OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — Bill Allen, who has spent more than 60 years in the sport, was named the fifth recipient of the Forrest Lucas Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions both on and off to the track during Saturday’s Lucas Oil Speedway awards banquet at Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake of the Ozarks.
Allen’s racing story began more than 60 years ago while he began racing a 1953 Ford with the No. 13 on its side at the old Humansville Speedway. Later, the baby blue No. 1 would become his signature.
The early racing run was brief as Allen enlisted at age 25 and went to fight for his country in the Vietnam war. He returned home to Wheatland after his service was complete and, after a nine-year break from racing, resumed a successful and winning career.
One of his best years came in 1972 when he won every race at Humansville. He loved racing at the Springfield Fairgrounds where he raced with other greats during the track’s glory years of competition, including his friend Rex Merritt until about 1983.
Allen also competed at Lebanon and Bolivar and was a regular on both dirt and asphalt. He competed at the Bolivar Speedway for parts of four decades.
About 1996, he bought 20 acres in Urbana and told wife Patty he planned to build a race track. Dallas County Speedway opened in July of 1997 and has been a staple of the area racing scene ever since.
As a track owner and promoter, Allen helped introduce the Ozarks to B-Mod racing as an alternative to the higher-cost Modified division. Bill was honored by the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009.
Allen joins previous Forrest Lucas Lifetime Achievement Award winners Rex Merritt (2017), Jim Ruble (2018), Kevin Fletcher (2019) and Kent Smith (2020).
Driver Dillon McCowan not only was recognized for his championship in the Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified division, the 17-year-old star won fan voting for Most Popular Driver along with having Best Appearing Race Car as determined by speedway personnel.
McCowan edged O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars driver Darren Phillips by one vote in Most Popular Driver voting to win that award for the first time. Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod driver JC Morton was third.
Other division champions recognized were Cole Henson of Russellville, a repeat winner in the ULMA Late Models; Lebanon’s Kris Jackson, celebrating his sixth Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod title and Waynesville’s David Hendrix in the O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars.