Countdown: Illinois

The Land of Lincoln stretches from the skyscrapers along Lake Michigan to the cornfields on the banks of the Mississippi River. In between, some 12 million people work and play.

Chicago is that toddling town -- or as Sammy Kahn put it, my kind of town, Chicago is. Paper Lace had a completely forgetable hit in the '70s with "The Night Chicago Died."

Daytona may be the birthplace of speed and Indianapolis the greatest spectacle in racing, but Illinois can claim its place as the location of the first automobile race between gasoline-powered vehicles in the United States. Frank Duryea averaged 7.3 mph to win $2,000 over five other contestants in a race from Chicago to Evanston in November of 1895.

Best behind the wheel

• Fred Lorenzen, Elmhurst

NASCAR's first "Golden Boy," Lorenzen built a small car out of junk parts and an old washing machine motor when he was 13. The police reportedly confiscated it because it went too fast.

In high school, he won $100 for finishing first in a demolition derby, then decided that racing modifieds and stock cars was the way to supplement his income as a union carpenter.

In 1956, Lorenzen first dabbled in NASCAR, running seven races in his Chevrolet but finishing no better than 20th.

Inside the Numbers Fred Lorenzen's Cup career Year Races W T5 T10 1956 7 0 0 0 1960 10 0 3 5 1961 15 3 6 6 1962 19 2 11 12 1963 29 6 21 23 1964 16 8 10 10 1965 17 4 5 6 1966 11 2 6 6 1967 5 1 2 2 1970 7 0 1 1 1971 14 0 7 9 1972 8 0 3 4 Totals 158 26 75 84

Returning to the USAC stock car ranks, Lorenzen won five races in 1958 and six more the following year. That gave him the confidence he needed to try NASCAR again in 1960, this time in a Ford.

Without the factory support of the bigger teams, Lorenzen was still able to run eighth in the 1960 Daytona 500, which caught the eye of Ralph Moody, co-owner of Holman Moody and official racing contractor for Ford.

It was a perfect match. Lorenzen's first win came at Martinsville in May of 1961. He would go on to win at Darington and Atlanta that season, then add victories at Atlanta and Augusta the following season.

Earning a reputation as a superspeedway ace, "Fearless Freddie" racked up an amazing 23 top-10s in 29 races in 1963, including victories at Atlanta and the World 600 at Charlotte, and finished third in the standings behind Joe Weatherly and Richard Petty, who had both run nearly twice as many races as Lorenzen. He became the first NASCAR driver to earn more than $100,000 in a single season, as he made $122, 587.

Choosing to run only 16 races in 1964, Lorenzen won half of them, including five consecutive starts as he continued to dominate at Atlanta, Darlington and Charlotte.

Lorenzen reached the pinnacle of his profession in 1965 when he lapped the entire field on his way to victory in the rain-shortened Daytona 500. He would win six more races before deciding to retire in 1967.

Three years later, Lorenzen came back to win the pole at Atlanta and finish third at Charlotte, but he and his father were involved in a traffic accident that left his father seriously injured. Lorenzen would run only 23 more races over the next two seasons before becoming successful in real estate.

Other noteworthy drivers from Illinois

• Tom Pistone, Chicago: "Tiger Tom" scored wins at Trenton and Richmond in 1959

• Jerry Roedell, Peoria: Only NASCAR start for Peoria's all-time most popular driver came at Charlotte in 1960

• Bob Schacht, Lombard: Current Truck Series crew chief made 23 Cup starts from 1981-94

• Bobby Wawak, Villa Park: 14 top-10s in 141 Cup starts over a 16-year career that ended in 1987

We wish ...

Football legend Red Grange had become a NASCAR driver.

The "Galloping Ghost" from Wheaton is enshrined in both the college and pro football halls of fame -- and was so impressive in his day that sports writer Grantland Rice called him "A streak of fire, a breath of flame eluding all who reach and clutch." Sounds like a night race at Richmond.

Keeping it on the track

	ACCELERATION 2006 There's more to the new season than just driver changes. Read more about what to watch for as we rev toward Daytona.  •   Testing archive,  click here •   Complete coverage, click here Preseason ThunderMarty Smith catches up with Jimmie Johnson at Daytona testing New and improvedGordon knows the road back to the top won't be easy Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

• Chicagoland Speedway

An informal meeting in 1995 between NASCAR President Bill France Jr. and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George led to the idea of putting a speedway close to metropolitan Chicago. Six years later, the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, 40 miles from downtown Chicago, began hosting Cup and Busch Series races.

• Gateway International Raceway

In the shadow of the famous St. Louis Arch, Gateway International Raceway offers Midwestern race fans a menu of Busch and Craftsman Truck Series events in a complex that includes a lighted, 1.25-mile oval and a championship drag racing facility.

Gone but not forgotten

• Soldier Field, Chicago

Mainly thought of as the long-time home of the NFL's Chicago Bears, the 100,000-seat stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan hosted the Jack Dempsey-Gene Tunney championship fight in 1927, track and field competitions and several major college football games, including Army-Navy and Notre Dame-USC.

The stadium also contained a half-mile oval, which was normally used for midget and motorcycle racing. However, in 1956, NASCAR swung through for its only race at Soldier Field. Twenty-five cars started the 200-lapper, with Fireball Roberts averaging 61.037 mph to win $850, considerably less than Frank Duryea won 60 years earlier.

The racetrack was torn out in 1970.

Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races

• Santa Fe Speedway, Willow Springs: Dick Rathmann beat Herb Thomas the only time NASCAR visited the dirt half-mile, in 1954

• Peoria Speedway, Peoria: High-banked dirt quarter-mile on the Dodge Weekly Series schedule has been in operation since 1950

• Rockford Speedway, Rockford: This Dodge Weekly Series quarter-mile crowned Ricky Bilderback as its Late Model champion in 2005

A word from our sponsor

• Sears, Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates

With revenues in 2004 of $36.1 billion, Sears offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,400 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the U.S. and Canada, which includes approximately 870 full-line and 1,100 specialty stores in the U.S. Its Craftsman brand is the title sponsor of the Craftsman Truck Series.

Other corporations with NASCAR ties in Illinois include Allstate (Northbrook), International Truck & Engine Co. (Warrenville), Raybestos (McHenry), Airtex Automotive (Fairfield), Midtronics, Inc. (Willowbrook), Victory Wheels (Chicago) and The Plastics Group (Willowbrook).