IMMOKALEE, Fla. — For 25 years, locals and people across the country came to race at the Immokalee Regional Raceway. The track will have its last run this season, unless they can find a new home.
Ralph Hester built the track more than two decades ago. It all started when he flew over the airport and saw an "X" on a runway.
"I went to a restaurant and a bunch of deputies was in there, and they caught a bunch of kids drag racing in the street," Hester said. "They said they need a racetrack here."
He went to the airport with the idea, and the rest became history. He leased the runway, so the community had a safe space to race.
Watch Immokalee Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades report below:
"There's nowhere for kids to go, and one thing about on Friday night, we'll have 100 kids here...and I'd rather see them go down this track with safety than I had on the street racing and running into stuff," Hester said.
The track hosts races most weekends in the fall and winter. On Fridays, the track is open to the public to race with an admission fee.
Hester said they always prioritize safety and have an EMT at the track. He's also proud of the business the raceway brought to the Immokalee community.
The Immokalee Airport wants to build more hangars and rented the lots where the raceway is to someone else.
Hester worked out a deal with the new renters so they could stay until March for their last season.
His son helps him manage the raceway. A few years ago, they even moved the track back a few hundred feet at the airport's request.
For local racers who grew up on the track, it felt like a second home.
"They say it's the playground for power. We come out here, and and it keeps everybody off the street," one driver said.
As a teenager, this man loved this track and now shares it with his family.
However, he feels like his time here is speeding away.
The advice he has for racing, "if you can hold it just hang on and keep it on the line," now applies to his favorite track, too.
"Everything is done. It was all done. It ain't nothing I can do to un-change that, you know, it's just it's a bad situation," Hester said.
Hester would love to rebuild the track, but he runs into roadblocks like money, time and property.
"It's heartbreaking," he said.
Hester will start his engine one last time in March. Between now and then, he hopes he can find a new home for the track.
Find more information on the Immokalee Regional Raceway here.
