NATs back in 2014!

For the City of Du Quoin it was a chrome-plated leap of faith that a tamer Street Machine Nationals would return to Southern Illinois this past weekend.

The car show with over 2,000 participants came and went without any major incidents and Du Quoin State Fair manager John Rednour said Sunday night the show will be invited back for a second run in 2014.

"We are going to meet with them (Family Events, Inc) Tuesday to settle on everything and talk about the dates for next year's show," Rednour said.

In fact, the announcement was made Sunday afternoon in the grandstand at the fairgrounds as awards were presented and the Miss Street Machine Nationals competition was held to close the show.

"I think the show was a home run," said Rednour, who added that camping arrangements on the grounds and the after party Saturday night was a success. Some participants also headed for the I-57 drag strip south of Benton for various events, as well.

"The Cache River Band was great. Every vendor was ecstatic. It was a pleasant weekend," Rednour said.

Mayor Rex Duncan echoed Rednour's assessment. "There is no reason not for it to return." He lamented the fact that Du Quoin lost 15 years of the NATs between 1998 and 2013 after the show got out of control.

He said show sponsors are looking for the show to double to 5,000 participants in 2014.

Some residents felt state police were a little heavy-handed on the locals, but they were just doing their job during a weekend of unknowns. At one point Saturday, some 57 squad cars could be counted on local streets outside of the fairgrounds. Du Quoin police issued 25 tickets in three days for violations ranging from curfew and open beer. State police have not yet provided their numbers.

Rednour said traffic bottlenecks south and east of the fairgrounds were a problem, "but we've already figures that out for next year."