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MEMPHIS, Tenn.– Could the roar and rumble of dragsters and stock cars be leaving an iconic Shelby County racetrack? There are rumors Memphis International Raceway might be closing at the end of May.

Social media is buzzing about the possible closing and demolishing of the facility and there’s even petition to keep it open.

It’s a deafening roar that gives avid drag racing fans goosebumps and has been the signature sound of Memphis International Raceway since it opened in the late 1980’s.

Clay Millican from Drummonds, Tennessee is a six time IHRA World Champion who’s grown up racing at this facility near Millington. He’s shocked by rumors the drag strip, two drift tracks, an auto-cross and a NASCAR track could soon be closed and demolished, possibly making way for a warehouse complex.

“It’s just such a family oriented spot that you hate to see it go away for another warehouse,” Millican said.

The racetrack, which is approximately 380 acres, is owned by IRG Sports and Entertainment in Florida, a company that organizes various motorsports events.

No one at their Palm Beach office returned our calls about plans for the raceway, but Jeff Miles, the tracks’ General Manager, tells WREG he’s done everything he can to keep the property from closing.

“I was in the process of trying to buy the place, along with a business partner, and we placed a bid of what we were told would pretty much get the place on Friday. On Monday another company put a bid in and it was great deal more than we had bid,” Miles said.

We’ve been unable to find out the name of the company that out-bid Miles and his partner, but Miles says the deal could all boil down to whether the raceway property could be rezoned from entertainment to light industrial.

The raceway has been a popular spot for NASCAR competition as well.

But the big concern for Jeff Miles is how the possible closing of Memphis International Raceway will add to the already dangerous activity called street racing.

“When you lose this facility your drifters, your street racers or your drag racers, they all go back to the street and they’ll street race, which is certainly unsafe,” Miles said.

Miles says he’s not giving up saving the property and is planning for drag racing this coming weekend and it’s annual Memphis Chevy Show in April.