Indiana Open Wheel - View Single Post - Illiana closed for 2016

nathans1012 (Offline)
#8 3/15/16 4:17 PM

Originally Posted by The Old Coyote:
Attendance has been awful the last few years and I don't know why. It is a really nice track (considering it is paved and the cars have fenders!) and the owner poured a ton of money into it after he bought from the original owner. I was there for the last race last year, the Bettenhausen, which has always been one of the premier races. The car count was decent, around 24 or 25 late models and the the race was decent. I was shocked at how few fans were in the stands when I left the pits to watch the feature! The stands were literally empty!

The following Saturday night was a demolition derby and school bus races and I happened to be driving home down Route 30 around 5:30 PM. The parking lot (which is very large) was full to capacity and traffic was backed up in both directions on Route 30! So, it is obvious the people know the track is there.

It seems to me there is no interest in pavement racing because Plymouth is an hour away and the switch from pavement to dirt seems to have breathed new life into that place.

I see your not to far from me. Being in Hobart Illiana is only 20 minutes away for me. That track has to be one of the cleanest tracks I've been too in 30 years of going to the races. Seen some good races there over the years. Hope the next person that buys it keeps it a race track. The PRA (Silver Crown Cars) show a few years back was a good one "South Shore 125". Seen the old ASA series there back in 2002 and that was a dandy for 300 laps. From what I understand Mike wants $3.5 million for the facility. He put a ton of money into it when he bought the track in 1999 (new cement walls, complete repave of the 1/2 mile and added in inner 1/4 mile, New aluminum grandstands, ect.). Hope to see the track reopen this year or next year with a new owner that keeps it an asphalt track.

2025 Season - TBA

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