There were quite a few race cars mixed in with the tractors and combines this year at the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.
In addition Richard Childress and the American Ethanol NASCAR Sprint Series car at the Growth Energy exhibit, over at the Illinois Corn Growers exhibit, the Illinois Family Farmers NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kenny Wallace was signing autographs and doing interviews.
Wallace said he was “blown away” by the Farm Progress Show. “This is like our Daytona 500! I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said in an interview with Domestic Fuel’s Chuck Zimmerman. The Farm Progress Show is the biggest outdoor agricultural equipment show in the country, which rotates between permanent sites in Illinois and Iowa and boasts over 500 exhibitors.
Listen to Kenny Wallace interview from Farm Progress Show here. NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace
The next big races for Wallace and all of NASCAR are coming up Chicagoland on September 16-18. Speedway president Scott Paddock, who was also visiting Farm Progress Show last week, says that triple header NASCAR weekend is a the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – the first of ten ‘playoff’ style NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in pursuit of the 2011 championship. “NASCAR was looking for a major media market and a big platform to kick off their playoffs and they chose Chicagoland and we’re honored to have that designation,” he said, noting that the corn growers will have a very visible presence at the races.
Paddock says the partnership between NASCAR, ethanol and the corn growers was a good move. “I think it’s a compliment to the (15%) ethanol fuel blend that NASCAR believes in it enough to want to put it in their race cars.”
Listen to interview with Scott Paddock here. Chicagoland Raceway president Scott Paddock
The Fast Five 225 truck series will kick off the weekend on Friday, September 16. The Dollar General 300 Nationwide series, Kenny’s race, will be Saturday, Sept. 17 and the three day weekend will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 18 with the GEICO 400 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.