Race, classic car show a go at old racetrack

The car show will go on in Carpentersville.

For months, members of the Meadowdale International Raceway Preservation Association - MIRPA - had battle bureaucracy and red tape to hold a car show at Raceway Woods off Route 31 in Carpentersville.

But organizers have gotten around a major hurdle and secured permission from the Kane County Forest Preserve District to use its entrance to the main straightaway, said MIRPA co-founder and spokeswoman, Linda Daro.

The area now designated open space was once a major racing track known as the Meadowdale International Raceway.

The group recently received permission from the Kane County Forest Preserve to use a secondary entrance near the Raceway Woods Silo off Route 31 for the transportation of show cars.

So, mark you calendars, the Meadowdale Motorsports and Memories car show is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, at Meadowdale, located just north of Spring Hill Mall.

Admission is free. Car show participation costs $10 per car.

Former race car drivers and crew members from the Meister Brauser racing team will be on hand to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary.

Free spectator viewing is located at the original entrance to the racetrack, about a 1/2 - mile south of the silo off Route 31.

The organizers sought permission from the Dundee Township Board to use the township's entrance to drive show cars on to the track.

However, the township denied the request citing an agreement with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that prohibits the use of motorized vehicles for recreational purposes on the site. Dundee Township Supervisor Sue Harney told those at a May 19 township board meeting that any violation of the easement would jeopardize funding for the area.

The 122-acre property is designated open space known as Raceway Woods. Both the township and the forest preserve district oversee the property. Though the track itself falls under the forest preserve district's jurisdiction, the township controls a main access point off Huntley Road and the gravel and wood chip access road leading to the track that the association planned to use.

Because organizers were working on a limited schedule, vendors, cars, volunteers and sponsors are still welcome. For more information, contact Linda Daro at (847) 421-2891.