Heartland Motorsports Park faces cancellations despite recent ownership change
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Jul 31, 2026, 8:55 PM
Last updated Jul 31, 2026
Heartland Motorsports Park, now under the International Hot Rod Association, has canceled various events slated for 2026, including most of the remaining autocross season. Although the facility opened in 1989 and has hosted major racing events, it has struggled with a significant decline in programming. Despite recent ownership changes, including a name change to Darana - Heartland Motorsports Park, its event calendar remains empty. The Sports Car Club of America's events at the venue have also been discontinued, raising concerns about the facility's readiness for upcoming events.
- •Heartland Motorsports Park recently purchased by the IHRA.
- •No events scheduled at the venue for 2026.
- •SCCA canceled all remaining autocross events for the year.
- •Previous tax-exempt status dispute led to facility's shutdown.
- •Only one event, Back on Track, remains scheduled for August.
- 8:55 PMYahoo Sports — Heartland Motorsports Park Can't Stop Cancelling Races, But Nobody's Actually Selling It
"A Track That Has Nearly Died Twice Already Heartland Motorsports Park opened outside Topeka in 1989 as the first brand-new auto racing facility built in the U.S. in two decades, eventually hosting NHRA national events, NASCAR touring series, IMSA, and SCCA road racing across a quarter-mile drag strip, a 2.5-mile road course, and a dirt oval. None of that history mattered to Shawnee County's tax office. A long-running dispute over the property's tax-exempt status finally caught up with the facili
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