Residents fight to save the Immokalee Regional Raceway

IMMOKALEE, Fla. —

The Immokalee Regional Raceway, operated by the Hester family for 27 years, is set to close by the end of the month, despite petitions with more than 11,000 signatures from supporters trying to save it.

Julia Martin grew up going to the track and shared her family's connection to the raceway, saying, "My dad's been doing it for 15 years. He goes on the weekends. Every time my son's able to go, he goes with them." She expressed concern about the closure, noting, "So he's definitely going to be upset about it."

The plan is to convert the raceway into an airport hangar as part of the expansion of the Immokalee Regional Airport.

Ralph Hester, owner of the Raceway, made a last-ditch effort before the commissioners to either keep the raceway or build a new one. He originally built the track to prevent kids from racing in the streets, and proposed to the commissioners for 45 acres of land to build a new track on, but the commissioners had no comment.

Julia Martin highlighted the economic impact, stating, "We talk to a lot of businesses. They all said that they get a lot of business from it, so they're also worried about it shutting down because it helps them with their livelihood."

Roger Ronk from Lehigh Acres expressed concerns about street racing, saying, "We would go there, and we would race on the track instead of the street. Growing up, a lot of my friends did race on the street. I know better. But with the track leaving now, it's probably bad news."

Supporters are hopeful that one day a new track will open to keep the family traditions of racing along the Gulf Coast.

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