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racefan20 (Offline)
  #11 3/15/16 7:27 PM
Went there in the late 80's for an ARTGO race that featured most of the ASA stars at the time. Great race and enjoyed the place. I dont do much pavement these days but I hope someone can save the place.

John Hoover

“To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.” Epicurus
2 Likes: fish, nathans1012
Stevensville Mike (Offline)
  #12 3/15/16 7:44 PM
Ohhhhhhh....... saw a few good ones at Illiana back in the last decade, or so. Saw a 17 (or maybe 18) year old Brian Vickers win a Hooters Pro Cup race there. And as stated earlier in the thread, when ASA was in their heyday before Steve Dale destroyed it, those were some good races at Illiana.

Social media my -ss. You treat people right and don't give them a reason to complain and everything will take care of itself. Do you think Kokomo or Bloomington have a social media problem? You know why? I'll give you one guess.

If tracks have a prob with social media..... well..... maybe they deserve it.

On the other hand, the track can also USE social media to benefit themselves and their position. Promoting.... rebuttal.... the proper spin....

But in all honesty, I do not need social media to turn me on or off about a place. I pretty much know it from past history. I am the fan. I have the $$$. Do me right and all will fall into place for all.
2 Likes: chrismattlin, jdull99
BrentTFunk (Offline)
  #13 3/15/16 9:27 PM
Actually one of the reasons given in an article in Sprint and Midget by the Miles family when they quit promoting Bloomington was social media. In my opinion there were no nicer people than them.
Likes: fish
Sprintcarfanatic (Offline)
  #14 3/16/16 6:13 PM
Is 30 the only way in & out of Illiana ? Been by the place several times when I go to Sauk Village.
LJC77 (Offline)
  #15 3/16/16 6:14 PM
Yes
Sprintcarfanatic (Offline)
  #16 3/16/16 6:42 PM
I could see where that would be mess getting into & out of but there is not a lot of lights right around there.
flagboy55 (Offline)
  #17 3/17/16 2:12 AM
I live 15 minutes away from Illiana. For me it's more that they race stock cars, as opposed to any other reason I don't go. Big picture, I think it's more dirt vs asphalt. As Mr Funk and others have said, pavement is hurting. I have to say, Illiana is a pretty much follow the leader kind of track. It got better after the resurfacing, but still mostly one lane. I hope it somehow stays open, and I hate to disagree with Nathan, but the answer is to plow it up. Make it a special event track that runs 8 or 10 events a year. The neighbors wouldn't be quite as pissed off not running every week, and all the big draws could race there. Both woo series, all of usac divisions could run there, Lucas oil late models. All these groups have one thing in common, DIRT!
3 Likes: fish, R A K, spicoli
sp33dy (Offline)
  #18 3/17/16 8:57 AM
Originally Posted by flagboy55:
The neighbors wouldn't be quite as pissed off not running every week, !
To Blazes with the neighbors! The track opened in 1947 when the area was rural. The neighbors chose to build or buy houses near an operating race track, then wanted the race track to go away. If people do not like living next to a race track, why do they buy or build houses there? The heck with them!
8 Likes: chrismattlin, Joe T, nathans1012, oldfan49, PIT CART, ronmil, spicoli, tubemaster
Stevensville Mike (Offline)
  #19 3/17/16 10:06 AM
Originally Posted by sp33dy:
To Blazes with the neighbors! The track opened in 1947 when the area was rural. The neighbors chose to build or buy houses near an operating race track, then wanted the race track to go away. If people do not like living next to a race track, why do they buy or build houses there? The heck witsh them!
Yeah, I feel the same on that topic, sp33dy. I remember a few years back outside of South Bend there was this housing sub-division petitioning their local board members because of a very malodorous hog farm a few miles away. Same situation - the hog farm was there long before the houses. The builders sold the buyers on being "out of the city and in the country". They hit that nail right on the head.

Now, in Illiana's case..... this might not be part of it but I can remember 20 years, or so, ago when Hartford Speedway first reopened, as dirt, the city of Hartford has a curfew agreement with the track. No heats starting after 11:00 p.m...... or maybe it was midnight. I cannot remember. But said curfew was broken many times and this lead to bad interaction between the city, citizens, and track owner. Anyone who went to the Wolverine Nationals Midget Event there the one year will also say it lead to bad interaction between the track owner and FANS, too. All all day event with a 40 lap feature cut short by the curfew. But this was all track prep fault.

So, in a curfew case, I could see the neighbors' beef. But when it comes to buying and selling a house, anyone with any experience will tell you location is everything.

Is that Hooters restaurant still on the corner on I-65 and US-30?
nathans1012 (Offline)
  #20 3/17/16 11:54 AM
Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike:
Yeah, I feel the same on that topic, sp33dy. I remember a few years back outside of South Bend there was this housing sub-division petitioning their local board members because of a very malodorous hog farm a few miles away. Same situation - the hog farm was there long before the houses. The builders sold the buyers on being "out of the city and in the country". They hit that nail right on the head.

Now, in Illiana's case..... this might not be part of it but I can remember 20 years, or so, ago when Hartford Speedway first reopened, as dirt, the city of Hartford has a curfew agreement with the track. No heats starting after 11:00 p.m...... or maybe it was midnight. I cannot remember. But said curfew was broken many times and this lead to bad interaction between the city, citizens, and track owner. Anyone who went to the Wolverine Nationals Midget Event there the one year will also say it lead to bad interaction between the track owner and FANS, too. All all day event with a 40 lap feature cut short by the curfew. But this was all track prep fault.

So, in a curfew case, I could see the neighbors' beef. But when it comes to buying and selling a house, anyone with any experience will tell you location is everything.

Is that Hooters restaurant still on the corner on I-65 and US-30?
Yes the Hooters is still there.

2024 Season: Race 1 - April 20th Brownstown (Crate LM). Unlike many I don't discriminate on what racing I choose to watch.
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