IT'S ALL SYSTEMS GO
IN THE HEARTLAND

Words and photos by Jeff Leonard
5/28/03

ot too many months ago Heartland Park Topeka was a troubled place. Known for many years as a breeding ground for record level speeds and elapsed times, HPT had in recent years turned into a "black hole" that money went into but didn't come out of. Everything appeared rosy from the outside, but behind the scenes the red ink was accumulating. Over the winter the problems came to a head, as it was revealed that the track operators had disappeared and the facility was several hundred thousand dollars in debt. The future of the track and its marquee NHRA national event was seriously in doubt.

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After the initial period of hand-wringing and doom-saying, the city of Topeka got into the process of finding new ownership for Heartland Park. The man they came up with was Ray Irwin, an Illinois businessman who also owns Blackhawk Farms Raceway, a road course in Rockton, Illinois. Since taking over HPT, Irwin has retired the track's outstanding debts and is in the process of squaring away any and all awards and points prizes still due racers from the 2002 season. He has also begun to refurbish the track and begin a long list of planned improvements.

After having invested the dollars and time needed to turn HPT around, Irwin was gratified by the spectator turnout, After Saturday's action, Irwin remarked, "Look at all those people! No gray concrete is showing." Even the date of the race, the Memorial Day weekend, couldn't sidetrack Irwin's enthusiasm. Irwin said, "It's a great weekend to be on, and I like having that third day. If we have a rain situation, we can get our race in on Monday. If not, our fans still have a day to get home."

With the track's physical well-being assured, the touring pros of NHRA kept up their end of the bargain by churning out three days of scorching performances. It was a race with many story lines, played out under ideal weather conditions on race day.

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