Sad News UPDATE: A driver was killed Sunday during a 100-mile ARCA race at the Illinois State Fair. The man, whose identity was not released, was pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Roberta Churchill said. WTAX radio said the driver missed the entrance to the pits and crashed into a wall head-on. The station reported that three people in the infield were hurt. The race was the Allen Crowe Memorial 100. It was named for Crowe, a race car driver who died in 1963. No other information was immediately available.(That’s Racin’) AND Veteran ARCA stock car driver Dean Roper died at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield this afternoon after an accident in which his Ford slowed on the frontstretch and impacted the inside retaining wall on lap 17 of the ARCA race at the mile dirt Illinois State Fairgrounds track. There were no visible injuries and Roper was unconscious when safety teams arrived. The Fair Grove, Missouri driver was then transported to Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. There were no other injuries as a result of the accident. Roper, 62, was the USAC Stock driving champion 1981-82-83 and was the winningest ARCA RE/MAX driver on dirt with 9 career victories, including 3 at the Springfield mile. He became the 2nd oldest driver to record an ARCA victory when he won at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 1994 at age 55. The majority of Ropers success came at the wheel of stock cars fielded by the Mueller Brothers Racing Team of Random Lake, Wisconsin. Roper drove his first race in 1960 and was a 5-time St. Louis-area short track champion from 1967-73 prior to his national championship racing success. Roper is survived by wife Marilyn and brother Dale Roper, both of whom were at the track on Sunday. Ropers son, race driver Tony Roper, was fatally injured in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway.(ARCA Racing Site)(8-19-2001) UPDATE: Dean Roper suffered a fatal heart attack during the ARCA series race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, according to Susan Boone, Sangamon County Coroner. Roper suffered no other injuries in the single-car incident during which his Ford slowed on the frontstretch, gradually veered to the left and struck the inside retaining wall three times on lap 17 of the race, finally stopping against the wall at the pit road exit. Roper, unconscious when safety teams arrived, was transported to Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.(That’s Racin’)(8-20-2001) Details: information on services for Dean Roper can be found on the Tony Roper site (8-21-2001) (8-20-2001)
