I-80 - 2022 will officialy be the tracks last season.

[stock car driver]

They have a 5 million offer for the LAND not as a track. They bought the track knowing that would be the end game eventually. Same as Eagle things are expanding that way. Eagle would be sold also as soon as someone wants the land bad enough.

If a buyer comes in and wants to match the current offer they will take it so it can stay a track.

[Fast Wheels]

The track is surrounded by open land. It’s crazy someone would pay thst price plus the cost to demolish it with other land in the area.

[huskerdirt]

It’s not as surrounded by open land as one would think. 5 years ago to today….. you can tell the track is getting swallowed up. Anybody that takes the exit off the interstate can tell some development is taking place.

CoPart and others are coming every piece of green grass at that exit.

[huskerdirt]

maybe should let this drop off the board but been thinking about what the kosiski family has meant to my fandom of this sport and moreover what they have meant to racing out this way.

Bob was a legend when i was a kid. wasn't my favorite (Charlie Summers #138 Harlan Iowa) but when he was in a race, he was the one to beat. didn't meet the man until many years later, long after he retired from behind the wheel. Maybe one of the most gracious legends i ever met. And in my experiences, if Bob was there, family matriarch Grace was somewhere near.

a generation later was joe, steve, and ed. racing professionalism at the local, regional, and even national level. they raced and won everywhere. Hawkeye Racing News was always full of articles and pictures of their successes.

personal stories of interactions: too many to mention. ed at adams county speedway. steve at freeport pits. joe's wins at iowa state fair speedway winning me a bunch of beers. and the first wdrl race in the bitter cold at davenport. but one stands out: wandering the pits at a track somewhere right after they purchased I-80. Just a stranger (me) ran into joe. congratulated him on the purchase. he pulled out his race check folder and pulled out the article from the omaha world herald. he seemed as proud as could be to share the story. and right then i knew with his pride the effort he would put into the venture.

fast forward to today... been watching Bob and Grace's grandchildren continue the racing tradition. but the decision to step away from I-80 has me feeling old. a well deserved retirement.

but (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word), what they have meant to racing in this area!!! not sure what will take the place for the weekly racers in the area. hopefully all will find a place to continue to race. the last thing local racing needs is the loss of a weekly program. but i guess the area teams survived when sunset speedway closed...

last call: thank you to all the kosiski's. i have great respect for all you have done and what it has meant to racing and to me. best wishes to whatever the future may bring.

Good stuff Klem.

I remember when I-80 opened. I was 9 years old and couldn’t wait to go. It was like nothing like I’d ever seen before. Big grandstand, state of the art(at that time) facility. It was first place I saw a big late model race, ump show in 1995. First place I saw a WoO sprint car race.

When I-80 closes, that’ll be it for national type shows in the state outside of the midget shows at Jefferson County. It’s certainly a death blow to racing…. Especially late model and sprint car racing. I-80 was the only track that had both pretty regularly.

[kazual]

Few hours away so don’t attend I80 often. Couple SDN’s, couple regional late model events, couple weekly shows when in the area and one of the best mod events ever saw, The Clark Memorial. Not much bugs me more than when I feel a promoter takes my admission dollar for granted, never felt that way at I80. Feel bad for dirt fans in that region because it’s a loss to them. Hard to see how anything can replace it given the Kosiskis brought knowledge, respect, track prep know how, and resources to the scene. Not things that new tracks and promoters have right out of the box.