The other day, I got to see the Iowa Speedway for the first time since coming to Newton. It gave me chills.

Seeing all of that open land around the area and that gorgeous raceway a sense of deja vu overtook me. I have seen firsthand the effect that having a state of the art raceway in your own backyard can do for a city and the local economy.

When I was growing up in Kansas City, Kan., our city had nothing. A city with a population of more than 100,000 people, adjacent to Kansas City, Mo., had absolutely nothing going for its self.