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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

race held at the

Heartland Park Topeka Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, was a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport. It operated from 1989 until its closure in 2023. History When it o ...

road course, in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

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

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, and remained a part of the series through the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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 and Philippine 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 the preferred mea ...

s as opposed to

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

s and changed distance several times in its history.

History

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 and businessman. He currently owns Team Hornaday Development, a driver development program, as well as Hornaday Race Cars, a Modified racing, D ...

in the No. 16

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., 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 ra ...

and led all but two laps of the sponsorless race. For the 1996 race, Lund Look came on as the sponsor and the distance was increased to . 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 C ...

, who led 70 of 77 laps en route to victory. After the 1996 race, the track was reconfigured from to long and the race was increased to . The first 275-kilometer race was run in 1997 and won by

Joe Ruttman Raymond Joseph Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is an American former 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 t ...

in the No. 80 Ford for

Roush Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...

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

Mike Bliss Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American former 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 ...

, 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 an American 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 ...

, in the No. 86 Ford for Impact Motorsports, took the lead and held it to the finish. For the final race in 1999,

O'Reilly Auto Parts O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., doing business as O’Reilly Auto Parts, is an American automotive part retailer that provides automotive parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself custome ...

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