Friday afternoon marked one of the more seismic shifts in the NHRA drag racing landscape in some time, as a pair of racetracks little more than 100 miles apart in the Kansas City, Missouri area on diametrically opposing trajectories in their existence crossed paths in the headlines.

First, the Heartland Motorsports Park, a fixture on the NHRA Camping world Drag Racing Series circuit for three and a half decades, and the site of many history-making performances that at one time held two dates on the annual tour, announced that the upcoming August 11-13  Menard’s NHRA Nationals would be the last NHRA national event at the facility. The news was, of course, not unexpected, given the very public fight that Shelby Development has been engaged in with Shawnee County related to tax assessments on the multi-use property.

Shelby, in its statement, said, “Heartland Motorsports Park will host the last and final NHRA national event in Topeka, Kansas on August 11-13, 2023. Regretfully, this is the end of NHRA national events in Topeka. Shawnee County is succeeding in taxing Heartland out of business with their excessive land valuation and property taxes. 

“The first NHRA national event took place in Topeka, Kansas in 1989. Thirty-four years ago, Topeka’s national event immediately became one of the premier events in the State of Kansas as well as in the heartland of the nation,” the statement begins. “The event draws fans, racers, support crew and families, and vendors from all over North America. Though the Park is only open to the public about 80 days a year, Heartland has grown its events to collectively draw hundreds of thousands of people annually to Topeka and the state of Kansas. Shelby Development LLC, property owner, is of the opinion the loss of Topeka’s national event is a direct result of Shawnee County’s continued efforts to tax Heartland out of business, which has devalued Shelby’s property to an ongoing liability with no commercial value. For years, the Shawnee County Appraiser has gone the extra mile, in Shelby’s opinion, to overvalue Heartland’s property to almost four times its actual value. This process results then in an almost $1,500 per day property tax liability. Years ago, Shelby exercised what it believed to be a more viable and necessary option by filing an eleven-count lawsuit against the County Appraiser, including allegations of fraud. The County Appraiser has manipulated third party appraisers to provide appraisal results that are “made as instructed”, has withheld documents and legitimate appraisals. Shawnee County’s actions have caused Shelby’s property to devalue to almost nothing from the burden of such mountainous taxes.”

Photo courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

“In Shelby’s opinion and to add insult to injury, the County’s efforts to damage Heartland and Shelby are even more painful with the witnessing of the County giving away land for free adjacent to Heartland and offering no property tax burden for decades to large corporations. Heartland and Shelby has always agreed taxes should be paid, but not at 400% of market value. Shawnee County is well aware Heartland has never been self stainable, even without any tax liability, so to tax the property almost $500,000 annually is seen by Shelby as blatant action to close Heartland. Shelby is extremely thankful for its partnership with the NHRA and its many sponsors. Heartland is grateful to the racers, their support crew, the enormous fan base and countless vendors who have supported Heartland and this NHRA national event for decades.”

The NHRA, already reeling from the losses of Houston Raceway Park, Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, and Bandimere Speedway over the last two seasons, and with the future of the Route 66 Raceway a further question mark, wasted little time allowing Heartland’s decision to sow negative press, announcing that the new Flying H Dragstrip in nearby Odessa, Missouri would assume Heartland’s place on the schedule in 2024.

Much like Heartland’s presumed closure, the addition of the all-new Flying H facility to the national event schedule was far from a surprise. On May 31, the sport’s premier sanctioning body made a rather significant press event out of announcing the new tracks addition to the member track network, suggesting there was some weight behind this partnership beyond the normal sanctioning of a racetrack. 

“We have a rich history at Heartland Motorsports Park and we want to thank Chris Payne and his team for many years supporting NHRA drag racing,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said. “But as one door closes, another opens and we are looking forward to the great opportunity of racing in the Kansas City area at a brand new facility. Scott Higgs and his team are building a fantastic new track at Flying H Dragstrip and we are excited to have our first event there in 2024 and create a wealth of new memories in the area.”

Located just 40 miles to the east of Kansas City on I-70, Flying H Dragstrip broke ground on its new facility in May, with the construction process expected to be completed in October. Higgs purchased the property in March with plans to add the dragstrip to I-70 Motorsports Park. Following the recent groundbreaking, Higgs and his team, which includes Vice President Blake Housley, have been pressing forward with construction to open by the end of the year. The 1/-4mile facility is expected to offer top-tier amenities and serve as a premier dragstrip in the Kansas City area.

“We are truly excited to bring NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series action to our track in 2024,” Higgs said. “Everyone at Flying H Dragstrip was thrilled to join the NHRA Member Track Network earlier this year and to have a National Event during our first full year of operation is going to be incredible. We’ve been dedicated to building a great facility with great people and a strong family environment. It’s been a lot of work, but our team is committed to building a top-notch facility at Flying H Dragstrip and making it a memorable weekend for the race teams, fans and partners.”

Flying H’s 2024 event will mark the first new track to be added to the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour since the New England Dragway joined the schedule in 2013, and the first brand-new track since Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway debuted in the fall of 2008.