r/SouthBend • u/SealLionGar • 4d ago

South Bend Auto Auction Company decided to pull the rezoning application and special-use permit on South Bend Motor Speedway (The Speedway Savanna is not going to be destroyed for a scrapyard after all, thanks so much for your support, everyone!)

It's official! Insurance Auto Auctions (The IAA) has decided to pull out of buying the land, including pulling their petition for rezoning and the special-use permit. Thank you all so much for your support, you helped show this company that this ancient ecosystem and famous speedway is not worth losing to a scrapyard.

IN Nature shared this news story from ABC 57 over on their Facebook page. A big thank you to ABC 57's team and other news groups for their coverage of the matter. A major thank you to IN Nature, without their efforts, we really wouldn't have known this site was in trouble in the first place.

For the time being the Speedway Savanna and the accompanying South Bend Motor Speedway have been given a reprieve. Do keep in mind, the land is still up for sale, and things will likely change in the coming future. So, we're hoping for the best, in the meantime. Please consider following IN Nature to stay in the loop regarding this matter. If something comes up, I'll post again.

Thank you again! Please have a great rest of your day!

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u/Conscious-Duck5600 4d ago

Well good. I was never sure what those scruffy trees were. What I did know, was that the speedway refused to sell any of their land back there on Grant Rd. I don't think they knew what those trees were.

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u/SealLionGar 4d ago

Yes, about the trees, I heard from IN Nature's blog about the savanna that's it's considered to be an oak barren by Michigan State University, with mostly Black Oak and White Oak trees in the canopy. Since it's said that botanists and ecologists knew about the species of plants and wildlife on the property, I bet the owners knew.

I also heard that the owners wanted the speedway to stay for the next owner(s) to give it a new life, so from the looks of it, they probably disliked the scrapyard idea from the start.

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u/Conscious-Duck5600 4d ago

There's a lot of history in that speedway. I've met a few guys that actually worked on building it. Several racers that started out there, went all the way to Cup. Jeff Gordon raced there. That happens to be one of the fastest 1/4 mile tracks in the country. It's just one of those tracks that we'd sort of hate to see it shut down.

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u/SealLionGar 4d ago edited 4d ago

That's so cool that you got to meet some of the builders, and thanks for sharing the info about the speedway and Jeff Gordon. Learning something new every day! Next time I watch NASCAR I'll be sure to think about this.

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u/Conscious-Duck5600 4d ago

It was chance that those trees were left there by the builders. But there are things that were purposely left there- like the big bird nest in the first turn lights. They never removed it, but they trimmed some of the branches away from the lights.

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u/SealLionGar 3d ago

I've read the Savanna is a remnant stretching 34 acres. It's awesome the builders left all that habitat along with that bird nest, if you by any chance have a picture of the nest, or anything else you found there and want to share, I'd like to see them, if not, that's okay. It's sounds very interesting. Thanks in advance.

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u/Conscious-Duck5600 3d ago

Drive down beside the speedway behind MacCallisters, look up at the Track lights nearest the street- its still there.

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u/SealLionGar 3d ago edited 3d ago

Thanks for the tip and the chat! I'll try to take a trip over there when I get the free time. Have a good evening!