Neighbors have been opposed to racing at the Batesville Airport since the activity began in July.
Photo via Infinite-Speed, Facebook.
(Batesville, Ind.) - Car racing at the Batesville Airport may have met the finish line.
The airport has been allowing a company called Infinite-Speed to hold races on some weekends starting this past summer. The straight-line racing events gave drivers a chance to race their high-end sports cars down the airport runway at high speeds.
However, the activity has been met with resistance from neighbors with concerns about noise and safety. One neighbor even filed a lawsuit stating that the racing put him in fear of his life.
Last month, the Franklin County Area Plan Commission voted to give an unfavorable recommendation for a conditional use permit Infinite-Speed had been operating without. The Batesville Herald-Tribune reported Monday that the company has withdrawn their application, signaling a possible end to the racing.
Infinite-Speed published a message on its Facebook page on September 19 stating that it would cancel races on September 22, and that a half-mile shootout on October 3 and 4 would be rescheduled.
“Both the car community and the local community have shown us a ton of support along with many of the Franklin County officials, the last thing we want to do is step on anyone’s toes or give them any aggravation caused by us,” said Infinite-Speed owner Eddie Perry.
“Being completely transparent here, this entire situation flat out sucks. I’ve personally sacrificed a lot to start this company and scheduling changes or cancelled events are the last thing I want to announce to anyone. Part of me wants nothing more than to power through these upcoming events cramming them down certain individual’s throats. Mainly those same classless individuals being the ones that were belligerently name calling throughout the meeting on the 12th, harassing our employees at during events, running of our signage with side by sides, the list goes on. At the end of the day it’s really astonishing that we are the ones labeled as the nuisance…”
The former Hill-Rom private airport on Enochsburg Road north of Batesville is now a public airstrip owned by the Whittington family of Columbus, Indiana. The business has welcomed the racing events as a way of generating revenue and making the airport, which closed down for a few months starting in December 2017, financially viable.
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