New Iowa Law Keeps Racetracks Safe from Neighbors’ Noise Complaints

• Iowa passed Bill 645, which protects existing racetracks from legal action over noise complaints.

• Tracks must comply with state laws, but new nearby homeowners won’t be able to bring nuisance complaints.

• The goal of the law is to help preserve existing Iowa raceways, with a focus on those hosting grassroots motorsports.

Living next to a racetrack probably sounds like paradise to an automotive enthusiast. Get a couple laps in anytime without a long drive, keep your track-day special in the garage rather than having to trailer it, and go check out the action with just a short walk. It’s the kind of thing that people pay a small fortune for at places like the Thermal Club raceway. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way about roaring engines and howling tires.

For the average person, a racetrack isn’t the greatest neighbor to have. It’s noisy, dusty if it’s a dirt track, and you get parked cars crowding your street for every weekend event. Thing is, if the track was already there when you moved in, it’s not like these drawbacks should be a surprise. Often, that doesn’t stop people from banding together to shut down a racetrack they perceive as a nuisance.

But starting on July 1, 2025, doing so is going to get a lot harder in Iowa. Bill 645 goes into law on that date, and it specifically protects motorsports venues from legal action from angry neighbors, assuming the track was there first. Any racetrack has to comply with existing rules about allowable noise and light pollution, but as long as a track is following those rules, new complaints can’t be brought by nearby homeowners.

The bill, which passed with unanimous approval, received support from SEMA (the Specialty Equipment Market Association) as well as the Performance Racing Industry group, an association involved in motorsports. It seems pretty comprehensive, applying lasting protection to any existing Iowan racetrack, even if the property is sold or transferred to new buyers.

With housing developments cropping up everywhere, Bill 645 prevents some unscrupulous developers from forcing out motorsports. This protection is especially important for grassroots racetracks, notably the dirt ovals that are a big part of Midwestern racing heritage, as a bigger venue that hosts NASCAR or IndyCar can afford a legal fight where a sprint car track probably can’t.

Introduced in February and passed in just over two months, this new bill represents some pretty quick action on the part of lawmakers to protect Iowa’s racetracks. Other states looking to keep grassroots racing alive and well should take note. After all, there are plenty of people who actually want to live next to a track.

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