Introducing new people to racing and helping foster kids, and that’s what Kankakee County Speedway will do in 2026.
Foster families will receive free admission for two adults and two children for 16 events at the Illinois dirt track. The track’s modified champ, Steven Brooks, hatched the idea. He and his wife, Allie, have fostered six children, and currently have two living with them. Allie and Rachel Langlois run the nonprofit Georgie’s Closet, which offers services and essentials for foster families.
“Foster parents could need a car seat, clothing or a crib,” Brooks said. “Georgie’s Closet was formed to support them in any way possible, including a place to meet and talk. I approached the speedway because … racing, foster care, and Kankakee County Speedway are my passions.”
Brooks approached Kankakee County Speedway partners Billy Knippenberg and Evan Eckhoff with his idea of a free pass promotion.
“We would introduce the foster community to a sport many of the parents didn’t even know existed,” Brooks said. “Foster families would get 4 hours of fun and entertainment for zero cost. The speedway would get new fans and grow the fan base.”
Brooks did not need to try to hard to convince Knippenberg and Eckhoff that he had a good idea.
“We were looking for any angle to get more people in the grandstands.,” Knippenberg said. “Fifteen years ago, 1200 fans a week was standard. It’s dropped to 350 average last season, even though we are drawing 100 cars. Like most racetracks, attendance is going down and the prior season was always better.”
Giving away free tickets does not concern Knippenberg.
“Families will tell friends, and word will spread that we are interested in helping our community,” Knippenberg said.
Brooks said nearly 400 foster children reside in Kankakee and nearby Iroquois counties.
“This partnership between the speedway and the community offers families free summer activity without the stress of the cost,” said Langlois. “The families are doing so much to help children, anything we can do as a community to support them is rewarding in so many ways.”
Langlois said many of the foster children come from scenarios of abuse, neglect, drug addiction and being without homes. The average time a child in Illinois spends in a foster care is 2.5 to 3 years.
“Steven Brooks’ idea is using racing to bring pieces of childhood back to children in these awful situations,” Langlois said. “Kids get to be kids. They have an activity to look forward to every week though the summer. Racers will get the coolest fans they ever had.”
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.
