the State Fair as well. Wallace will be racing in Springfield for the first time since he won first place in the street stock race on the Springfield Mile in October of 1983.

Defending champion Shelby Miles of Bloomington, Ind., and Joey Kramer of Hanover, Ind., are expected to join the race along with several local drivers. The Illini Dash will be held at 1 p.m. immediately prior to the USAC Tony Bettenhausen 100.

Director’s Lawn to host USDA anniversary celebration

USDA agencies in Illinois will mark the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture tomorrow on Ag Day at the State Fair.  The celebration, which begins at 10:30 a.m. on the Director’s Lawn, will highlight the impact USDA has had on the lives of Americans each day since 1862 when President Lincoln signed legislation creating the agency. USDA also will  recognize former Secretary of Agriculture John Block and commemorate the Morrill Act, Lincoln’s establishment of the public land grant universities.

Not-So-Newlywed game a good time for all

Laughter filled the Illinois Building Auditorium on the state fairgrounds today where the “Not-So Newlywed” game, a spoof of the popular TV game show, took place.

Eleven couples left no stone of their marriage unturned as they were tested on how well they knew one another.

First, the women were each asked four questions while their husbands waited in another room.  After all the questions were asked the couples took turns answering.  Then it was the men’s turn to be asked four different questions while their wives waited.

The winning couple, Bill and Deb Singer of Petersburg, only missed one of the eight questions.  They have been married for 18 years. 

The winning couple says they owe their victory to playing the actual game. After Bill went through a surgery, they needed something fun to do at home so they played the “The Newlywed Game” when Deb got home from work.

“We thought we probably knew the most about each other since we played (The Newlywed Game) at home,” Deb said. 

The second and third place winners were decided by a coin flip. The second place couple was Gary and Linda McCandless of Springfield, and the third place couple was Eugene and Mary Jane Heid, also of Springfield.