The state of Florida is home to amazing drag strips like the NHRA’s Gainesville Raceway, Bradenton Motorsports Park, and Orlando Speed World Dragway. While those tracks continue to thrive, other tracks like Palm Beach International Raceway, and Emerald Coast Dragway have closed. It looks like Immokalee Regional Raceway is also about to join the list of tracks that have closed in the Sunshine State.

Immokalee Regional Raceway was brought to life by Ralph Hester over 20 years ago. Hester opened the track at the Immokalee Airport after he learned that the locals needed a place to legally race. The airport worked with Hester to make this happen, and the locals responded by coming to the track in droves. Immokalee Regional Raceway’s bracket racing program has thrived over the years, and plenty of people bring their street cars to the track on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, the airport has decided to expand by building more hangers and renting out the land where the track is located. Hester has worked out a deal with the future tenants of the expansion to allow the track to operate until March of 2025. After that, Immokalee Regional Raceway will permanently fall silent.

According to Cape Coral’s Fox 4, Hester has looked into relocating the track, but he can’t secure the funds or land to make that happen anytime soon. It’s a shame that the state of Florida and the sport of drag racing is losing another facility. This is a painful reminder of how important it really is to be positive and support your local race track.