What’s Iowa HF645? The bill titled, “Relating to Nuisance Actions Against Racing Facilities and Racetracks,” helps protect tracks (such as the pictured Clay County Fair Speedway) from nuisance complaints. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law on Thursday and goes into effect on July 1.
The law states: “A racing facility or racetrack shall not be subject to any action brought by a surrounding property owner under any nuisance, taking or other theory if the racing facility or racetrack was built before the surrounding real property owner either purchased the real property or built in the area of the racing facility or racetrack.”
Track promoters across the states are applauding the piece of legislation. That includes Mike Van Genderen. He promotes several tracks and races in Iowa: Bloomfield Speedway, Independence Motor Speedway, Stuart International Speedway and the IMCA Summer Nationals at Clay County Fair Speedway.
“[Stuart International Speedway] is in its 64th year,” Van Genderen said. “It’s been here long before most of the current residents. This is a very good thing for an owner or promoter not having to be worried about lawsuits and complaints. In Stuart, we follow the ordinances, we run a tight program, and the city has been very much behind the speedway.”
Iowa HF645 had unanimous support in the Iowa legislature. Senator Cherielynn Westrich, of Ottumwa, commented live on radio station KIWA in Sheldon on Thursday.
“Some of Iowa’s racetracks are facing a problem where housing developments are being built around them and [the speedways] could be subject to nuisance actions for sound and light and so forth — even though the track was built first and is in compliance of the standards and operating procedures of the industry,” said Westrich.
Representative Barb Kniff McCulla, of Pella, also explained the bill’s importance on KIWA.
“As city development grows towards longstanding existing raceways, these racing facilities should not be punished for operating their businesses correctly,” she said.
Trent Chinn promotes weekly racing at Buena Vista Raceway and Clay Count Fair Speedway.
“This is great, not only for my track but for racing across the state,” said Chinn. “A lot of us have been facing these complaints. Knoxville Raceway got the ball rolling for the bill and we all followed to get our local representatives behind it.”
Van Genderen believed the bill will protect tracks from population that moves near a track.
“If you bought a house near a racetrack, you knew that it was there when you bought your house,” Van Genderen said. “You shouldn’t be able file a complaint against the racetrack, and now you can’t.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
