Peoria Speedway officials told spectators Saturday that weekly racing at the venerable quarter-mile dirt track was coming to an end under owner Brandon Dean.
Saturday’s race card was the last under Dean, who put the facility up for sale on Monday, June 1. Dean says if he can’t find a buyer, he’ll use the 50-acre property for non-racing events.
The Central Illinois Flea Market is a tenant at the Speedway and will continue to operate there.
A long-planned feature event on June 11 – the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals – will run as scheduled at Peoria Speedway. But weekly car divisions racing is halted until the track is sold.
“Tonight’s the last night of weekly racing at Peoria Speedway under Brandon Dean. …” fans heard over a public address announcement Saturday that was posted on social media later. “The track goes on sale Monday. We have one person from down South who has been interested, but nothing has been finalized … or (any) meetings (held) … so tonight will be last night of weekly racing until someone buys the racetrack.”
Peoria Speedway opened in 1948 in what is now Pioneer Park in north Peoria.
In 1965, the track settled down on Farmington Road in West Peoria, where it has been a mainstay on the local racing scene for 61 years.
Dean, 43, is a home builder and real estate developer. He previously co-owned and co-promoted the track with Jason Plumer. In 2014, they bought it from Curt Mottaz for $550,000.
The co-owners went separate ways in 2019, and Dean bought out Plumer’s portion.
“I have other businesses to concentrate on, and my family,” Dean said in an interview with DirtonDirt.com. “It just got to the point where it’s too much with everything that I have going on.
“I want to thank (supporters) and thank the staff who stuck with it as long as they did. It takes a team to do a racetrack. It’s not a one-person show.”
Local dirt tracks are struggling in an era of high fuel and equipment costs. As drivers weigh the prize money against the cost of racing, participation levels are decreasing.
Lewistown-based Spoonriver Speedway recently canceled its Saturday race card because not enough cars entered.
“It was not about us losing money, it was because if we even cut the pay down to match the car count, drivers would be spending more money on fuel and tires than they would be getting after racing,” Spoonriver posted on its Facebook page. “That is not fair to the drivers or to everyone that came out to watch.
“We had a total of 16 cars over 4 classes by 5pm. When the end of the draw was at 5:30… We made the decision because we knew if we waited, there would not be any time for drivers to go to another track.
“The racing world is unfortunately struggling because of the economy. Tough calls are unfortunately happening all over the racing community. We are saddened to hear that Peoria Speedway is closing. We do not want to see anyone close. It is hard to see a track that has given so many people memories shut down.”
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Speedway faces summer of uncertainty