The Rusty Wallace Racing Experience, a gateway for fans eager to feel the rush of NASCAR racing, has officially shut down. For someone who is not a motorsports racer, this was a great way to get into the shoes of some top-quality racing cars.

From the first safety briefing to the final checkered flag, the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience was about making memories and living out racing dreams. But like many great things, this program too has come to an end. The news was revealed when their official website was shut down.

An official announcement on the website read, “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that after almost 25 years of making dreams come true for our customers and staff, we are suspending operations effective immediately. We have tremendously enjoyed the privilege of bringing you an authentic racing experience.” And, the reason given behind their closure mentioned on the website, as shared on Reddit, was, “Unfortunately, we are unable to overcome the current economic climate and pressures that we are facing.” This was done while letting their existing invested customers know that they would be able to issue a refund.

Founded in 2010, Rusty Wallace Racing Experience boasted itself to be the “largest racing school in the country”. With over 80 locations in USA and Canada, the school also offered Dirt Car, Exotic Car, and Formula Car experiences for prices ranging from $399 for three laps at Super Speedway Tracks, to 100 laps for $1699 at times. Reportedly, stock car veteran Rusty Wallace was an active partner to the school’s president and owner, Mark Ebert, but pulled out of the business a couple of months ago.

But issues with the business have been long-standing. Back in 2014, Stephen Cox, a pharmacist from Ohio, was killed during the high-speed sport at the Kentucky Speedway. It was later revealed in a lawsuit by the family that the car’s steering wheel had come off leading to the freak accident. “In the horrifying moments before the crash, a panic-stricken Stephen desperately struggled to reattach the steering wheel and control the racecar,” official documents read.

The closure is the second time a similar business has shut down. Richard Petty Experience, that used to operate at the Disney World Speedway since 1997(in Florida) shut down in 2015, owing to Disney’s plans to make “transportation improvements”. However, you’ll be glad to know that RPE is still available at 17 other locations including the iconic Darlington Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Talladega and Nashville Superspeedway, among others.

Rusty Wallace Racing Experience’s closure still hit many fans hard, who took to social medis to reminisce about their great experiences!

Unhappy fans discuss the end of The Rusty Wallace Racing Experience

“I think the writing was on the wall when Rusty pulled his name from it a couple of months ago,” said one fan who said this was coming. While fans love the sport for its charm, many link it to the greats of the sport.

Rusty Wallace stepped away from Rusty Wallace Racing Experience in 2015 to focus on other ventures, including broadcasting and automotive projects. Despite his departure, the business continued operating under his name, licensing the brand to offer driving experiences.

Another comment read, “That’s too bad. They’ve been around as long as I can remember. Similar to the Petty Driving Experience. That’s a shame. I’ve read about a lot of people who had great experiences with this.” This fan drew a parallel to the Petty Driving Experience and spoke about the decade-long operations that Rusty Wallace and the company ran this business. Mentioning that despite never having been for the experience themselves, they have read about people having a great time there.

An unhappy fan who has been for the experience commented, “Damn, that sucks. I got to do this as a birthday gift from my SO at Pikes Peak International in 2013. It was amazing! I hit the chip on my last 3 full laps. Topped out at 120 mph…RIP” This fan shared an adorable story of how their significant other gifted this to them on their birthday in the past and remembered the memory fondly.

The upcoming Rusty Wallace Racing Experience event at Pikes Peak International was scheduled for “September 7 @ 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.,” and this fan completed the message on their website in their way by sarcastically saying, “And passing off all the responsibility for refunds back to the consumer.” By the looks of it, this fan does not believe that the refunds will be handled well considering the business shut down due to financial issues.

Unfortunately, many customers have criticized how the money side of things were not handled well even when the business was running. From complaints of being overpriced to sudden cancellations and faulty equipments, it’s understandable why the Redditor is concerned. An infamous user review from travel research company, Tripadvisor, read: “Their junkie radios that do NOT work makes the experience dangerous, oh and if you can’t hear them it is YOUR fault ! Better count those laps, because they don’t and will charge you an arm and leg guessing how many you did !!!!”

On the other hand, one fan shared a memory of the time they visited The Racing Experience at the Michigan International Speedway as they drove Kevin Harvick’s 29 Goodwrench. The comment read, “Damn, I got to drive a Harvick 29 Goodwrench at MIS. It was awesome. They governed them out at 160, and I hit the chip at the end of the backstretch and front stretch every lap. I’ll never forget it.”

Have you ever had a racing experience? Share your story with us in the comments below.