As Topeka's Heartland Motorsports Park auction ends, some items attract high bids

Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal
·3 min read
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Bidding ended Wednesday in the going-out-of-business equipment and assets auction held by Topeka's Heartland Motorsports Park, the auction website said.

Heartland Park, 7530 S.W. Topeka Blvd., plans to use auction revenue to pay outstanding property taxes it owes to Shawnee County, owner Chris Payne told The Capital-Journal in mid-December.

The facility's outstanding property tax bill as of Thursday was about $3.16 million, according to the office of Shawnee County Treasurer Larry Mah.

Payne hadn't responded to emails The Capital-Journal sent Wednesday and Thursday asking how the auction did.

Payne told The Capital-Journal in mid-December that the volume of inquiries and interest in the auction had been overwhelming, with more than 20,000 items being auctioned off.

Bidding ended Wednesday in the going-out-of-business equipment and assets auction held by Topeka's Heartland Motorsports Park, for which the drag strip is shown here.
Bidding ended Wednesday in the going-out-of-business equipment and assets auction held by Topeka's Heartland Motorsports Park, for which the drag strip is shown here.

Heavy equipment and vehicles among items that got higher bids

The equipment and assets auction ran from Dec. 13 through Wednesday in each of six different "rings" posted on the website of auctioneer Steffes Group, said Heartland Park's Facebook page.

Two of the higher bids put forth included $46,500 for the facility's east upper grandstands and $53,000 for a 2019 John Deere skid steer loader, the auction website said.

Figures posted on the site showed Heartland Park received high bids totaling more than $520,000 for items listed in the first ring and more than $210,000 for items available in the second.

Items in the first ring included cars, trucks, tractors, trailers and forklifts. The vehicles included a 1972 Corvette Stingray and 1974 Corvette Stingray, which saw high bids of $3,800 and $6,100, respectively,

Items available in the second ring included grandstands, bleachers, barricades, billboards and portable buildings.

The third through sixth rings offered more items for purchase than the first and second rings, though average bidding amounts per item appeared to be lower.

Bidding remains in progress for Heartland Park property itself

Bidding remains in progress for the Heartland Park property itself.

"CBRE and KS Commercial are pleased to present a 'Call for Offers' for Heartland Motorsports Park, the most unique and substantial redevelopment sale opportunity in the Midwest," said a document the facility posted last month on its Facebook page.

Those offers are due Feb. 15, it said.

Why is Heartland Park closing?

Heartland Motorsports Park opened in 1989 as Heartland Park Topeka.

Payne since early 2016 has owned the facility, which hosted events that included the Country Stampede music festival and the Menards NHRA Nationals, a major drag racing competition.

The Country Stampede is moving to Bonner Springs.

Payne spent $2.4 million to buy the racing facility, he said.

He said he paid the facility's 2016 property taxes but hadn't paid them since because the county has been taxing him "to death" by appraising its value at far more than he'd be able to sell it for.

Still, the county ended up winning its tax battle with Payne when the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in its favor in July.

Payne announced in September that Heartland Park would close its doors and cease operations after its racing season finished at the end of October.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Some items attract high bids as Topeka's Heartland Park auction ends