This Labor Day weekend, the state fairgrounds will, weather permitting, host the Springfield Mile as well as a makeup race that had been scheduled for Memorial Day but was scratched due to rain.

The fun begins Thursday, Aug. 29, with vintage motorcycle racing at the all-purpose arena. There will be short track racing with modern bikes on Friday, with main events, each set for 25 laps around the grandstand track, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Look out for the FBI, aka Fast Boys from Illinois, a group of homegrown racers that includes Jeffrey Carver, Jr. Just three Illinoisans have won the Springfield Mile during the past eight decades or so, and Carver, who took the checkered flag in 2018, is the latest winner from the Land of Lincoln. Carver, 28, grew up in Godfrey and is the son of a retired racer. He’s known for an unabashed, nonconformist style.

Motorcycle racers have long memories, and so the Rookies of ’79, a name inspired by a group of retired racers who began their careers 40 years ago, will hold a fundraiser on Saturday to benefit injured racers. The group started in 2013 with $600 in donations from retired motorcycle racers and has raised more than $2 million, according to Charlie Roberts of Springfield, one of the rookies from long ago who now heads the charitable group. Fans who wish to help fix shattered femurs and the like while rubbing shoulders with legendary racers will have a chance to bid on flat-track memorabilia and equipment at the Orr Building with all proceeds going to a worthy cause. The event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Charity-Organization/Flat-Track- Memorabilia-Auctions-by-Rookies-of-79-299702027302929/. –Catherine O’Connor