Chris Payne, owner of Heartland Motorsports Park (formerly Heartland Park Topeka) says he is considering razing the current site and moving the track operation to the Kansas City area.

Payne says taxes are the reason behind the move. “You can relocate elsewhere, with less taxes and a new facility, and be better off,” he claimed. He currently owes nearly $522,000 in back taxes to Shawnee County for 2016, 2017 and the first half of 2018 payments.

“If and when we exit, we will go back and scrape the property clean,” Payne told the Topeka Capital Journal. “It won’t be worth anything more than vacant land like there is so much of already out there. It will just blend in like the rest of it.″

To read the complete story in the Topeka newspaper go to Part 1 and Part 2.

When Payne announced the purchase of the old Kansas City property of I-70 Speedway last August the Agent speculated that he would be moving the dragstrip from Topeka. He was involved in the past closing of the historic KCIR. Payne also owns National Trail Raceway near Columbus, OH.

The Agent will be watching this closely.  [01/11/19]

Dennis DiValerio was the 2018 winner of $100,000. (Byron Dragway photo)

The 20th annual Firecracker Bracket Nationals will be held at Byron (IL) Dragway on July 5-7. A top prize of $100,000 will be awarded to the winner of Saturday’s race while $30,000 will go to the winners on Friday and Sunday.

Entries, limited to 256 cars (128 door cars and 128 dragsters), will be accepted beginning Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the track’s website.   [01/11/19]

For those of you who would like a little extra entertainment while at a car auction, the Barrett-Jackson folks have a special event for their Scottsdale, AZ, auction on Jan. 17-19. How about some freestyle bullfighting from Bullfighters Only (BFO) OLE!  [01/11/19]