Coles County Speedway encouraged its followers and fans to say a prayer for it and the surrounding Mattoon, Illinois area after the track took “a direct hit” from a tornado.
The track posted to Facebook, “I have received a lot of text, calls and messages. I appreciate each and every one of you reaching out to me! Here is what I know, we did take a direct hit of the tornado. There is a tremendous amount of damage. I will not be able to assess the full extent of the damage until day light tomorrow morning.”
“I am completely gutted right now, however my thoughts and prayers are 100% for this community,” it added. “Say a prayer before you lay your head tonight. There are a lot of folks that need it.”
The track and owner Brian Rieck shared an update in a Facebook Live video, “This community took a big hit. Tornados last night. There was definitely more than one tornado and we took a lot of damage. We’re not devastated, but we’re not in good shape either.”
He went on to share that the track’s scheduled races for this weekend are canceled and it will likely cancel for “the next several weeks after that” due to the damage from the storms.
While multiple massive trees were downed, there were a number of positive takeaways in that the track’s bleachers survived as well as its new fence, for the most part. However, “the back stretch fence is gone.” Additionally, part of the pole for the track’s new video tower was taken off, the scoring tower’s roof is gone and some of its siding has been blown away, a car had been blown down as well.
The track’s ambulance was struck by a fallen tree. It’s EMS building also has a tree on top of it. He also showed that the wires for the pit lights and a number of poles were damaged and down. There are a number of gates that were significantly damaged throughout the track. The billboard wall with its scoreboard has also been heavily damaged.
Despite all the damage, Rieck declared, “We will race again, that is 100% for sure, but it’s going to take a lot of work.” He also asked for volunteers to help out, “We will definitely need a lot of help. We will definitely need some volunteers, we’ll need lots of chainsaws, probably some trailers to haul all these trees and stuff off, or we’ll have a big bonfire and party it up. We’ll figure out something.”
Finally, he shared that he has been in contact with his insurance company and everything seems to be positive on that end.
Storm Chaser Chris Hall also reported, “We had a tornado drop right on us North of Matoon, Illinois. Has caused significant damage in Charleston, Illinois. We’re crossing the river to keep up with it now.”
NBC 5 Chicago shared footage of one of the tornados touching down in the area.
Another video of the tornado was shared by Ryan Hall.
WCIA reported the Central Illinois area was hit with numerous tornadoes in multiple counties on Wednesday. The outlet shared, “Violent tornados ripped through Coles County and in the Effingham area Wednesday, knocking down buildings, uprooting trees and carrying debris across the area.”
NBC 5 Chicago reported “there were no immediate reports of injuries in connection with the tornadoes.”
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