ARCA
Dean Roper died of heart attack
DEAN ROPER Born 12-26-38 Fair Grove, Missouri SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Veteran ARCA stock car driver Dean Roper suffered a fatal heart attack during the ARCA RE/MAX Series PAR-A-DICE 100 at the mile dirt Illinois State Fairgrounds and was pronounced ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
DEAN ROPER
Born 12-26-38
Fair Grove, Missouri
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Veteran ARCA stock car driver Dean Roper suffered a fatal heart attack during the ARCA RE/MAX Series PAR-A-DICE 100 at the mile dirt Illinois State Fairgrounds and was pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield Sunday afternoon, 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 impacted the inside retaining wall three times on lap 17 of the race, finally stopping when the car impacted the wall at the pit road exit. Roper, unconscious when safety teams arrived, was extricated and transported to Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Roper, 62, from Fair Grove Missouri, was the USAC Stock national champion driver in 1981-82-83 and recorded 10 career USAC Stock victories. He was the winningest active ARCA RE/MAX Series driver on dirt with 9 career victories, including 3 at the Springfield mile, where he also recorded 4 of his USAC wins. 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, for whom he was driving Sunday. 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 his wife Marilyn and brother Dale Roper, both of whom were at the track on Sunday, and mother Jean Roper and sisters Lois Davis, Becky Farmer, Jeri Roper, Sue Roper and Jana Setzer.
Roper's son, race driver Tony Roper, was fatally injured in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in October 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday evening and services for Thursday. Arrangements will be administrated by Greenlawn North Funeral Home in Springfield Missouri (417) 833-1111.
-ARCA-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Springfield results
Next article Berlin Speedway factsheet
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
Latest news
Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
42 min
Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version
Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
Jorge Martin concedes 2026 MotoGP title is “already lost” after Malaysian GP withdrawal
Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Martinsville
1 h
Layne Riggs had no problem with teammate going for the win despite title fight
MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
2 h
MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez claims pole from Marc Marquez; Jorge Martin out
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe