Racetrack owner sues State Governor for closing his business during pandemic

A lawsuit has been filed in federal court against the state order; Track remains closed

Back in early May, Daugherty Speedway Inc intended to host a race. Grandstand tickets were sold in advance of the May 9th date.

Daugherty Speedway is a 3/8-mile dirt oval track in Boswell, Indiana. 33 Modifieds, 34 Street Stocks, and 36 Sport Compacts and 18 Pro Late Models were pre-registered to race in the event.

Only limited seating was made available. However, the event sold out of all available tickets by the Thursday ahead of the event.

A cease-and-desist letter was sent to the track owner on May 8th, just ahead of the event. The letter noted violations could be fines, business termination, in addition to possible jail time.

The letter did not that the track could host practice sessions, without fans. That wasn’t good enough, the speedway intended to press on with the event.

The government stepped in with a unique way to force an end to the dirt track racing event.

As the race track owner returned to his property in the morning, concrete barricades were on the road. This blocked fans from entering the road leading to the speedway.

This infuriated speedway owner Michael Daugherty who was forced to drive through his fresh-green grass to enter the complex. A series of social media videos were put up and a protest was organized.

“The Benton County Sheriff’s Dept did not put up the barricades at the racetrack. That was something the commissioners instructed the county highway dept to do,” Sheriff Don Munson later stated.

Lawsuit filed

Now, the track owner has filed a lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit mentions the governor and other who he believes have unconstitutionally forced him to close his business.

The lawsuit noted that the actions above violated the speedway owner’s 5th and 14th Amendment rights.

5th: The fifth amendment protects life, liberty, or property taken except by due process of law.

14th: Protection of civil rights for all Americans.

The lawsuit stated that the government went too far to protect the health of the people.

“The order issued exceeds that needed to protect health and safety,” it says. “There is no attempt to see if lesser measures will suffice to protect health and safety.”

The lawsuit is hoping to remove the state order which has forced Indiana race tracks to close.

Racing in Indiana

There is already a future plan for race tracks to open in the state. And, it’s not so far away, assuming the state continues a downward trend of virus cases.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has a plan to get the state Back on Track. In the plan, racetracks are not permitted to open at full capacity until July 4th, 2020.

Indiana speedway’s will be allowed to open ahead of that. On June 14th, spectators are expected to be allowed to return. However, additional restrictions will be put in place until July 4th.

Links

Benton County Indiana Sheriff’s Department | Indiana Governor | Daugherty Speedway

Racetrack owner sues State Governor for closing his business during pandemic