With Immokalee Regional Raceway Closed, Ralph and Thomas Hester Look to Build a New Drag Strip in Florida - Could the Third New Track in Florida This Decade Become Reality?
After losing multiple tracks in the last decade, the state of Florida has been turning the corner in the last two years with two brand new drag strips opening - Leadfoot City in Brooksville, and Hicken Power Drag Strip in Callahan, which just opened their gates in June of this year.
One of the tracks recently closed in Florida was Immokalee Regional Raceway, which is located on a runway section of Immokalee Regional Airport in southwest Florida. But Ralph and Thomas Hester are ready for the next chapter to begin, and have started making moves to build a new track.
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Immokalee Regional Raceway, which was in operation for 27 years, held their final race on Saturday, April 25th, 2026. An expansion of the airport had threatened the track's survival since 2024, but Immokalee Regional Raceway was able to continue leasing the property and complete the 2025 season, and a couple additional months this year before the lights were turned off for the final time.
Since then, the father and son team has been looking for a new place to construct a track, and news of a possible location recently came to light in Felda, about 20 minutes away from the Immokalee Regional Airport.
An informational meeting was held in Felda on July 20th about the track’s possible plans and location, with “MOST of the residents were glad to see all the track supporters and hear POSITIVE information and facts. Seems like some of them were surprised at what they heard last night, in contrast to the negativity that they’ve been told,” per the track’s Facebook page.
The application process would be amongst the next steps, as well as a meeting with the Hendry County Commissioners. The Hesters have created a petition for signatures to show the viability and support for a race track, and it is linked on Immokalee Regional Raceway’s Facebook page.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Immokalee Regional Raceway and Mike Sooley.
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