- The Southern Illinois 100 is the 16th race of the 20-race 2023 ARCA Menards Series season. It will be the 42nd time the ARCA Menards Series has raced at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
- Jesse Love enters the Southern Illinois 100 with a 120-point lead in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings over second-place Andres Perez. Hollywood actor-turned-racecar driver Frankie Muniz is third, 13 points out of second.
- Brent Crews, who won at the Illinois State Fairgrounds two weeks ago, is the only driver eligible to win the Performance Seed Dirt Double $20,000 bonus, which goes to a driver that can win both ARCA Menards Series dirt track races in 2023. Should Crews win, his total payout including race purse and special awards, could approach $35,000.
- Since the two Illinois fairgrounds dirt miles were added to the ARCA Menards Series schedule in 1983, a driver has swept the wins at both tracks a total of ten times: Dean Roper did it twice in 1983 and 1986, Bob Keselowski did it in 1988 and 1989, Bob Brevak did it in 1990, Frank Kimmel did it four times in 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2008, and Parker Kligerman did it most recently in 2009.
- Should Crews not claim the $20,000 bonus, the driver with the best average finish in the two dirt track races will earn a bonus of $7,500. The driver with the second-best average finish will take home $5,000 and the driver with the third-best average finish will take home $2,500.
- Jesse Love has won eight of the 15 ARCA Menards Series races that have been held so far in 2023; he has wins at Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Elko Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and Watkins Glen International.
- Crews became the second-youngest winner in ARCA Menards Series history with his win at Springfield at 15 years, 4 months, 21 days; Todd Gilliland is the youngest winner in series history, winning at Toledo Speedway in 2015 at 15 years, 0 months, 2 days of age.
- Previous ARCA Menards Series winners at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds include Jerry Unser (1957), Jimmy Bryan (1957), Fred Lorenzen (1958, 1959), Dean Roper (1983, 1986, 1987, 1994), David Goldsberry (1985), Lee Raymond (1985), Bob Keselowski (1988, 1989), Bob Brevak (1990), Bob Strait (1991), Bob Schacht (1992), Billy Thomas (1993,1997, 1998, 2000), Bob Hill (1995, 1996), Jeff Finley (1999), Frank Kimmel (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008), Tony Stewart (2002), Ken Schrader (2006, 2007, 2013), Parker Kligerman (2009), Steve Arpin (2010), Chris Buescher (2011), Grant Enfinger (2014, 2015), Tom Hessert III (2016), Austin Theriault (2017), Logan Seavey (2018), Christian Eckes (2019), Landen Lewis (2021), and Ryan Unzicker (2022).
- Sheldon Creed holds the ARCA Menards Series track qualifying record at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, set in 2018, at 31.804 seconds/113.190 miles per hour.
- Christian Eckes holds the ARCA Menards Series 100-mile race record at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, set in 2019, at 1 hour, 5 minutes, 8 seconds/91.119 miles per hour.
- The record for the most caution flags in a 100-mile ARCA Menards Series race at DuQuoin is 12, for a record 57 laps, set in 2003. The fewest caution flags in a 100-mile ARCA Menards Series race at DuQuoin is 2 for 12 laps in 2019.
- The record for the most lead changes in a 100-mile ARCA Menards Series race at DuQuoin in 10, set in 2005. The fewest lead changes is one, in 2009, 2021, and 2022.
- There have been three different race distances for races in the modern era (post-1979) at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. From 1984 through 1991, the scheduled race distance was 200 miles, while from 1992 through 1995 the race was scheduled for 156 miles/250 kilometers. In 1983 and then from 1996 through the present the race has been scheduled for 100 miles.
- The race has been shortened by inclement weather three times, 1991, 2004, and 2022, and postponed and then canceled altogether in 2012. The race has been extended into overtime eleven times, the most recent in 2021.
- Should there be a restart within the final 10 laps of the race, or any overtime restart, those restarts will be single file. Lead lap cars will be at the front of the line, followed by lap down cars, as they were running unless they pitted or are under penalty.
- Should the race need to be extended into overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a two-lap “green-white-checkered” finish. Should the caution flag be displayed after the white flag is displayed, there will be unlimited attempts at a one-lap “green and white together” finish.
ARCA PR
