Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

near the

Topeka Regional Airport Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

. When it opened in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new auto racing facility to be built in the United States for 20 years. Its facilities include a road-race course with 4 possible configurations (ranging from to in length), a ⅜ mile clay oval, off-road course and a ¼ mile drag strip. After several years of neglect from continual financial difficulties, the track surface and other facilities had deteriorated badly. The track's survival was in doubt until 2003, when Raymond Irwin, former owner (1986-2007) of

Blackhawk Farms Raceway Blackhawk Farms is a private circuit racetrack located outside South Beloit, Illinois, on a farm on the border between Wisconsin and Illinois. Blackhawk Farms was established in 1967, about a decade after nearby Road America. History Blackh ...

bought it and began major renovations. In December 2015, Chris Payne and Todd Crossley of Shelby Development, LLC.''The Topeka Capital-Journal'', ''Payne becomes sole owner of Heartland Park Topeka'' by Kevin Haskin, January 26, 2017
Retrieved May 15, 2019. purchased the track. Payne, the CEO of Shelby Development, became the track's sole owner in January 2017. The drag-strip is used by local clubs and the

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

. The road-course is mainly used by the

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

, the

National Auto Sport Association The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) is an American motorsports organization promoting road racing and high-performance driver education. Founded in 1991, NASA hosts High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), automotive rallies, Time Trial ...

and marque-clubs. The track was the home of both the

SCCA National Championship Runoffs The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the end-of-year championship race meeting for Sports Car Club of America Club Racing competitors. Divisional champions and other top drivers from the SCCA's 116 regions are invited to participate at the ...

and the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships from 2006 to 2008. In the past, it has hosted ARCA,

ASA ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to: Biology and medicine * Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent * Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin * Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery * Anterior spinal ar ...

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...

, AMA, the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

' race:

O'Reilly Auto Parts 275 The O'Reilly Auto Parts 275 was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held at the Heartland Park Topeka road course, in Topeka, Kansas. It was first held during the inaugural season for the Craftsman Truck Series in 1995 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Seri ...

NASCAR Busch North Series The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

NASCAR Midwest Series The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers have used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR. Art Fri ...

and the

NASCAR Southeast Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series was a NASCAR-sanctioned amateur/semi-pro late model stock car racing series based in the Southeastern United States. The series was formerly known as the Slim Jim All Pro Series; it was founded i ...

. The full 2.5 mile road course (and pit road) was completely repaved with a high-tech, polymer-enhanced asphalt in the fall of 2016, and continues to host events. In the 2021 season, Heartland Motorsports Park is slated to host over 200 events across their Drag Strip, Road Course, Drift/Solo Pad, and specialty areas..

Former logo

References

External links

Official website
*
Trackpedia guide to driving this track
Buildings and structures in Topeka, Kansas Motorsport venues in Kansas

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

NHRA Division 5 drag racing venues IMSA GT Championship circuits Tourist attractions in Topeka, Kansas Off-road racing venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1989 1989 establishments in Kansas {{Kansas-stadium-stub