Saying goodbye to South Bend Motor Speedway as auto auction eyes property

 

WARREN TOWNSHIP, Ind.--- Thursday morning, Julie Regulinski and her mom Jill Kucharski spread a pinch of the ashes of their late father and husband, Stanley Kucharski, at one of his favorite South Bend spots.

"We were here basically to say goodbye to South Bend Speedway," Regulinski said. "My father raced here in the late '60s and early '70s, and this was just like a second home to him."

"It's a part of our lives. When we got married, we were always out here, and he loved to race," Kucharski said. "But he always loved to be close to that wall. In fact, one time, he scared the flag man so bad he had to jump back."

The South Bend Motor Speedway closed its doors in May, the end of an era.

"It's so sad," Kucharski said. "It was such great entertainment for the people around here. It was always packed, and it was a family place."

Now, the land is up for sale, and a buyer wants it. Insurance Auto Auctions Corp. is hoping to turn it into an auto-wrecking yard, but its lawyer says it will be more of a rummage yard.

"I think that's a little bit of a misnomer in practicality," said Richard Nussbaum, partner at SNIK Law, "because the only thing that's going to be done there is there will be cars that are damaged in some fashion, brought to the site, stored at the site, sold, and then moved from the site."

It would go just across the street from another yard operated by the same company. To do so, the land must first be rezoned, which means getting approval from St. Joseph County, but some are raising environmental concerns.

"We're just south of the South Bend Motor Speedway, this is an area that ecologically could be best described as a lack oak savannah or an oak barren landscape," said Steve Sass, a conservationist with Indiana Nature, LLC.

The type of rare, sandy-soiled terrain has been mostly destroyed across the country, he said.

"It seems outrageous to continue to take away the very tiny sliver of what we have left for a business that could go elsewhere," Sass said.

The Area Plan Commission's staff report acknowledges the unique land value here, but ultimately gave the zoning change a favorable recommendation.

"Most of the natural habitat that is out there will be preserved," Nussbaum said.

However, that was not comforting for Sass.

"They call for a large detention pond over in the southeast corner, which would obliterate 3 acres of the savannah," Sass said.

No matter what becomes of the land, it's still closing the chapter on the South Bend Motor Speedway.

"Since it's leaving, we want to make sure we got our final moments here," Regulinski said.

There will be a public hearing about the zoning change at the speedway on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 12:30 p.m. at the County-City Building in downtown South Bend.

The full rezoning petition and Area Plan Commission staff report can be found here.