The O'Reilly Auto Parts 275 was a

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 held at the

Heartland Park Topeka Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport. When it opened in 1989, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new ...

road course, in

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 ...

. It was first held during the inaugural season for the Craftsman Truck Series in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, and remained a part of the series through the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

season. The race date fluctuated, being run in June, July, and August over the course of its existence. Unlike most NASCAR races, the advertised distance of the race was measured in

kilometer The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

s as opposed to

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

s and changed distance several times in its history.

History

Heartland Park - Topeka - Kansas (2849458619)

The first race at Topeka was held on July 29, 1995 and was won by

Ron Hornaday Jr. Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is ...

in the No. 16

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

for

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) was a race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, to compete in the NASCAR series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States. From 1998 to 2009, t ...

, who started from the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

and led all but two laps of the 175-kilometer (109 mi) sponsorless race. For the 1996 race, Lund Look came on as the sponsor and the distance was increased to 225 kilometers (140 mi). As in 1995, the race was dominated by one driver. This time it was Mike Skinner in the No. 3 Chevrolet for

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...

, who led 70 of 77 laps en route to victory. After the 1996 race, the track was reconfigured from 1.8 miles (2.9 km) to 2.1 miles (3.4 km) long and the race was increased to 275 kilometers (171 mi). The first 275-kilometer race was run in 1997 and won by

Joe Ruttman Joe Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. With 13 career wins in the Truck Series he is currently tied for 13th ...

in the No. 80

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

for

Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana * J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...

. Although Ruttman started on the pole, he led just five laps and won when leader

Jay Sauter Jason Garrett Sauter (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He previously drove the No. 34 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Frank Cicci Racing in the Busch Series. Sauter is the son of former NASCAR driver Jim S ...

, who was trying to give the No. 3 Chevrolet its second Topeka win, ran out of gas on the final lap. The 1998 race ended in similar circumstances. The race was dominated by

Tom Hubert Tom Hubert (born August 6, 1964) is an American road course racer. Hubert was born in Cottonwood, California. He most recently worked as a rear tire changer and a mechanic for Bill Davis Racing's #22 Sprint Cup team, before the team closed down, ...

and

Mike Bliss Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A journeyman NASCAR competitor and the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series. Racing career Bliss began ...

, but both's trucks succumbed to engine failure late in the race. When Bliss' engine expired with seven laps to go,

Stacy Compton Stacy Marshall Compton (born May 26, 1967) is a NASCAR former team owner and former driver. He is a former co-owner of Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia in the Craftsman Truck Series, and is a former racing analyst for ESPN full-time. Before he ran ...

, in the No. 86 Ford for

Impact Motorsports Impact Motorsports is a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned by David Hodson and Russell Kersh from 1997 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 1997 until 2001 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 2001, when it was sold to Phil Bonifield ...

, took the lead and held it to the finish. For the final race in 1999,

O'Reilly Auto Parts O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. is an American auto parts retailer that provides automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers. Founded in 1957 by the O’Reil ...

took over as the sponsor and six laps were removed from the distance.

, in the No. 99 Ford for

, found redemption, winning the race after losing an engine in the 1998 event. He took the lead from Jay Sauter with six laps to go and became the first and only Topeka winner to win from outside the top 10 (15th). Bliss' win also made Roush Racing the only team to win twice at this track.

Past winners

Race length notes *1995–1996: 1.8 mile course *1997–1999: 2.1 mile course

Multiple winners (teams)

Manufacturer wins

References

External links

* {{NASCAR Truck Series races 1995 establishments in Kansas 1999 disestablishments in Kansas Former NASCAR races NASCAR Truck Series races NASCAR races at Heartland Park Topeka Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1999 Recurring sporting events established in 1995