SPRINGFIELD IL, 8-19-01 - ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader Frank Kimmel won
the PAR-A-DICE 100 here Sunday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile dirt
in Springfield, a race marred by the death of veteran stock car driver Dean
Roper.
Veteran ARCA stock car driver 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
RE/MAX Series PAR-A-DICE 100 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
RE/MAX Series victory when he won at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 1994 at
age 55. The majority of Roper's 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.
Roper's son, race driver Tony Roper, was fatally injured in a NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series race in 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway.
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My thoughts go out to the Roper family. Unfortunately, this isn't the first
time that they've had to go through this.
Arthur Rymer