Terry McMillen And Group Strive To Create Hoosier Motorsports Park

Beloved by the midwest drag racing community as the second oldest strip in Indiana, Osceola Dragway is currently undergoing a transformation. The modest independent track owned by the Chizum family since 1957 is becoming a formidable motorsports complex.

The figurehead for the new Hoosier Motorsports Park is NHRA Top Fuel competitor Terry McMillen. He spoke to Dragzine as a representative of the six-person managing investment team which is undertaking the rebirth of the 170-acre property.

The facility expansion includes dragstrip improvements, a business park, road course, and open arena for mud racing, tractor pulling, and year-round sports such as snowmobile racing.

“We even have plans for many community events, such as a drive-through Christmas light show,” McMillen adds. “We’re trying to make it an event place. We want to keep everyone extremely happy and provide a place that promotes pride to all aspects of the community.”

In October of 2019, the Elkhart County Commission voted almost unanimously to rezone the property to include the expanded business operation. Since that approval, a group of neighbors has filed a lawsuit against the council for sanctioning the zoning change.

The group behind Hoosier Motorsports Park consists of (L to R): Zach Guzman, Rob Sanders, Davide Ivaldi, Terry McMillen, Roy Rolke, Rolin Beaumont, Greg Lakner (not pictured.)

“Many don’t realize that the lawsuit is against the council, and not Osceola Dragstrip or Hoosier Motorsports Park,” says McMillen. “It is not a setback, but rather a delay at this point, in my opinion. I want to stress that despite any rumor mill, the dragstrip will open in the spring, whether it be as Osceola Dragway as it sits, or as part of the HMP expanded operation.”

It is true that should the lawsuit by a handful of local residents get the zoning change overturned, McMillen states it would be detrimental to the motorsports park expansion. Many supporters have been quick to point out that the property has been an operating dragstrip since 1957; that is well before Elkhart County even had zoning laws.

Our group of hand-on partners have bigger plans for the track than as it sits. The seven of us agree that to operate a successful business from this investment; you can’t just operate on Fridays or Saturdays. – Terry McMillen

With that said, there are many legal stipulations based around the “grandfather clause” that “disallow new rules or regulation to be enacted that would upset a well-established logistical situation,” such as the grandfathered dragstrip business.

“What is the most frustrating part of this to me is the existence of a railroad yard located less than one mile away from these residences,” confides McMillen. “The rail yard is louder than the racing and spans all hours of every day.”

“This track was a rural area until they built these homes all around around it,” McMillen added. “This is frustrating, but I believe that in the end, we’re going to prevail and become a dynamic facility that will be a major benefactor to the area economy.”

McMillen explains both his frustration and optimism around the history of the property as an airport and, subsequently, the dragstrip. He describes that there were three houses in the area back then. The locals now complain that they need to relocate the track in a rural area away from them.

It is unheard of for any business to thrive for almost 60 years without updating their business dynamics. Hoosier Motorsports Park is the new model necessary to move the business of racing into the future. That is what the grandfather clause should defend.

Ending on a lighter note, we asked McMillen if we could see the NHRA Top Fuel competitor sweeping the water box on a selected summer weekend at the dragstrip. He laughed when responding, “Terry McMillen will do anything – the burnout area, start the ‘tree, I’ll clean bathrooms if necessary.”

“I have been a fan of Bill Bader’s hands-on business approach at Summit Motorsports Park for a long time,” McMillen finishes. “I’ll never forget the first time I met Bader — he personally took the time to drive our Funny Car team to our hotel amidst one of his busiest events of the year. I have always admired the entire Bader family over the years for the customer service that has resulted in one of the most respected and impressive racing facilities in the country.”

The Northwestern Indiana region will be fortunate to see another business model similar to Summit Motorsports Park emerge in their area.

About the author

Todd Silvey

Todd has been a hardcore drag racing journalist since 1987. He is constantly on both sides of the guardwall from racing photography and editorship to drag racing cars of every shape and class.
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