Eddyville Raceway Park Goes Up for Sale – After Six Decades of Racing History, Who Will Usher the Iowa Track into Its Next Chapter?
In the last month, three race tracks have either gone up for sale, changed hands or closed in the United States. Chilton County Motorsports Park is for sale, Darlington Dragway changed hands to new owner John Dougherty, and Thunder Valley Raceway Park closed their gates.
Now, a fourth track has joined the list, as the morning of August 7th, Eddyville Raceway Park joined the ‘for sale’ listings.
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Getting its start in 1965, the Oskaloosa, Iowa-based eighth-mile track was initially based on a 60-acre plot of land thanks to the efforts of John Rempe. Rempe held the ownership papers of the track until 1993, when Carl Moyer purchased the facility.
Moyer gave the track an update, rebuilding with a larger pit area, as well as adding modern amenities. Moyer would spend just over a decade at the helm before the track’s third owners came along in 2006.
The next caretakers of Eddyville Raceway Park would be Scott Gardner and Gerald Kramer. Eight years after the purchase, Gardner decided to sell most of his share of the business to Kramer in 2014, and Kramer continues to operate the track to this day.
The track’s official announcement on Facebook is below:
The owners of Eddyville Raceway Park in Oskaloosa, Iowa, have made the decision to put the historic facility on the market. The venerable dragstrip is located approximately one hour southeast of the Capital City of Des Moines, and has been under steady ownership for nearly two decades.
Many facility and equipment upgrades have been completed over the last years including asphalt and concrete paving, concrete safety walls, an Accutime Timing System, Musco Lighting upgrades, a new track sprayer and power scrapper, FOD mat and more. Nearly a quarter-million dollars has been spent on facility upgrades and equipment for the dragstrip, grounds maintenance, and concessions operations.
For six decades the dragstrip has been known as a powerhouse of racing activity. Initially operating under the rules of the AHRA, Eddyville Dragway became quickly known for tremendous eighth-mile sportsman class racing and for also contracting professional drivers to appear over the years at a variety of events. Professional driver appearances include Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme, ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits, ‘Dyno Don’ Nicholson, Vern Moats, Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson Jr, and many more. In 1993 business mogul Carl Moyer purchased the track and immediately spent hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrading the facility.
In 2006 the track was sold to Gerald Kramer and Scott Gardner. Under their direction the track was sanctioned by NHRA, IHRA and later the WDRA. The marquee event, The Night of Fire, continues to draw thousands of fans on an annual basis. In 2014, Gardner sold most of his interest to Kramer who continues to operate the facility today. Annual events also include the World Fuel Altered Nationals and the Funny Car Chaos Series. The major events along with the solid sportsman base and tremendous marketing partners has created financial stability that a lot of race track operators search for today.
“I have spent most of my life in racing and race track ownership and operations,” said Gerald Kramer. “I’m now at the age where I want to slow down a bit. We have a strong financial foundation and business operational structure and tremendous support from many marketing partners,” he continued.
In 1965 the dragstrip was built and started operations. Over the years, Eddyville Raceway Park has become known as one of the nicest eighth-mile drag racing facilities in the Country.
For qualified applicants, a prospectus is available by contacting Scott Gardner at sgardner5472@gmail.com
Currently being operated under WDRA (World Drag Racing Alliance) sanctioning body, Eddyville Raceway Park normally operates from April to September each year.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Eddyville Raceway Park and Tommy Shaw.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com